Project 2: Institutions Analysis

Giannella Nazarian
Professor Alvarado
Sociology 001
Discuss the history of your institution. How did it emerge?
How did it come into existence?
It was around the 20th century when the evolution of the mass media began.

There are 8 types of media that have been split into specific categories:

-Newspaper -Recordings

-Books -Movies

-Magazines -Internet

-Television

-Radios
How do members of society perceive your institution?

Many view the media as a heavy

influence and impact on individuals and
society.

The media is very manipulative and can

change the perspectives and beliefs of
individuals.
How do members of the institution perceive itself (its own
institution)?
Most people view mass media as damaging perspectives.

Visual platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat deliver the tools that
allow teens to earn approval for their appearance and compare themselves to
others. The most vulnerable users, researchers say, are the ones who spend most
of their time posting, commenting on and comparing themselves to photos. One
study found that female college students who did this on Facebook were more
likely to link their self-worth to their looks. Interestingly, while girls report more
body image disturbance and disordered eating than boysstudies have shown
both can be equally damaged by social media. -Rachel Simmons
How has the institution changed over time?

The Mass Media began its peak during the late 80s and 90s.

The evolution of media was due to its exposure all over the
world and management of large corporations.

New inventions and money.

The radio and television were the two main things that evolved
much quicker than any of the other categories.
What has caused various institutions to change?
As time went on in history, all different types of communication was
created.

Many grew old of sending out handwritten letters and eventually

evolved to the invention of the telegraph.

The radio and television were invented to proclaim news all over the
world.

Ultimately, it seem that people just grew lazy and came up with new
ways to communicate and send/receive news.
Discuss any stable features of the institution, that is, features
that have not changed.
A consistent factor about the mass media is that even though some of these forms
of media were created many years ago, they are still being used today.

-Some examples of this would be:

The television, radio - used to inform people of what is going on around the
world.

The telephone - a faster and more efficient way used to communicate with others.
As a way to better accommodate members of society, how
would you improve your institution?
The mass media is forever evolving. It has changed in new ways,
making it hard to say that there will be improvements. Sometimes, the
media can be corruptive and cause individuals to think that they must
act a certain way and believe certain things in order to fit into society.
Overall, I believe that the media will continue to influence the lives of
people every day, but could be improved by adding filters and
restrictions to certain things being put out into the media.
Who are the major participants in the institution? What are
their roles and statuses?
-The media is made up of fame and fortune. Within society, classes are built up due to
statuses and wealth.

The major participants in this institution are young adolescents and the upper-class.

Young adolescents take part with the media in many ways. It heavily influences
their lives by causing them to think they must be and act a certain way to fit in
society.

The upper-class has the power of wealth which heavily influences their status within
society. They are who everyone mainly looks up to as a sort of role model.
Does your institution work better for some members of society
(as opposed to others)?
The media is said to be more beneficial to the upper-class.

Most of the upper-class consists of wealthy athletes, actors, singers,

etc.

It is said to provide them with information of what is going on in the

world consistently.

As for the lower-class, it is said to not be as beneficial because it just

lowers the self esteem of those wantings things that they know they
cannot have.
 Works Cited
jerrykroth. Propaganda and Manipulation: How Mass Media Engineers and Distorts
Our Perceptions. YouTube, YouTube, 20 Oct. 2013,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfo5gPG72KM.

Anthropology and Mass Media. Anthropology and Mass Media | Annual Review of
Anthropology,
www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.an.22.100193.001453?journalCode
=anthro.

How Social Media Is a Toxic Mirror. Time, Time, time.com/4459153/social-media-

body-image/.

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezp.pasadena.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid