Communication for Social Change

• Communication for social change focuses on communication strategies.

Communication functions

• Communication serves informative, persuasive, formative, and entertainment functions.
• Informative functions concern sharing knowledge and facts
• Persuasive functions concern the ways to influence others’ behaviors.
• Formative functions concern education.
• Entertainment functions concern keeping people amused.

Communication Media

• Mass media aims to provide content to the population.
• Mass interpersonal media facilitates communication.

Origins of mass media

• Oral discourse transmitted myths and fables for centuries.
• These myths and fables affirmed societal values through generations.
• Oral communication and written transmission through manuscripts, symbols, or paintings were important in society.
• Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 15th century.
• Joseph Henry and Samuel Morse invented the telegraph in the 18th century.
• Guillermo Marconi invented radio in the 19th century.
• Heinrich Rudolf Hertz laid the groundwork for radio by discovering electromagnetic waves propagate at light speed.

Television facts

• The BBC made the first public broadcast in the United Kingdom in 1927.
• It used mechanical systems.
• Electronic transmissions began in France and the UK in 1937.

Communication in society

• Mass communications media has played an important role in human development and societies.
• Mass media shapes general opinions on knowledge and reality judgments.

Society in the process of change

• Communication plays an important role in social change.
• Social change is a participatory process allowing integration of social actors.
• Integration of social actors generates alliances and establishes networks.

Influence of Media on Society

• The influence of media expands across lifestyle, customs, and consumption.
• Media also influence behaviors, opinions, philosophies, economy, politics and fashion.
• Media also has an effect on trends, information, and stereotypes within society.