The Effects of Media, Technology, and the Internet

Media
Social Effects
1. During the
late 20th century
,
print
and
electronic
media
had a significant effect on society. This was
mainly through its forms of
mass communication.
It
provided people with
information about different
social and cultural systems
as well as provided
entertainment. O
n
October 7, 1996,
one of what would
become the
biggest news channel
was founded. It was
named
Fox News,
and continues to have a profound
effect on society in the form of communication.
2.
The increase in popularity of television, another form
of media, indirectly created
damage to the peaceful
lives of many people.
Many movie channels included
extreme glamour or unpleasant scenes
that
produced negative effects on specifically the
younger
generations
by indirectly targeting their v
iew of life
and moral values.
A popular movie channel of the early
1990s is
Encore.
Political Effects
1. Social media made a huge impact on the
political reach
of candidates
in the late 19th century and early 21th
century. It allowed candidates to
speak with voters
directly with no charge.
Presidents such as
Bill Clinton
and
George W. Bush
were just two of the many
presidents who would utilize social media to speak to
potential supporters. On F
ebruary 4, 2004,
Facebook,
a common form of social media, was founded. On

February 14, 2005,

Youtube

was founded. Both of

these forms of media would be influential in the political
and social reach of information and credibility.
2. When running for office, many political candidates
took advantage of the rising popularity of social media
and the internet. Social media such as f
acebook
and
twitter
allowed candidates to
indirectly weigh the
public opinion
of their policy statements or opinions on
controversy. In addition, it allowed them t
o target
specific audiences and ask for feedback.
Lastly, media
activity in general was often a factor that many
potential voters kept track of that could possibly land
a candidate in
difficult controversies.
Economic Effects
1. The introduction of social media into specifically the
young teen and young adult segments of population
in the early 2000s was a tremendous benefit to the
economy.
The huge amount of advertisements p
laced
on these forms of social media led to
more people the
specific products or services promoted.
This
contributed to
consumer spending
and allowed
businesses to use these forms of communication in
order to
raise awareness of their products to a wider
audience.
2.
Many forms of media together created the idea of
mass communication. T
he effect of media on the
economy was mainly through the
acceleration of
trends.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, there was
a
recession
taking place in many parts of the world.

Because of this spread of knowledge regarding the

recession through media, more people began to shop
at discount stores as it was portrayed as a more
beneficial option at the time.
Eventually, this caused
the rise of many of the w
orlds top retailers
to take
control of a large part of the retail industry. Two
stores that were affected include K
mart and Walmart.
Technology
Social Effects
3. Technology allowed a reduction in time and space. It
connected people throughout different timezones
and different locations. The growth in technology
allowed for more people to access the growing
development of the internet as well. It raised the
awareness of cultures and communication through
cell phones and computers.
4. Technology helped to maintain and strengthen family
relationships as it increased the ability to
communicate. Adversely, it created issues for families
and friends. The email platform Hotmail was founded in
1996, which allowed for more communication through
technology.
Political Effects
3. While trying to have a successful political campaign,
raising revenue was an obstacle. The introduction of
technology relieved and made smaller if not eliminated
this obstacle. Someone who benefited greatly from
this development is Howard Dean, the former

Governor of Vermont. Donations towards his

campaign skyrocketed during the 1990s and fueled
the candidates influence on the people politically.
4. Without technology, political candidates would not
have the
platform through which media could spread
their opinions.
Technology has allowed political
candidates to deter voters from opposition and
spread their own views on current issues to the
general public
.
Economic Effects
3. Technology has also provided a platform for the
online
shopping industry.
One of the first online shopping
platforms was Amazon in 1994. Technology increased
accessibility for consumers who may not have the
ability to physically go to particular stores. Online
shopping increased consumer spending, and quickly
became a popular shopping platform.
4.
The growth of technology
decreased the need for
entrepreneurs to obtain physical stores t
o sell and
promote products and services. Instead, technology
became popular enough to
replace this need
. Because
of this, the job opportunities for many people declined
in numbers. As stores reverted to online platforms for
selling, which were more accessible, the need for l
arge
amounts of employees decreased
, which had an
adverse effect on the
job market in the economy.
Internet
Social Effects

5. The introduction of the Internet led to the growth of

individual expression.
The Internet provided a platform
for many to become well-known and to
express their
creativity and ideas to a wide audience.
It also
promoted a foundation for d
eindividuation
which
allowed people to share their opinion behind a
computer screen rather than in person.
6. The growth in popularity of the use of the Internet
may have had a
positive impact
on the
transportation
methods of communication and information.
However,
the Internet also had
negative effects
on society.
Many students spent a
large amount of time browsing
websites without restrictions. S
ince the Internet had
just recently gained popularity, there were
very few to
none restrictions
on websites and because of this, with
access to the Internet, a
nything could be searched.
This had an adverse indirect effect on the capabilities
of students as they were more p
rone to addiction
as
well.
Political Effects
5. In the 1990s, the Internet not only was a platform for
elected officials or potential candidates to
communicate through media to supporters or
non-supports, but the Internet provided a
form of
communications from the citizens point of view as well.
Communications from citizens to elected officials
allowed for the
value of the masses of voices
to
increase as communications would include
suggestions about new legislation and current issues.

6. Politically, the Internet led to

increased political
polarization.
This meant that the Internet basically
made it easier for
like-minded individuals to join others
and center them around similar viewpoints and
opinions.
This influenced political campaigns and
discussions online greatly as it
strengthened political
opinions
towards current issues and activism making
the
voice of the people towards government more
important in the election process.
Economic Effects
5. The Internet increases the size of the advertising
industry almost immediately after its introduction.
Jobs in this industry skyrocketed very quickly.
The
first Mosaic browser was introduced in the early
1990s and facilitated the growth of the influence that
advertising online
would have on
consumers and
specifically the reputation of producers and firms.
6.
The growth of the Internet specifically helped the
growth of upstart entrepreneurs. S
mall businesses of
goods and services were able to use this new platform
to target a
bigger and more particular audience,
increasing their chances of success in the
large
economic market
of the United States. Specifically, the
company
Amazon.com i
nitially sold solely books online.
However, the growth in the popularity of the internet
allowed this small company to
grow exponentially,
widening the range of their products eventually as
well.