Media Corporations and Cultural Environment Quiz

Media Influence on Society and Conformity

• American children witness 200,000 acts of violence, including 16,000 murders, before turning 18
• Average TV programs show 812 acts of violence per hour, while children's programming displays 20 acts of violence per hour
• Increased exposure to violence desensitizes individuals and normalizes violent behavior
• Media portrayal of violence impacts viewers' personalities and self-perception
• The demand for realism in media content drives the evolution of media to meet these demands
• Society's acceptance of violent acts is influenced by viewing violence in the media
• The media has transitioned from depicting ideal home life to focusing on graphic descriptions of today's household problems
• Video games now show graphic representations of violence, with players being rewarded for committing violent acts
• Viewing violence can lead to modeling violent behavior
• Solomon Asch's conformity experiment in the 1950s demonstrated the strong influence of group norms on individuals
• The experiment showed that individuals conformed to group opinion, even when they knew it was incorrect, due to normative and informational conformity
• Unwritten rules and norms exert a powerful influence across cultures and social groups, making change difficult if not socially accepted

Media Ownership and Influence on Culture

• In the United States, ownership of news sources has declined from about 50 companies in 1985 to less than 10 presently.
• Major players in US media include Vivendi, Bertelsmann, Disney, General Electric, and AOL Time Warner.
• Media can influence culture through language, values, habits, institutions, technology, and art/entertainment.
• Media institutions hold the power to sway public opinion and control the messages received by the public.
• The media promotes the commercialization and rapid changes in technology consumer culture, emphasizing the need for advanced tech.
• Six companies control 90% of US media, which can limit the diversity of perspectives and ideas presented.
• Cultural transmission and transculturation are facilitated by media, allowing the sharing and adoption of culture across borders.
• Media is now aligned along a party line, risking putting party and profit over country and health, which divides rather than unites.
• Fear and polarization drive viewership and profit for media organizations, leading to biased reporting and misinformation.
• Advertisers enable biased reporting, and there is a need for labeled unbiased news sources.
• Different methods of sharing good news through word of mouth and social media yield equal but different meaningful responses.
• Media's influence on culture is significant, shaping beliefs, values, and behaviors through its control over information dissemination.