Media mania : why our fear of modern media is misplaced / Hugh Mackay.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mackay, Hugh, 1938-

Series:

New College lectures (Sydney, N.S.W.)

New College lectures.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mass media--Influence.

Mass media.

Mass media--Social aspects.

Physical Description:

85 pages ; 22 cm.

Place of Publication:

Sydney : UNSW Press, 2002.

Summary:

We often blame the ills of society on the mass media; violent television programs, shock news stories, and the insidious influence of advertising. But do the media really shape our beliefs and behaviour in the ways we imagine or fear? Can we blame them for any of the ills of modern society? In Media Mania, Hugh Mackay examines the influence of the media in our lives. He notes that many of the people who believe in the pervasive influence of the media also claim to be immune from that influence themselves, and he suggests that few of us are, in fact, 'victims' of media content. Starting with an examination of advertising, Hugh Mackay moves on to examine the evidence regarding the effects of violence in the media, and ends with a discussion of the impact the Internet might be having on our lives. His conclusions are fascinating and surprising; his main message is that the greatest media impact on our lives comes from the media themselves (rather than the programs they carry), and that we may have been worrying about the wrong things.

Contents:

1 The television bug 17

2 What kind of violence? 39

3 'I'll just check my email ... again' 59

Postscript: The 'Big Brother' phenomenon 79.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

0868407097

OCLC:

51168725