Media Effects of Computer Games.

Hypodermic Needle Theory describes the massive influence that has

taken place on the behaviour change on the audience. The mass media
in the 1940's and 1950's was seen as the immediate power on its
audiences. This theory is based around the rise in radio and television
demands, the appearance of the persuasion industries, this includes
propaganda and advertising. The audience is considered to have mercy
towards the media, meaning the users have no control over the media.
The message for the media is directly received and accepted by the
user, by the way in which the media wants us to perceive the
information. They express the view that the media is dangerous by
stating that the viewer is powerless in the information they are given,
and unable to resist the impact of the message given. Even though this
theory goes back a long way in history, modern day scholars reject the
idea of a completely passive audience as well as the power of the
media.
In the 1930's, the Payne Fund developed by the Motion Picture
Research Council, worked on the impact of motion pictures on children
to see if theHypodermic Needle Theorywas controllable. Even Hitler
monopolized the mass media in the belief that he could use it unify the
German public behind the Nazis in the 1940! President Franklin D.
Roosevelt radio speeches, known as the "fireside charts" inspired
millions of citizens to support his new deal policies in the wake of the
great depression. During this time, behavioural scholars began to study
the Medias effects in the earnest. Hypodermic Needle Theory was one
of the primary models to consequence from the near the beginning
studies. This was to establish empirical methods for testing behaviours
at the time. The government understood this power, and used it to
influence how people make decisions and opinions on a certain topic.
Some companies such as the BBC, and FOX still try to use this theory, in
a way to make the audience believe everyone actually believe the news
they are fed.
This theory does not have many pros, but it is a good method to use by
media producer, and influence marketing strategies. The number and
statistics can be effective and reliable way of seeing trends, making a
difference to how things are presented and how things are delivered to
the public in a way to benefit the company and brand, which will extend
over long periods. It also increase the popularity rates increase for
radio and television, making people more knowledgeable on what is
happening around us. The downside to the Hypodermic Needle Theory
as it has limited analysis of audience reception, now days the audience
is more intelligent, sophisticated, and aware of how the media industry
constructs messages and manipulates the audience to know only
certain information.In addition, the public interpret differently, the
change of attitudes and beliefs is harder on a larger scale of people,
and the information would have to be constructed carefully in order to
manipulate the audience to the new idea. An example of where this
theory has been successful was in 1938, a radio dramatisation of the
science fiction novel "war of the worlds" was a contemporary new
broadcast. This used the technique in order to heighten dramatic effect.
Taking a real account of events and changing the way that the audience
takes in the information and what they do with it.
The Uses and Gratification Theory is a strong approach to
understanding the mass message. It concentrates on consumer rather
than the media itself, worrying about what people do with the media
instead of the other way round. It takes the role to actively pushing the
media into the audiences life. It also states that the audience has a big
responsibility for the media they choose to consume, in order to meet
their needs. This theory would then entail the media compete against
other information sources for audience gratification. The use of media
is done to either inform, entertain or change the perceptive of the
audience on a certain topic. For example people would watch a soap
because they relate to the characters or they have heard it is a good
series from someone else. This then continues through word of mouth
to tell others to watch it, and then people who would relate to the
situation that the audience is in, can have someone to relate to and
stories to relate back to even if they are not real.
In 1944, HertaHorzog looked for the early forms of uses and
gratifications, and reasons why people chose specific forms on media.
In 1954, Willbur Schramm urbanized the fraction of selection, a method
for influential, which form of gathering media an individual would
select. In 1969, Jay Blumler and Denis McQuail studied the election in
the UK 1964 by seeing how people react by watching certain political
programs on television. The audiences motivation pushed research
forward in able to identify how the theory works on the people
consuming the information. Stage 3 is the most recent push within
research. This link is between the reason why the media is used and
how the gratifications are achieved. The mass media compete with
other sources of gratification, but it can be obtained from a medium
content, from familiarity with the genre, from general exposure to the
medium, and from the social context in which it is used.
There are many different usages of this theory. Mobile phones are a
relatively new technology, which involves many gratifications and uses
attached to them. The field is expanding with new research on the
motivations behind using mobile phones. They use mobile phones for
the affection/sociability, the entertainment and the immediate access.
Since many now, use their mobile phones as devices to connect to the
internet and contribute content with the engagement between the
audience and the media companies. The internet provides a new way of
exploring information and new facts; it has three categories of
gratification. This involves the content, process and social gratification.
Another method is to collect research on social media. Putting a study
together to show the relationship between the gratifications. Those
who viewed themselves as superior or at a higher level had a better
uses and gratifications by cognitive motivation than by credit.
The problems that are issued with this theory is shown that it does not
meet the standards required to be a proper theory. The critics argue
that it of more of an approach to analysis on data collection rather than
a broad idea. The gratifications are more dependent on the things that
are put into the project by researchers than on the decisions made by
the public, purposely put there. Another thing that is criticised on this
theory is that the viewers may not understand or know why they chose
to watch the programme they did, or even be able to explain it for a
reason; this means the results may be fuzzy and not actually give a
clear understanding. It is a good idea for the media industry to think of
the people rather than the information as it has more of an affective
result on the consumers. It includes emotions, pleasure and other
moods found from the audience, as people use media such as television
to fit their emotional needs. It will fit the demand to increase their self-
esteem. The research brings the concern on why people use media, the
research means that the industry are able to put in place what people
want to know and see. It means that companies can constantly be
updated and change based on what the audience wants and needs to
meet their demands.
Reception Theory provides the understanding how the audience and
why this takes place interpret the texts. All media based text is
produced in the mind of the audience, and in our years, it is very
difficult to live or ignore the media. Reception Theory is also classed as
audience reception, in the analysis of communication between the
media and their audience.
