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The Sociological Aspects Of The Media And Popular Culture

The media influence how people experience social life. Media such as newspaper, television and film, are important sources of information, education and entertainment. It can be used to learn more about the world and the people in it. In this regard it can be said that the media represent, interpret and endorse aspects of social experience (O’Shaughnessy and Stadler, 2005). The media are also implicated in social regulation, or in other terms, the government of society. The media are implicated in government and politics in an obvious way because modern systems of democracy are conducted through the media. But the media have a bigger role to play in government by structuring how society is controlled and maintained.

In addition, while the media are owned and run by government, commercial, and community interests, commercial interests dominate. In this regard there is cause to argue that the media serve the interests of those who own them. Adorno and Horkheimer have argued that the mass media in particular operates as a ‘culture industry’ (Van Krieken et al, 2006: 441). It supplies ideological products for mass consumption that preserve and extend the dominating position of the ruling classes. There is also an argument that corporate monopolisation of media ownership and modes of production mean that the media have become the instrument of private capital and mediated colonisation. The essay will discuss the sociological aspects of the media and popular culture with reference to the social impact of the internet and related technologies and the role of media in globalisation.

Probably the biggest technological change in media and communication in recent times has involved the rise of the internet and related technologies. The internet has added a new, powerful, and rapidly changing technology to media and communication. Unlike the broadcast media, the internet also has pronounced interactive features because it allows people to communicate with each other....