Audience Theory [2]

Social learning theory has been criticised for simplifying the causes of violence in society. Do you think the media is responsible for anti-social behaviour and violence?

• I think that exploitation to violent behaviour through the media will play a part in learned behaviours, since during the formative stages in life, we are vulnerable to the influence of our surroundings including what we absorb from media such as films, tv shows or music videos. However, in the same wavelength, we are also susceptible to the influence of our parents and to dismiss the active mindset of a child and their ability to learn right from wrong due to their parents actions and influence impacts the reliability of an experiment. I believe that social factors are far more responsible for anti-social behaviour and violence than the exposure to violence through the media, since the scale of people who play these games compared to the amount of people who display violent behaviour shows that the correlation isn't as strong as people once believed. 

How is Social learning theory relevant in the digital age? Are young people now learning behaviour from social media and the internet? Give examples.

• Social learning theory is extremely relevant in the digital age due to the creation  of echo chambers in society, where everyone has the same opinions and come to unanimous decisions on social issues which leads to a rise in intolerance for differing opinions and views, this can be a good thing when it comes to educating young people on issues that aren't part of school curriculum's such as social movements like #MeToo or political conflicts such as Israel/Palestine but it can also be hostile and a volatile dispersion of information which can actually increase ignorance since you can choose and filter what you want to see and this is what leads to a people being in bubbles, such as some of the shooters in the us, who are part of the incel society which lead to their ideologies being validated and in turn lead to severe consequences. Young people are learning behaviours from the internet and social media but it is down to adapting the mindset of adolescents into one that is more socially diverse but also can inhibit the natural growth and actually be detrimental to them. 

Research five examples of moral panic from the last 50 years. To what extent was the media responsible for these moral panics? Was the concern in society justified? How have things changed as a result of these moral panics?

•  EBOLA [2014] - Media coverage shared widespread cases in western societies and the societies hysterical responses were justified due to the severity of these conditions with almost 12,000 victims however this lead to a rise in xenophobia and racism. It did lead to research into the illness and precautions to be implemented to prevent another epidemic.
• LACED HALLOWEEN SWEETS [1974] - After a young boy died from a cyanide-laced halloween sweet, parents became apprehensive of halloween and scared over the potential risks their children were exposed to on halloween however this was just a case of domestic homicide and although some cases of razor or needle embedded sweets have surfaced however there hasnt been any significant changes in society.
• 3D PRINTED GUNS- Due to the prevalence of gun crime in the US the ideologies of us citizens when it comes to technological growth lead to fear that 3D printing could allow unregistered guns to be built and then naturally used in crimes and this lead to social media questioning the morality of 3D printing and the freedom it provides and it lead to Congress proposing changes to the Undetectable Firearms Act to ensure it could be avoided.
• WELFARE CHEATING SCANDALS [-] - Moral panics concerning abuse of the governments taxes frequent the media often. It usually leads to political changes such as stricter rules and more thorough checks since the panics usually lead to social condemnation of people on benefits and adds to the stigma which surrounds them so the government usually reassure through the media that changes are occurring
• IMMIGRATION[2017-] - The brexit vote lead to people coming to ill educated conclusions concerning the motives of immigrants fleeing war torn countries and it lead to people taking ignorant views into account when voting despite the lack of truth behind the panic and lead to britain voting to exit the eu. 

What examples are given of technopanics that create fear in society from the academic paper?

•  Child safety, digital privacy and cybersecurity.

How does the author suggest that technopanics should be addressed - rather than through government regulation?

•  Ongoing societal learning, experimentation, resilliency and coping strategies

Do you think the internet should be regulated? Should the government try and control what we can access online?

•  Personally, I see internet regulation as a catch 22 situation. By allowing the government to control what we can access or see this could in fact stop exploitation of younger people to inappropriate content online but could also stop their emotional growth and delay important social exploitation and conversation, in which media exploitation benefits them and has high cultural capital which can aid younger people's social development. The government having complete control could also be abused and the ideologies perpetuated could go back to the more linear times of the birth of the internet and propaganda could be used to create it's own echo chamber having the same detriments but a different technique. I do, however, believe that age regulations should be taken more seriously and that improving and innovating the way we navigate the internet should depend on age and by implementing these regulations could have positive impacts and ease young people into the reality of the world at a slow downed pace.

Apply Gerbner's cultivation theory to new and digital media. Is the internet creating a fearful population? Are we becoming densensitised to online threats. trolling and abuse?

•  Gerbner's cultivation theory suggests that heavy internet users are more susceptible to media messages and the idea that they are real and valid and I believe this is extremely relevant in the digital age since exposure to one sided arguments and fake statistics is prominent and the line between real and fake news is blurred to society. Due to the accelerated exposure to the hardships of social media, i think we as a generation are just accepting the existence of online abuse and it has lost it's severity in recent years however some people are developing 'Mean World Syndrome' in context of Gerbner's cultivation theory, this is due to the exposure of world news concerning violence and the focus on negativity in society, this idea that the world is a far worse place than it is, is becoming more prevalent in the generations in varying scales.

Is heavy internet use something we should be worried about in society? How would you define 'heavy internet use'?

• I would define heavy internet use as more than 4 hours of leisure based screen time a day, including streaming sites. This high density indulgence and absorption of media could lead to a blurred line, despite the motivation of diversion from society it could in fact perpetuate the ideologies, you are trying to escape from since a lot of modern media incorporates the realism of todays social climate either in an explicit or a subliminal way counteracting it's dominant readings for the audiences. I think this may be a worry especially for  younger generations who's main exposure to media is through the internet since they become more susceptible to fake news and ignorance due to the option of filtration of ideals on social media to avoid the opinions that conflict their own.