Audience Theory Task

Audience Theory

1)

 The hypodermic needle is a theory in which people believe that aspects of media is used to help generate emotions and influence behaviours to the consumer/viewer in a negative way (can lead to dangerous actions or activities).

One way in which that the article links with the hypodermic needle is because the psychological members of the study firmly believe that video games (part of the media) influences peoples/gamers (especially the youth) to become aggressive. This is apparent in the line, "In the same way, repeated exposure to violent video games may have a cumulative effect on aggression". This quote conveys the fact that Professor Bushman believes that exposure to excessive violent games will increase levels of aggression than compared to the level before interaction with violent games. The powerful word 'repeated' illustrates the consistency that playing violent video games will lead to negative influences on the players social life. As a result, the information and beliefs of the data collectors believe that the media controls ones mind and can lead to them becoming out of control which can result in negative events or actions upon other peoples lives.   

Secondly, the article link in with the hypodermic needle because the researchers believe that the media is controlling the person consuming it. In this context, they believe whoever play violent video games for long period of time (per week) are more likely to show signs of increase aggression. This is apparent in the line, "After playing a violent video game, we found that people expect others to behave aggressively". This quote reveals peoples end result to how the media effects us individuals and how we behave after consuming the media (in this case; video games). The use of a powerful word 'expect' suggests that the media that the individual consumes would also change their mind set into thinking differently. As a result, the article is an example of how people treat the media as an example of the hypodermic model. 

2)

The front page of the 'Daily Mail' links with the hypodermic model as it portrays the media to have a negative influence upon consumers and is seen to be ultimately the main blame for the incident taking place. One way in which the article links with the hypodermic needle is because it portrays the media to be the main cause of the incident. This is apparent in the line, "...is violent video game addict who rarely leaves his room". This quote (from the front page) clearly shows how the use of video games is the main cause of this incident from taking place. The reason why this article links with the hypodermic needle is because the writers of this article believe that the media has influenced this person into committing a dangerous attack on a phone company. The use of a powerful word 'addict' shows the amount of time someone spend consuming the media, the more likely they are to use that information in reality. As a result, the hypodermic model is expressed through-out the front page of this article as it shows how the media manipulated individuals into committing crimes and dangerous behaviour.

The Two-Step Flow Model

1) The 'Two Step Flow Model' suggested that the acts and behaviours of the audience were influenced more by 'opinion leaders' in the media, who mediate how the audience react to media texts. Overall, I think that the Two Step Flow Model is used quite a lot in today's society. This is because people follow popular peoples opinions and are most likely to change their opinions according to that opinion leader. People such as 'David Cameron' who talks about the government would most likely try to deliver information about his opinions on the government, and by him being an important figure in the debate, people who support him are more likely to listen or follow his thoughts which is an example of the Two Step Flow Model. 

2)

TotalBiscuit fits in with the Two-Step Flow Model because he reviews different types of games and gives his own opinions on them. He has 2 million subscribers which mean that there are 2 million people around the word who view his content and most likely to agree with his point/opinions. This makes TotalBiscuit an opinion leader as there are many people who follow hi thoughts and opinions throughout his channel. Moreover, there is a feature on YouTube where viewer can 'like' YouTubers content, and TotalBiscuit has thousands of like per video which indicate that there are a lot of his followers who agree on his thoughts and value them. 

3)

One reason why the the Telegraph article fits the Two-Step Flow Model is because it shows a range of different type of 'celebrities' or well-known people in society who are the most influential whether its on social media or on TV. The reason why its considered to link with the Two-Step Flow Chart is because these people have many fans who value their opinions and judgement. Many fans are likely to listen to the people they value most e.g celebrities. The post by the Telegraph shows statistics about Twitter. This is a social media which allows the public to actively be engaged in their role-models lives. People such as, Ed Sheeran who tweets stories about certain articles will have an effect on the followers. This is because social media such as, twitter is used/accessed by many people and people who follow celebrities (in this case) Ed Sheeran are more likely to read media text differently and not be manipulated by it like the hypodermic needle suggests. 

4)

One reason why Jamal Edwards fits in with the Two-Step Flow Model is because he is an inspiration to a wide audience. He produces a variety of clips and videos on YouTube to entertain an audience and he has a big influence upon them. Jamal is seen as an opinion leader as he wants his content to reveal stories and a meaning which can act like information being drawn into the consumers mind because they agree with what's been shared. Moreover, Jamal has come from  a tough background and had gone a long way into his career which acts as if he's a role model as people look up to him. His business (known as SBTV) produces music videos for all of the world to hear. Jamal considered his content to be knowledgeable and also something for the public to relate to. This can change people perception on media text however, in a good way. A s a result, Jamal shares knowledge and information with his audience and can influence his audience to react to media text, like the Two-Step Flow Model shows.