Ilie Alexandra 2nd year student, English MA Program in Communication and Advertising Theory of Communication Faculty of Public Relations

The Role and the Impact of the Traditional and New Communication Technologies On our Society Table of contents

1.Theoretical Guidelines............................................................................................................2 2.The evolution of media............................................................................................................3 2.1Traditional media..............................................................................................................3 2.2New Media........................................................................................................................4 3.The role of media in the society..............................................................................................5 4.Effects of media and society...................................................................................................5 4.1The impact of media on mature audience.........................................................................7 4.2The impact of media on children.......................................................................................8 5.Conclusions.............................................................................................................................9 6.Bibliography..........................................................................................................................10

Ilie Alexandra 2nd year student, English MA Program in Communication and Advertising Theory of Communication Faculty of Public Relations

In the present paper, I have decided to analyze the role and impact that new and traditional communication technologies have on the society we live in, a topic from lecture 8 Mass Mediated Communication. New Communication technologies

1. Theoretical Guidelines From the beginning until today people have communicated with each other and have sent thoughts, ideas, words, etc. influencing one another. That is why communication was understood and defined differently over time. Today, in the daily life, communication has a dimension and has significance as ever it has never had in human history. It is said that nowadays communication has taken unusual proportions; it is a key feature of our civilization and it unquestionably became an institution. Communication has accompanied man throughout its existence and development in all kinds of activities in which he was involved. In the last 50 years the media influence has grown exponentially with the advance of technology, first there was the telegraph, then the radio, the newspaper, magazines, television and now the internet. Both for individuals and businesses, communication is a necessary condition for carrying out, under normal circumstances, our daily life. Everyday life is inconceivable without the flow of messages, moving rapidly all over the world. 1 Such state of fact has become possible due to technological progress of mankind in the twentieth century. Specialists even talk about a revolution in communications, which favored communication in all aspects. Recording a downright spectacular evolution in recent decades, communication is now a surprising phenomenon in the variety and complexity of forms. We live in a society that depends on information and communication to keep moving in the right direction and do our daily activities like work, entertainment, health care, education, personal relationships, traveling and anything else that we have to do. The computer is the heart of the new communication technologies that are now beginning to have important social impacts in the home, the office, the school, and the factory. Mass communication research, stimulated by concerns about political influence of the large circulation newspapers and the moral and social consequences of film and radio, has its origins at the beginning of the twentieth century. Communication was studied in an effort to

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Ilie Alexandra 2nd year student, English MA Program in Communication and Advertising Theory of Communication Faculty of Public Relations

test and improve the effectiveness and influence in education, telecommunications, advertising, public relations and interpersonal relations. Media is a general name of all mass media. These methods are characterized by variety: press, television, radio and Internet. Their development has led to a widely spread and diversification of information and also to how they influence people's opinion. 2 This development is the result of audience wish to be informed. In the political dictionary edited by Tamas, media is defined as: "The whole modern technical means and methods that inform and influence the masses", in other words, "mass communication made through the press, radio, television, movies, records and other means ".
The society in which information plays the role that once, in industrial society, was played by the material goods is an information society (Overkleeft, 1990). Little speaks about a society "in which the most important social, economic and production advantages binds to information and communication" (1981).

2. The evolution of media It is considered that the media we can talk about only in the middle of the nineteenth century that is since the audience had become sufficiently large and heterogeneous. Newspapers and books published before this period were addressed exclusively to the elite. In the first decades of this century, the media were in the infancy stage. Even so, the public was alarmed by the effects that these new forms of communication - newspapers, movies, radio - had on their children and their neighbors.

2.1

Traditional media Mass media are: newspapers, radio, television, internet, cinema, advertising posters,

etc.. The first such means of communication in historical order is the pattern, invented in 1455 by Johann Gutenberg. Even today you will find villages where there is no proper electricity. People in such places might not be able to view television or access the internet. Similarly illiterate people will not be able to read newspapers or magazines. However, this does not mean they that do not communicate. They have also developed different ways of communication depending upon the local language and culture. We can define traditional media as the non electronic mediums which works as part of our culture and as vehicles of transmitting tradition from one generation to another generation is called traditional media.
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http://hubpages.com/hub/Mass-Media-Influence-on-Society

Ilie Alexandra 2nd year student, English MA Program in Communication and Advertising Theory of Communication Faculty of Public Relations

Traditional media thus represents a form of communication employing vocal, verbal, musical and visual folk art forms, transmitted to a society or group of societies from one generation to another. They are indigenous modes and have served the society as tools/medium of communication for ages. A significant development of mass media took place however, in this century by the emergence of electronic media: the first half-century was marked by the advent of cinema and radio, and the second half of this century by the expansion at a mass level of the TV. Finally, we carry on with our lives through using various media as a communication control system.

