Mass Media and Society Chapter 11: Internet and Social Media
1. Mass Media and Society
Chapter 11: The Internet
and Social Media
Feb. 26, 2014
2. The Internet
and Social Media
• The Internet’s evolution
• Social media and Web 2.0
• Effects on popular culture,
interpersonal
communication
• Issues and trends
3. Evolution of the
Internet
• Began as a military-only
network
• Decentralized: information
transferred via protocols
that let any computer
communicate with another
• Distributed network (web)
4. Browser history
• AOL: proprietary service;
incorporated chat rooms,
instant messaging
• Early browsers: Mosaic,
Netscape Navigator
• Internet Explorer, preloaded with Windows,
grew dominant
5. Browsers today
• Chrome (Google): 34%
• Internet Explorer
(Microsoft): 20%
• Firefox (Mozilla): 18%
• Safari (Apple): 18%
• Percentages vary by
source
6. Social media
• Social networking
services provide limited,
public platform for “profile”
• Provide ways for people
to connect with each other
• Social media: blanket
term for person-to-person
connections on the
Internet
8. Going viral
• Rapid sharing of content
• Viral marketing: Attempt
to produce content that
“goes viral” to build hype
for a product
• “You Are What You
Tweet”: sharing tied to
virtual identity
9. Use of social media
• Sharing, crowdsourcing of
news and information
• Communication,
conversation, social change
• Multitasking
• “Free” marketing
• Commerce
• Privacy
10. Effects on culture,
communication
• Internet drives
globalization
• Lowers economic, cultural
barriers to communication
• Contributes to export and
import of popular culture
11. New media
• Traditional media outlets
use Twitter as aggregator
for viewers/consumers
• New media spring from
traditional (Politico)
• Vice Magazine as media
model: Corporate partners
• Traditional media use new
media (“SNL”)
12. Social alienation
• “Internet Paradox”:
Supposed social service
of the Internet is actually
making children antisocial
• Counterpoint: College-age
Facebook users
connected with “real”
friends twice as often
13. Digital divide
• Academic benefits of digital
media may exclude lowperforming children in lowincome homes
• About 70% of people with
annual income below
$20,000 use the Internet
regularly (upper-income
population Internet use is
96%-plus)
14. Digital divide
• Reasons people don’t use
the Internet:
• Not interested: 21%
• Don’t have computer: 13%
• Too difficult/frustrating: 10%
• Don’t know how/lack skills:
8%
• Lack access: 7%
• Too expensive: 6%
• Physically unable: 4%