This theory originated from the work of Hans-Robert Jauss, which took
place in the late 1960s. This was at its most powerful through the
1970s and early 1980s in the USA and Germany. No area of literary
endeavour has been untouched by the Reception theory, such as there
are even traces of it used in sociology and art history. It started to
change the way people observed, participated and engaged in events
that are meaningful for the present in which they lived and live. This is
important to understand what needs to be said to the public, and
information that is relevant for them to know, and appreciate. Stuart
Hall made it clear that different social groups interpret the role of social
positioning of the mass media text differently; he suggested three
hypothetical explanatory codes or situations for the reader of a
manuscript. This includes the Dominant reading- meaning the reader
engages fully with the text given and accepts the information given. A
negotiated reading- meaning they partly share the texts codes and only
slightly accept the information, but sometimes resists and modifies the
text to reflect their own situation. Then there is the Oppositional
reading- this means that the reader has a social situation which directly
pushes away the dominant code, understands the preferred reading but
does not have the same opinion, and brings an alternative frame.
This theory has its pro and cons. It is a good way for the media to get
their message across as it means they will be able to fully engage with
the audience and in some sense build a relationship with them. This
means that the audience will hopefully listen to the facts that they are
being shown, and the media industry will continue to grow and build a
good relationship with the audience that is targeted. This theory is
stating that people will either reject or fail to understand the message,
or 100% agree with it. It is a good idea that this theory means that
there is so much information involved to benefit the audience and make
it so that they agree or even just acknowledge the message trying to be
presented. It brings people together, and makes the community a
better-informed area. The disadvantages of this is that not everyone is
going to have the same opinion, and that means that things are easily
able to clash and differ. Not everyone has the intellectual level to
understand everything that is being shown to them;therefore, this
could create some issues between the media and the audience.
This music video is used in all media forms- but one that sticks out to
me is in music videos. Take Lana Del Rays music video of Video Games.
It contains over clips of skateboarders, cartoons, Hollywood and shots
from old movies and old paparazzi footage. This gathered her attention
from the public as it was very random, and even she stated that she
didnt put much thought into the music video or the story line. People
could see this in different ways, as though she is trying to show what
living in America is like, or how lives turn differently depending on their
situation. It is said to fit within the surrenders of romance and
depression, and moving along on a day to day basis sad but still with
the idle class.
Each audience member consumes media in a different way. They have
an emotional connection with the media in other ways to eachother, and
everyone has a different opinion. This is either defined as a Passive
audience or an Active audience. An active audience consumer is where
the member will take in the information that has been given to them,
and discuss the media questions and wonder about the message based
on their own life experiences. The audience who take time to ask
questions about the information that is given to them are more active
due to the massive discussion they have with the public rather than
within only their house hold. A passive consumption is where the
audience member doesnt engage with the media and only accepts
what they are being told and follow it without any opinion of their own.
In order to get the audience to feel this certain way the audience would
have to be shown a realistic story that they feel as though they agree
with, but as theyre a follower and get sucked into the medias plan they
dont really have much input in the medias information outlet.
Hartley 1987 thought that institutions must produce invisible fictions of
the audience which allows people to make an opinion on the
information they are being given. B.F Skinner was a psychologist in the
latter half of the 20th century. This was formed by a series of
experiments to show the effect of information had on the passive
audiences behaviour. For example he thought that repeatedly showing
images of violence will then push the audience to become violent. There
was another experiment that demonstrated passive behaviour within
the audience, called the "Bobo Doll" in 1961. This was tested on 72
children between the ages of 3-6. It was to show how aggressive they
were by observing their behaviour on a four 5 point rating scale.
Children were put in a room with a life sized doll, and showed violent
screens and see how they react with the doll.
The pros to having an active audience member is that they will show off
their opinions on a certain subject, giving the media industry a better
understanding of what is demanded from them, and also how they
could change to benefit the audience. It also shows that some things in
this world arent ok and should be different. Take Donald Trump
becoming president of the USA. Alot of people disagreed with this
action taking place by what he has done in the past and shown that he
is not right to run the country, from this it has become a worldly act and
has affected everyone even if they do not live in the USA. If people
didnt get involved and speak up then hardly anyone would actually
have an opinion on the matter and just let it happen. The
disadvantages of this is that even realistic information the audience
questions it and goes against what they are being shown, this can end
badly and mean that the media has a hard time getting through to
them.
A passive audience in my opinion has more downfalls than up. It means
that the media can say anything to them and they will believe it.
They're very bland interrupters and don't give anything exciting out.
Meaning it is very hard to have a discussion on a topic with. A benefit is
given to the media industry though, as they will be able to tell the
audience whatever story they would like and the audience would
believe them even if the story is unrealistic.
References-
https://www.slideshare.net/HannahCharlesMedia/hypodermic-needle-
theory-29639628
https://www.slideshare.net/mohammadsohaibafzaal/uses-and-
gratifications-theory-34849716
https://www.slideshare.net/TrangPham7/uses-and-gratification-
theorypresentation
https://www.slideshare.net/brkbrlk/uses-and-gratifications-theory-
32067973
https://www.slideshare.net/yumna6/magic-bullet-theory
https://mediafort.wordpress.com/2013/07/01/reception-theory/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Games_(song)#Critical_response
https://www.slideshare.net/zlorhenley/uses-and-gratifications-theory-
6933502
http://www.simplypsychology.org/bobo-doll.html
https://prezi.com/ftoifyeywbth/copy-of-active-vs-passive-audience/
https://conorneill.com/2009/12/20/persuasive-speaking-the-four-types-
of-audience/