2.2

New Media Currently, in addition to traditional "types" of media, there have emerged and

imposed new forms of communication called "new media". These media combine traditional media (television, radio, print), telecommunications, digital technology and computer systems.3 A list of new technologies (with a relatively arbitrary start date represented by early 80s) would include personal computers, teletext, video systems, videotext, cable television, satellite telecommunications, teleconferencing and videoconferencing systems, voice mail, fax transmission system, high-fidelity television, mobile telephony, interactive television, CD-ROM, DVD, instant messaging, artificial intelligence, three-dimensional graphics. The new of media is more than Internet or online version of newspapers.4 The new media have the following characteristics: they are decentralized (the transmission and choice are not by competence of the information provider), have high capacity (transmission by cable or satellite is more advantageous financially, spatially and in terms of capacity), interactivity (the receiver can select and answer, can exchange information and can connect directly to other receptors) and flexibility (by form, content and use).5 They come to complete the picture of the modern society, where information is transformed into an instrument of power and communication between nations, becoming a symbol of this era.

3 4

Bernard Miege, Societatea cucerit de comunicare, Editura Polirom, Iai, 2000, p.89 Paul Dobrescu, Alina Brgoanu, op.cit., p.84 5 www.euro.ubbcluj.ro

Ilie Alexandra 2nd year student, English MA Program in Communication and Advertising Theory of Communication Faculty of Public Relations

3. The role of media in the society The role of media in the society has become very important. Information is a vital source for any type of decision, and the media is their main broadcast medium. An increasing number of people, groups and communities depend on the media to master, understand and judge the world around them. "Permanent flow of messages broadcast by the media surrounds almost completely the individuals and the society, letting them time for reflection, critical analysis, verification of the offered versions."6 The media is the one that mediates between the state and public relations. Also, identifies, selects, evaluates, depicting events etc.. The media are increasingly used as a source of entertainment because it requires low budget costs for individuals. Media is a source of information and through the information it disseminates they influence changes in public attitudes.
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Therefore, from the viewpoint of the formation of

public opinion, media complex is the main link. In the economic and social life of the country, this is becoming increasingly important, especially since the informational society we are creating reached its climax. The media are able to disseminate information 8, to arouse curiosities, new interests, increase training, to broaden peoples horizons, to integrate the individual in its region, in his country, on the planet, to develop his taste, intellectual culture, art, in short, to make him, in a hundred ways possible, more present at the event, at art, at thinking. Meanwhile, the media are able to deceive, degrade, and to influence public opinion.9

4. Effects of media and society Because both communication technology and social order are in a constant process of change, we have every reason to believe that media influences on society will not be the same from age to age. Therefore, it is difficult to give some rules or make explanations about the effects of mass communication that are available to all citizens at the same time. The recent emergence of new media, or better, new communication technologies, has afforded substantial commentary regarding societal effects, the latest chapter in a decades-old trend that rises and falls with each new communication technology. In Romania as well as in other countries, the media is a power. Among the media, the one which has the greatest impact is the television. As a device, the TV is an invention of
6 7

Mihai Coman, op.cit., p.74 Denis McQuail, Sven Windahl, Modele ale comunicrii pentru studiul comunicrii de mas, Editura coala Naional de Studii Politice i Administrative, Bucureti, 2001, p.35 8 http://www.buzzle.com/articles/positive-effects-of-the-media.html 9 Paul Dobrescu, Alina Brgoanu, Mass-media i societatea, Editura Comunicare.ro, Bucureti, 2003, p.114

