Hardt analyzes the difference between communication and mass communication in great detail. According to Hardt, mass communication merely borrows from communication, but represents something of far greater depth and specificity. Mass communication refers to the transmitting of media to society as a whole to create the commonality of information. Hardt writes, "Mass communication is the originator of a public discourse that changed from social initiatives to institutional domination." Due to mass communication transmitted through the press, media, and news, members of society, in general, obtain common information.
With the emergence (and some would say dominance) of the Internet in present-day society, the Shannon and Weaver model becomes largely obsolete. Due to the capabilities and activities that the Internet allows people to engage in, communication today can no longer be seen as a letter being written, mailed, and received by the recipient. This can largely be attributed to the boom in social networking, social media, and types of communication such as texting. Thanks to the Internet, we are able to send and receive millions of pieces of information from millions of different sources. However, this also causes an information overload in the sense that people are being constantly bombarded with information from sources ranging from their computers to their smart phones to their TV. Furthermore, technology now allows us to possess a computer in the palm of our hands. Many people do not even turn on the TV or surf the web on their computers anymore because all of the same information and media is available on one, tiny device.
[1] Chandler, Daniel. "Transmission Model of Communication. 18 Sept. 1995. http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/trans.html 05 Jan. 2011. Internet
[2] Hardt, Hanno. Myths for the Masses: an Essay on Mass Communication. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2004. Internet.
[3] Fiske, John (1982): Introduction to Communication Studies. London: Routledge.
Nimit Patel
[3] Fiske, John (1982): Introduction to Communication Studies. London: Routledge.
Nimit Patel
I liked that you added the fact that our cell phones now do everything for us. It's weird to think about people in countries like China, where they don't have the same priviledges with technology. This idea relates to the the second blog that we had to do, with the degrees of access to communication in different parts of the world. So, here, in the United States, you could find out anything you ever wanted to know just by pulling out your cell phone while sitting on the couch watching tv. It amazes me to think that this isn't the case in other parts of the world.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny you mention that because I got an iPod Touch about a week ago. Ever since I got it, I have been on my laptop only 2 or 3 times, whereas I used to be on it a lot more.
ReplyDeleteThe reason is because I can do everything I need to do on the computer on my iPod Touch now. I mean everything.