Croteau&Hoynes: Media/Society, 5th Edition Instructor Resource
Chapter 9: Media Technology
Purpose and Goals of the Chapter
Chapter 9 shifts the focus to the technological properties of various
forms of mass media. While we argue that technologies do not cause specific social changes, we
explore the social significance of different media technologies. The chapter examines how the
emergence of new forms of media can help to reorganize the flow of information in the social
environment. At the same time, the chapter considers the social construction of media
technologies, examining the social and economic forces that shape the development and use of
Outline of Key Chapter Themes
Each medium has a different set of technological capabilities.
Mass media generally involve one-way communication from a known sender to a mass of
anonymous receivers.
New digital media disrupt traditional notions of time and space.
The Internet is helping to blur the line between personal and mass communication.
Discussion of media often overemphasizes the determining role of technology in processes of
social change.
Technologies are also socially constructed by cultural norms, regulations, and economic
forces.
Medium theory explores the ways that different media technologies alter patterns of
communication in the information environment.
Media technologies are both influenced by and shape social life; they are not outside forces
that cause social change.
Chapter Outline
1. Traditional vs. new media
Traditional media
oOne-to-many communication
oAnonymous receivers
oOne-way communication channels
oClear distinction between producers and receivers
New media
oBlur the distinction between individual and mass audience
2. Technological determinism
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Croteau&Hoynes: Media/Society, 5th Edition Instructor Resource
“What technologies do to the people”
Overwhelming and inevitable effects of technologies on users, organizations, and
societies
Technology as an extra force introduced to society
Criticisms
oNo human agency is assumed
oCulture, norms, regulations affect technology
3. Social construction of technologies
“What people do with technologies”
Media technologies are embedded in ongoing social processes that affect their evolution
Human agency takes the center stage
The case of radio
oUse of radio shaped by different social forces
Government, corporate interests, amateur operations
oDeveloped differently in other countries
The case of television
oAdapted to the consumer market
The case of the Internet
oResult of complex social processes
Government funding
oWeb 2.0
Emphasis on interactivity and sharing
Had existed since the Internet’s inception, but was put to uses after
marketing success
oThe 1% rule
Participation inequality
For every person who create content, there are 99 who do not
90-9-1 rule: 90% lurkers, 9% occasional contribution, 1% heavy
contribution
4. How media technology matters
Medium theory
McLuhan’s message
o“The medium is the message”
Format, not content, matters
oTechnologically deterministic
Media’s impact on time and space
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Croteau&Hoynes: Media/Society, 5th Edition Instructor Resource
oChanging sense of community
oNetwork society
Internet as the technological basis of the new organizational form
Interaction between technology and human agency
The rise of television images
oPseudo-events and hyperreality
oTV as the serious cause for the decline of public life
New media and the culture of distraction
oBroke physical and social connections
oA new set of skills is valued
Referencing and retrieving rather than understanding
5. New media technologies and social forces
User habits and commercial interests
oUsers’ media habits are difficult to break
oTraditional major corporations are strong again in cyberspace
oCommercialization of portals
The business models of new media companies
oManaging access through portals and search engines
oPortal strategies
6. The threat to privacy
Behavioral targeting
oCookies and trackers
oTarget advertising
Reach audiences already predisposed to respond to their messages
oScraping
Copying online conversations and personal information from social
networking sites
oGovernment surveillance
Collecting data on national security concerns
7. Media fragmentation
Long tail business model
oHuge and diverse products
oA large number of items selling in small quantities
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Croteau&Hoynes: Media/Society, 5th Edition Instructor Resource
Internet fragmentation
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