Mass Media & Social Media — Chapter 7 (Vocabulary Flashcards)

Key vocabulary terms from the lecture notes covering types of media, ownership consolidation, theories, media literacy, social media phenomena, and internet freedom.

Mass media

All print, digital, and electronic means of communication used to reach a wide audience.

New media

Internet-based and social media platforms that enable user-generated content and online interaction.

Print newspaper

A traditional printed source of news and information.

Radio

An audio broadcasting medium for news, music, and talk shows.

Film

Motion pictures; a mass medium for entertainment and information.

Television

A broadcast medium for news and entertainment, including 24-hour cable news.

24-hour cable news

Continuous news programming available on cable networks around the clock.

Media consolidation

The concentration of ownership of media outlets in a smaller number of companies.

Oligopoly

A market structure dominated by a few large firms.

Illusion of choice

The perception of many options while actual ownership shares limit diversity of content.

Six media giants control 90% of media

A small number of large corporations dominate most U.S. media content.

Gatekeeping

The process of selecting which news and information are released to the public.

Freedom of the press

The right of journalists and publishers to report news freely with limited censorship.

Meta

The technology company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Tech giants

Large technology companies with substantial platform power and data control (examples: Meta, Apple, Amazon, Google, TikTok).

Media literacy

The ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media messages.

Structural-functional perspective

A macro-level theory viewing society as a system whose parts work together to maintain stability.

Socialization

The process by which individuals learn the norms, values, and behaviors of a society.

Social norms

Shared expectations about how people should behave in a group or society.

Conflict theory

A perspective focusing on power, inequality, and competition, including control of media and technology.

Feminist theory

A perspective examining gender inequality and the social construction of gender roles.

Symbolic interactionism

A theory focusing on how people create meaning through social interaction and the social construction of reality.

Luddites

People who resist or fear new technology.

Technophiles

People who embrace and enthusiastically adopt new technologies.

Social construction of reality

The idea that our perceptions of reality are shaped through social processes and interactions.

Panoptic surveillance

A model of pervasive surveillance in which individuals feel they may be watched at any time.

Presentation of self (on social media)

How people construct and display their online identity through profiles, posts, and interactions.

Feedback and self-esteem

Positive feedback can boost self-esteem; negative feedback can lower it.

Social media and mental health

Research shows links between social media use and anxiety/depression, dopamine-driven reinforcement, reduced in-person interaction, and lower empathy.

Social media and culture

Social media affects socialization, awareness, risk-taking, and the depth of culture—sometimes increasing numbness or superficiality.

Internet access / penetration

The percentage of a population that uses or has access to the Internet.

Freedom on the Net

An annual assessment by Freedom House rating countries as Free, Partly Free, or Not Free regarding Internet freedom.

Digital divide

The gap between those with and without access to the Internet, often along geographic, economic, or social lines.