Sociology of Mass Communication - Assignment Example

R.Preeti 30/3/2008 MASS COMMUNICATION Communication is the only mode of interaction that can help one human express hisfeelings, emotions, w ants and needs clearly to another. Communication could be in the form of verbal and non-verbal communication. If not for communication, most of our desires and thoughts would go unnoticed and unexpressed. One of the most advantageous aspects of communication, apart from facilitating expression of ideas and in implementing them, is that of unifying the masses.

In other words, communication helps bind people together and in spreading unity in diversity. One of the biggest manifestations of communications, today, is Mass Communication or the Media. In today's fast paced modern world, the media has gained immense importance and has developed by leaps and bounds. This, has, in turn brought about far reaching effects on the society and the structure of communication in general. For instance, the media has played vital roles in catering to the information needs of society, and in turn has helped motivate public opinions, raise a unified voice against atrocities of the government, or other social causes.

Denis McQuail says, "An aggregate of individuals united by a common focus of interest, engaging in identical form of behaviour and open to activation towards common ends; yet the individuals involved are unknown to each other, noly have a restricted amount of interaction, do not orient their actions to each other and are only loosely organised or lacking in organisation. The composition of the audience is continually shifting; it has no leadership or feelings.

" Here, he hints at the larger perspective of a society, as an audience or a group of people, who can be motivated by the forces of mass communication. Denis McQuail propounded the Uses and Gratification Theory, wherein he spoke about the uses of the mass communication and he laid stress on the manner in which the audience or the people used the media to attain gratification and to cater to their needs to derive satisfaction.

Thus, it is evident that apart from catering to individual needs, mass communication has helped reach to the masses and has unified them under a common term, 'audience'. It ahs helped people project opinions, gather support and ahs also benefitted the society by gratifying them. REFERENCES Denis McQuail: Towards a Sociology of Mass Communciation, 1969, p.22 Keval. J.Kumar; Mass Communciation, 2006.