Colin's Digital Research Blog

Link to Colin’s Final Prototype on Construct 3: https://www.construct.net/en/free-online-games/colin-hanrahans-final-42528/play  ______________________________________________________ Here is the link to my final Prototype in Construct 3. It was very informative and exciting to research Media Dependency Theory as a Framework to prove the thesis in how women above the age of 30 have increased mental stress when watching cable news due to its fear-inducing segments. 

 I found a study done in Beijing, China that could greatly support my research into Media Dependency. It surveyed over 200 college students and found a direct correlation between Covid-19 stress and an increase in social media addiction in individuals.  Below are excerpts I am especially interested in: "Due to policies to limit the spread of the virus, such as the “shelter-in-place” order (1), people, willing or not, are undergoing a transition from offline to online activities (2). In addition to remote work or remote learning, many people spent increased time on social media (SM), such as Facebook and Twitter, which could satisfy their need for disaster-related information, entertainment as well as interpersonal communication (3, 4)" "The present study examined the relationship between COVID-19 stress, active use, SM flow, and addictive SMU in a sample of Chinese college students. Consistent with Hypothesis 1a, COVID-19 related stress was associated with a greater tend...

I was researching past studies that supported my second bullet, in that social issues are the second benefactor in media dependency. This study by Matthew loveless found that an individual's media use is both heightened and follow the media closely in a time of political change. By surveying media use of  citizens from Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria; a media dependency can be seen by those seeking information on their transitioning into a democratic government. It shows that political change in these individuals' countries leads to a reliance on media for consolation.  Matthew Loveless. (2008, February). Media Dependency: Mass Media as Sources of Information in the Democratizing Countries of Central and Eastern Europe (No. 162–183). ResearchGate. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510340701770030

In my previous post, I found information into how Facebook was using Engagement Based-Ranking as a way to show individuals content that would cause an immediate reaction, even if it's toxic to the person's personality such as anorexia. The article stated that Facebook was protected by Section 230, which states that "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." In short, this means that social media platforms are immune to being sued for things that other people/businesses post onto it. What this legislation doesn't take into account however are algorithms, and Facebook is exploiting that loophole.  Perhaps this is one of the reasons why people are turning to social media for news and getting rid of newspapers, because Newspaper publishers are still held liable for the content it produces.  Pietsch, B., Asher Hamilton, I., & Canales, K. (...

I just remembered the recent Facebook Whistleblower who spoke to Congress under oath about Facebook's handling of its algorithm. There is plenty of material from this hearing that is relevant to my topic so below are three passages I will most likely fit into my analysis.       According to the Washington post: “engagement-based ranking,” a term that refers to the practice of social media platforms like Facebook using algorithms that prioritize content in users’ feeds that generate strong reactions, and more clicks, from users." "Haugen said engagement-based ranking is causing teens to be exposed to more anorexia content, fueling rifts within families and fueling ethnic violence in Ethiopia." "Eliminating engagement-based ranking would be difficult as it forms the bedrock of most social media platforms" Zakrzewski, C., Lima, C., Dwoskin, E., & Oremus, W. (2021, October 5). Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen tells lawmakers that meaningful reform is n...

According to Sprout Social, Brands and Media Platforms are doing all they can to have content creators that are highly liked by the public. The key reason is because an active audience is needed to keep users actively interested in wanting to return to the application, and the best way to keep an active audience is by incentivizing  users with money to create interesting content. This is where the term 'content creator' comes from, and they are crucial for opening the door to important discussions on social media. An example of this can viewed by Kerry Smith, a Content Strategist for Twitter's content creator network. She states that  "Creators are well positioned to lend a human voice, personality, perspective and expertise to a brand. They can facilitate conversations that otherwise would not have happened.” Kim, K. (2021, June 29). Social media is all-in on the content creator economy. What does that mean for brands? Sprout Social. Retrieved July 5, 2022, from http...

What I Found: Britannica Lists a summarized and easy to understand definition of how Media Dependency Works and how the spine of the framework functions. Its is basically a relationship in which the fulfillment of a party's needs is reliant on the resources that media provides. A sort of dependency relationship that an audience has with modes of media. Basic Definition: Media dependency theory , a systematic approach to the study of the effects of mass media on audiences and of the interactions between media, audiences, and social systems. It was introduced in outline by the American communications researchers Sandra Ball-Rokeach and Melvin DeFleur in 1976. "Two of the basic propositions put forward by Ball-Rokeach and DeFleur are: (1) the greater the number of social functions performed for an audience by a medium (e.g., informing the electorate, providing entertainment), the greater the audience’s dependency on that medium, and (2) the greater the instability of a society (e...

The Uses and gratification theory explains that people use media for various cognitive reasons and will continue until those needs are satisfied. The reasons for why someone may be absorbed into media depends on the person, but it could be due to acquiring intellectual knowledge, evoke emotions similar to a sad movie, or release self-esteem. In addition, there are more unhealthy reasons for why one would be strongly attracted to media; which is as a form of escapism from reality and stress or even as a way to feel like socializing with family and friends without actually interacting with them. The Uses and Gratification theory is more psychologically-oriented and doesn't take into account the power of media like the Media Dependency framework does.  Uses and Gratification Theory . (n.d.). Uses and gratification theory . Communication Theory. Retrieved July 1, 2022, from https://www.communicationtheory.org/uses-and-gratification-theory/

Excerpt: According to this theory, there is an internal link between media, audience and large social system. The audience learning from the real life is limited, so they can use media to get more information to fulfil their needs. An extensive use of media generates dependent relation in audience. Also Media can able to create dependence relationship with target audiences to achieve their goals by using its media power. The degree of dependence is directly proportional to : Individual : The media have ability to satisfy the audience needs. An individual will become more dependent on media, if the medium satisfy his/her needs. Otherwise the media dependence will become less Social Stability : The audience reconsider their beliefs, practice and behaviours when strong social change, conflicts, riot or election which will force to re-evaluate and make new decisions. During this period media dependency is dramatically increased, because there is a strong need for information, support and a...

 The 'Theory Of Media Dependency' seems to be very malleable in various situations of mass media. Matthew Loveless, who has a PhD in Political Science and is also a professor in the University of Bologna, states "The theory of media dependency states that for societies in states of crisis or instability, citizens are more reliant on mass media for information and as such are more susceptible to their effects."  It seems to me that he is inferring this Theory could be used as some sort of political tool. For example, Covid could be used as a global issue that scares/entices people into following specific stories more closely. Do you think Covid have been used by media outlets to gain more viewers? https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232826359_Media_Dependency_Mass_Media_as_Sources_of_Information_in_the_Democratizing_Countries_of_Central_and_Eastern_Europe

Expanding from my last post, Media Dependency Theory apparently derives from the 'Uses and Gratification Theory', which states " people use the media for their own need and get satisfied when their needs are fulfilled" which closely idols my previous excerpt. https://www.communicationtheory.org/uses-and-gratification-theory/

This will be the first of a few Theoretical Theories I will spam for today. I found 'Media Dependency Theory' as something both interesting and shocking. To generalize, it states that media is able to fulfil and satisfy an individual's needs, which in turn makes them more dependent. Media online is more immediate and vast to fill one's needs for learning, which could even become addicting. If the media fails to persuade an individual, however, then they could become even less dependent on it (which occurs less often than not).  https://www.communicationtheory.org/media-dependency-theory/