2011) demonstrated that violent media content does have a desensitizing effect and is correlated with aggressive thoughts. Its foundations can be found in the earlier work of sociologists and anthropologists, with Émile Durkheim being a significant theorist in this regard. There is ongoing debate over the extent and impact of media socialization. Structural functionalism is a sociological approach that dominated in the middle part of the twentieth century, and is particularly associated with the work of Talcott Parsons. How many of your older relatives can recall watching the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger on television? How many of those reading this textbook followed the events of 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina on television or the Internet? Media also provide us with cultural touchstones during events of national significance. All forms of media teach us what is good and desirable, how we should speak, how we should behave, and how we should react to events. In this way, society is like an organism and each aspect of society. Structural functionalism is a framework that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. In fact, we are socialized and resocialized by media throughout our lives. Explain the social functions of the family through the perspective of structural functionalism. It’s worth noting, however, that this program’s implementation varied from state to state, and that in 2018 the USDA weakened enforcement of the act.Įven while the media is selling us goods and entertaining us, it also serves to socialize us, helping us pass along norms, values, and beliefs to the next generation. In fact, as part of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act (2010) and Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Initiative, a ban on junk food in schools began in July 2014. With rising concerns about childhood obesity and attendant diseases, the era of soda machines in schools may be numbered. structural functionalism: A sociological approach that looks at society through a macro-level orientation, which is a broad focus on the social structures that shape society as a whole. Major corporations such as Coca-Cola bring their advertising into public schools by sponsoring sports fields or tournaments, as well as by filling the halls and cafeterias of those schools with vending machines hawking their goods. Commercial advertising precedes movies in theaters and shows up on and inside public transportation, as well as on the sides of building and alongside roadways. or a cooking show on Telemundo, chances are advertisers have a plan to reach you.Īnd it certainly doesn’t stop with television. Whether you are watching cartoons on Nick Jr. Sponsors can use the sophisticated data gathered by network and cable television companies regarding their viewers and target their advertising accordingly.
Television advertising is a highly functional way to meet a market demographic where it lives. household possessing a television, and the 250 billion hours of television watched annually by people in the United States, companies that wish to connect with consumers find television an irresistible platform to promote their goods and services (Nielsen 2012). (Photo courtesy of Dennis Yang/flickr)Īs you might guess, with nearly every U.S. For some, the ads during the Super Bowl are more water cooler-worthy than the game itself. TV commercials can carry significant cultural currency.