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<\/a>Media criticism proceeds as if we already have (or will soon find) proof of damaging media influences. Many critics make sweeping but unsubstantiated claims about what must be happening to this generation, thanks to the latest media form. The Internet is our most recent source of worry. But we should not forget that critics once bemoaned the irreversible damage allegedly being wrought by predecessors like the radio, comic books, and the Sony Walkman.<\/p>\n
With the arrival of each new media technology, commentators replay surprisingly similar themes of hope and dread. People hope that the new form will offer a more democratized access to knowledge, education, and uplift. But then critics are dismayed to discover that, instead, the new technology is often deployed for entertainment, escape and pleasure. This recurrence of themes and arguments is telling. Just like the Internet, earlier new forms of mass communication \u2013 like magazines, radio, films, and television \u2013 were first hailed as having unprecedented potential to
\neducate the masses by spreading enlightenment and higher forms of culture \u2013 only to soon be decried as entertaining diversions spreading trash instead of art, classics, or other forms of alleged cultural uplift.<\/p>\n
Media criticism tells us a lot about our recurrent hopes and fears for modern life \u2013 that is, new media technologies provide a mirror for social anxieties. My review of previous generations of media prognostications and commentary reveals several recurring claims:<\/p>\n
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- \u00a0 When a new communications technology makes its debut, we worry most about children, seeing them as particularly vulnerable and in need of protection. Don\u2019t let them watch too much television or play too many videogames.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- \u00a0Better education is supposed to set up a protective shield for children and other vulnerable groups like the less educated or immigrants, preventing bad effects from exposure to the new media.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- \u00a0Each new communications modality brings another round of agonizing about \u201cpopular taste,\u201d with social critics baffled and dismayed by the choices of their fellow citizens. How could they like that junk? The specter of an imaginary \u201clowest common denominator\u201d makes its appearance, as we blame the media for dumbing everyone down.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- \u00a0Prior golden days are invoked \u2013 such as an imagined pre-media world of logical arguments and children playing for hours out of doors. If only the latest media breakthrough were not polluting society we\u2019d still be \u201cback then\u201d leading more wholesome and meaningful lives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
A Fresh Perspective on Media in Our Lives<\/h3>\n
- \u00a0Prior golden days are invoked \u2013 such as an imagined pre-media world of logical arguments and children playing for hours out of doors. If only the latest media breakthrough were not polluting society we\u2019d still be \u201cback then\u201d leading more wholesome and meaningful lives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- \u00a0Each new communications modality brings another round of agonizing about \u201cpopular taste,\u201d with social critics baffled and dismayed by the choices of their fellow citizens. How could they like that junk? The specter of an imaginary \u201clowest common denominator\u201d makes its appearance, as we blame the media for dumbing everyone down.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- \u00a0Better education is supposed to set up a protective shield for children and other vulnerable groups like the less educated or immigrants, preventing bad effects from exposure to the new media.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n