Ilie Alexandra 2nd year student, English MA Program in Communication and Advertising Theory of Communication Faculty of Public Relations

human mind - which in itself is not harmful, however how it is used, especially in the last fifteen years in our country and the last thirty years in the West, turned into a veritable manipulation source. The media takes us a long time nowadays - in many cases they even came to replace a lot of our daily activities, both the leisure ones and those at work. Most of us spend long hours in the house, looking at TV, listening to the radio or reading newspapers and magazines. TV is on in mens house about 7 hours a day, becoming the most popular means of mass media in the last years. Cultural and national factors, economic and social stratification can affect the consumption of the media messages. We are caught in a social system; we interact with it and depend on it. Sometimes we are forced to choose from what we are given. This behavior, the "Low Involvement behavior", can move the individual control barriers. Daily experiences show us different examples of small effects.10 We dress up on the influence of weather forecasts, we buy something from an ad; we go to the movies mentioned in the paper etc. Political candidates and parties are constantly concerned to find how to communicate with voters in order to win their votes. 11 The advertising agencies are leading a great business in terms of knowledge of habits, desires and needs, trying to create ads that bring bigger sales.12 The media deeply affects the public because they are a constant presence in their lives, they have a universality that no other institution has, so analysis of how media affects society (intentionally, following a strategy plotted before or incidentally) was a central concern of media researchers. Media effects can be felt in different areas of society. D. McQuail said that the media can act on individuals, groups, institutions, including the public and that it can affect the cognitive dimension of the human personality (changing the image of the world), the emotional scale (changing or creating feelings or attitudes) or the size of the behavior (changes in the ways in which individuals act and phenomena of social mobilization). 13From another perspective, the media may have a short term influence or may need a larger time to become operational. Also the effects media can create desired or less desired changes: they

10 11

Ioan Drgan, Paradigme ale comunicrii de mas, Editura ansa, Bucureti, 1996, p.166 Marian Petcu, Sociologia mass-media, Editura Dacia, Cluj-Napoca, 2002, p.142 12 Weiss, Brigitte, Efectele publicitii: Comunicarea de pia de succes: instrumente, reguli i exemple, Bucureti, Editura IAA, 2007, Traducere: Rancea Anca, Adaptare de text: Petre Dan pg. 34 13 McQUAIL D., Windahl Sven, Modele ale comunicrii pentru studiul comunicrii de mas, Editura Comunicare.ro, Bucureti, 2001, pag. 53

Ilie Alexandra 2nd year student, English MA Program in Communication and Advertising Theory of Communication Faculty of Public Relations

can be the result of a controlled process, such as media campaigns or of an expected or unexpected event.

4.1

The impact of media on mature audience Press informs readers daily or weekly about bullying or abuse that occur in everyday

life. Of course, in many cases, journalists seek sensational issues, publishing a series of information to satisfy the public taste, through more "spicy" details. A feature of the media is that it can shape the character of an individual, often wrong. In is the televisions case. Because individual watches TV overly much, ideas or opinions provided by the current program can be suggested to the individual. Also, the media can be held responsible for structuring activities and daily routines of people.14 News and movies - the most violent TV programs15 According to statistics, 73% of Romanian people believe that the most violent TV programs are news and 63% say that movies contain numerous tough scenes.
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Almost all Romanians (95%) watch the TV at least several times a week. About

31% of Romanian are daily listening to the radio, and 36% never listen at all. Local radios can boast with a high consumption in the communities they cover.

Source: www.adevarul.ro

According to a survey conducted by the research institute at the request INSOMAR National Audiovisual Council (CNA) from September 6 to September 28, 2007, the Romanian cultural consumption is dominated by television (82%) and radio (30.6%). Sample includes 2507 people and the research was carried on people aged over 15 years.
14 15

OReagan, Australian Television Culture, Allen & Unwin, 1993, Australia. http://www.euractiv.ro/uniunea-europeana/articles%7CdisplayArticle/articleID_12149/Stirile-si-filmele-celemai-violente-programe-tv.html
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www.adevarul.ro

Ilie Alexandra 2nd year student, English MA Program in Communication and Advertising Theory of Communication Faculty of Public Relations

A very high percentage of Romanian believes that TV programs influence both their opinions as well as others opinions, especially through the violent content distributed (72.4%) and through the political news (59%). Television is the main pre-election communication vehicle, one of its latent functions being that of the establishment of the political agenda setting. Television is the main preelection communication vehicle, one of its latent functions being that of the establishment of the political agenda setting. Moreover, through the coverage of political actors and surveys, it would succeed, as few critics say, to influence election results. However, research investigations have shown that the media generally cannot have a major influence on voters because most of them have already a clear intention to vote on the beginning of the campaign, which is not significantly changed during the course of it.

4.2

The impact of media on children Children are daily exposed to negative examples. From scenes of violence, unhealthy

product ads17 or "evil" characters that come to kidnap them if they are not well behaved. Studies show that during the first years of life, exposure to such messages influence children who have a tendency to imitate what they see. For the first time, Itsy Bitsy FM first baby radio, pull a warning signal on this topic. Under the heading "Protect your child's innocence," Itsy Bitsy launches an educational campaign, which urges parents and grandparents to be aware of messages that reach their children because "children do they see".18 The message is sent through a surprising visual - a blindfolded doll, threatened by soldiers of lead - created by the GMP agency (Good Practice Manufacturing). We must carefully choose the messages we expose children to.. They are the age at which they assimilate information, starting to make a picture about the world and our responsibility is to provide them the correct image. Thus, if adult advertising campaign has a lot to work on the psychological axis, in order to determine mature people through intense motivation to eat or buy a product, for kids this advertising campaign will only have to present the childhood universe and cheerful, vibrant, funny images, without giving them reasons for their desire to want a product.19 A cheerful slogan, a fragment of song, color images, vivid cartoon heroes, fun and exciting activities are the means by which an ad captures a childs attention and influence
17 18

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/negative-influences-of-media.html http://www.wall-street.ro/articol/Marketing-PR/22226/Copiii-fac-ce-vad.html 19 Weiss, Brigitte, Efectele publicitii: Comunicarea de pia de succes: instrumente, reguli i exemple, Bucureti, Editura IAA, 2007, Traducere: Rancea Anca, Adaptare de text: Petre Dan

Ilie Alexandra 2nd year student, English MA Program in Communication and Advertising Theory of Communication Faculty of Public Relations

him to want to eat or buy a product, having these tools used in an advertisement as the only motivating source. Presenting the products to children in such a manner, they create their own image on advertising product by attaching directly to the product.20 Kinder Joy candy is a well-known case, wanted by thousands of young children, which are in the trade in small quantities at exceptional high prices, and yet parents are determined by their children to buy them, but not because children are impressed with the taste, but because TV advertising has influenced them to find all the "miraculous toys".

5. Conclusions With its canals, MEDIA may be a "double-edged sword". As a factor of progress, its influence is reflected in increasing the quality and cultural and social standards of life. As a means of domination and manipulation, does nothing but unilateralizeze or reduce public response to the great challenges of everyday reality. The perception of the media is different from one individual to another because of the professional structure and level of education, the existence and functionality of the democratic institutions and the economic development. The impact of media on children is higher because they do not have the discernment to select information and thereby to choose what is best for them.21 The media also has no control power as the state institutions have, but the impact on society is overwhelming, they inform developing critical thinking, they create opinions, they launch fashion and propel personalities. Mass media is communicationwhether written, broadcast, or spokenthat reaches a large audience. This includes television, radio, advertising, movies, the Internet, newspapers, magazines, and so forth. We live in a society that depends on information and communication to keep moving in the right direction and do our daily activities like work, entertainment, health care, education, personal relationships, traveling and anything else that we have to do. Why does the media only pass along information that it considers important? That question can be answered by the fact that the media is owned by the rich and powerful. Basically, that means that the ruling class only wants to pass along its ideology.

20 21

http://hubpages.com/hub/Mass-Media-Influence-on-Society Aurelian Bondrea - Sociologia opiniei publice i a mass-media, Editura Fundaiei Romnia de Mine, Bucureti, 1997

Ilie Alexandra 2nd year student, English MA Program in Communication and Advertising Theory of Communication Faculty of Public Relations

6. Bibliography

Denis McQuail, Sven Windahl Dorin Popa OReagan Marian Petcu Paul Dobrescu, Alina Brgoanu Aurelian Bondrea Ioan Drgan Weiss, Brigitte

Modele ale comunicrii pentru studiul comunicrii de mas, 2001 Mass-media, astzi, 2002 Australian Television Culture, 1993 Sociologia mass-media, 2002 Mass-media i societatea, 2003 Sociologia opiniei publice i a mass-media, 1997 Paradigme ale comunicrii de mas, 1996 Efectele publicitii: Comunicarea de pia de succes: instrumente, reguli i exemple, Traducere: Rancea Anca, Adaptare de text: Petre Dan, 2007

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/what-are-the-effects-of-media.html

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/negative-influences-of-media.html http://www.buzzle.com/articles/positive-effects-of-the-media.html http://hubpages.com/hub/Mass-Media-Influence-on-Society

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_media

www.adevarul.ro

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