media and society

Advertising One-way persuasive communication using mass media to create awareness and associate products with desirable meanings

Advertising

One-way persuasive communication using mass media to create awareness and associate products with desirable meanings

Marketing

Relationship-based, often two-way communication focused on long-term customer interaction

Advertising vs. Marketing

Advertising relies on mass media and awareness; marketing relies on data, personalization, and relationships

Brand advertising

Non-personalized advertising focused on brand identity rather than direct sales

Direct marketing

Personalized, one-to-one communication aimed at immediate response (email, coupons, mail)

Segmentation

Dividing audiences into groups based on shared characteristics

Geographic segmentation

Grouping audiences by location

Demographic segmentation

Grouping audiences by age, gender, income, education

Psychographic segmentation

Grouping audiences by values, lifestyle, attitudes

Behavioral segmentation

Grouping audiences by actions, usage, or consumption patterns

Personalization

Media content tailored to individuals using personal data

Personalization vs. surveillance

Personalization targets individuals; surveillance sorts populations by risk and worth

Surveillance

Systematic collection and analysis of personal data to manage populations

Social sorting

Categorizing people through surveillance systems in ways that affect life chances

Algorithmic subjectivity

Seeing oneself through data-based institutional categories

Organizational identity

How institutions define individuals (consumer, student, patient)

Self-identity

How individuals understand themselves

Data double

A digital profile created from collected personal data

Ratings

Measurements of audience size used to sell advertising

Audience fragmentation

Splintering of audiences across many platforms and channels

Consolidation of media ownership

Concentration of media companies into fewer corporate owners

Abuse of market power

When dominant companies harm competitors or users

Anti-trust law

Laws designed to prevent monopolies and promote competition

Market failure

When profit-driven markets fail to provide socially valuable content

Real-time advertising exchanges

Automated auctions that sell ads based on user data in real time

Automatic ad buying

Computerized systems that place ads instantly using data profiles

Digital communication

Communication based on digitized data

Digital sampling rate

The frequency at which analog signals are converted into digital data

Interactivity

The ability for users to respond to or influence media content

User-to-user interaction

Communication between people via technology (social media, texting)

User-to-system interaction

Interaction between users and machines (gaming, streaming)

Hybrid interactivity

Combination of user-to-user and user-to-system interaction

Emphatic media

Media using AI to simulate emotion and care

Parasocial interaction

One-sided emotional relationships with media figures or characters

The definition of media

Institutionally based and technologically supported systems organizing culture and information

Media convergence

The merging of media industries, platforms, and technologies

The Internet as a modified print medium

Early internet resembled print: text-based, decentralized, user-controlled

Web 1.0

Static websites with passive users and limited interactivity

Web 2.0

Interactive web enabling social media and user-generated content

Web 3.0

Speculative stage involving AI, automation, and deeper personalization

User-generated content

Content created by users rather than institutions

Engagement

Long-term interaction and relationship with a platform

Facebook engagement

Facebook’s ability to keep users interacting over time

Facebook’s four selling points

Reach, relevance, engagement, and social context

Social media entertainment

Integration of social media platforms with entertainment industries

Social Media Entertainment 1.0

Competition between social media and legacy media for ad revenue

Social Media Entertainment 2.0

Coordination and consolidation of social and legacy media

Reality shows in social media

Pathway from online fame to traditional entertainment

Filter bubble

Algorithmic isolation from diverse viewpoints

Statistically-significant correlation

A relationship unlikely due to chance but not proof of causation

Problematic TikTok use

Obsessive use marked by escapism and lack of control

TikTok mental health findings

Positive correlations with anxiety, depression, and stress

Mass society

A society with weakened traditional social ties and centralized institutions

Surveillance society

A society organized around data collection and monitoring

Privacy vs. social sorting

Privacy concerns personal control; social sorting concerns inequality

Algorithmic bias

Bias introduced when algorithms reflect existing social inequalities

Predictive policing

Use of data to predict crime risk

Public media

Media funded to serve public interest rather than profit

Public vs. commercial media

Public media emphasize education; commercial media emphasize popularity

Funding public media

License fees, taxes, limited advertising

Corporation for Public Broadcasting

U.S. organization that funds public broadcasting

Market failure and public media

Public media exist because commercial markets neglect some audiences

The Turing Test

A test of whether machines can convincingly appear human

Emotional Turing Test

Whether machines can convince users they care

Therapy bots

AI designed to provide mental health support

Best friend bots

AI companions simulating friendship

Intimate partner bots

AI designed to simulate romantic relationships

Eldercare robots

AI used to assist aging populations