Cultivation Theory

There is a plethora of crime related movies, TV shows, video games, etc. Violent portrayals of crime are everywhere. As most Americans do not have any personal experience with the criminal justice system, public knowledge of how it operates comes mostly from the media. Dowler (2003) did a study on the relationship between consumption of such media and fear of being victimized by crime. He found that there is, in fact, a relationship and people who consume more of this media are more afraid of crime. “Regular viewers of crime shows are more likely to fear or worry about crime. Similarly, regular crime drama viewers are more likely to hold negative attitudes toward police effectiveness.” (Dowler,

Sociological ideas can be seen in multiple aspects in today’s society. In modern day TV shows and movies, societal norms and the ideas of traditional values are challenged, creating drama and action. Ideas such as societal norms, values, and cultural diversity are heavily implemented in media apps such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video, and YouTube, HBO, and even average television. One show in particular caught the eye of many people, because of its unique interaction between characters, and the constant breaking of universal morals.

Throughout the years, popular culture has grown into an intellectually battle. Steven Johnson affirms that “the popuIar media steadily, but almost imperceptibly”, made “our minds sharper”. Johnson can be looked as an ideal example of the good impact the media has on its people. He doesn’t judge the negative advertisement, the numerous crimes presented on a daily basis or the violent television dramas but he explains how these are just a shell, a mantle and underneath it reveals a machinery meant to challenge and develop people’s mind.

In conclusion, the show Modern Family reveals several of these social issues that can be looked at in a sociologist perspective, like stereotypes represented in the family ideology, gender roles contradicting societal norms through Mitchel and Cam’s relationship, the pressure society puts in order to be accepted, and the impact of technology in our society. There are many social forces in television shows that have the capacity to influences the norms of society. These social forces can be looked at through a sociological perspective, whether that is by examining one’s sociological imagination, relating individual problems to social issues or through gender roles and social class. Although sometimes media can have negative consequences, it

In Growing Up With Television: Cultivation Process, Morgan, Shanahan and Signorielli assert that “long-term exposure to television tends to cultivate the image of a relatively mean and dangerous world (Morgan et al., 2009).” Rooted in the amount of time spent consuming content, the mean world syndrome is central to Gerber’s Cultivation Theory, or Effect. The theory states that they are viewing habits range from light to medium to heavy. Although subjective, the amount of time spent consuming content is a key component of cultivation effect. Morgan et al., noted that “the relative difference in viewing levels are more important than the specific amount of viewing (Morgan et al, 2009).”

One might wonder why they behave towards certain people or situations the way they do, or desire certain items over others. The mass majority of society isn’t aware of how much the media plays a crucial role in these decisions. Sociologist uses the sociological imagination to explain some of these desires. The sociological imagination is a theory that explains the awareness of the relationships between an individual and the wider society, meaning how one situation is connected to history and the society where they live. This view helps sociologist to get a better vast view on society behaviors. Sociologist also uses other theories such as the functionalist, conflict, symbolic and feminist theory to explain how the media has shaped society thoughts and actions. These five theories interpret what they believe the media has done to society.

     But, for most part, author feel television is 'drug'; that is corrupting today's society. Many of us fail to recognize how it has caused the decline of family rituals, the avoidance of relationships and the destruction of the family. Our addiction to this daily habit cause us to escape the real world.

Cultivation theory is a method to study what viewers are seeing in television shows, and is based on their beliefs and attitudes. It focuses on patterns of images that have been exposed repeated and over a long period. In cultivation analysis, that determines concepts of social reality, there is the process know as mainstreaming. It is when television symbols monopolize and dominate other sources of information and ideas about the world, especially in a heavy television viewers (Baran, & Davis, 2012, p. 334). If the viewership of a television drama features doctors in a negatively way and start to relate towards their doctors this way in the real society then this research method fits perfectly.

Another way that young people may be influenced or educated about risk taking behaviours is through television programmes. Al-Sayed and Gunter (2012) found that television programmes over a 4 week period presented many opportunities for teenagers to learn lessons about sexual experiences through what is shown on television. Also, it has been found that male characters on television programmes are often proud of their sexual activity, with no conversation or regard for the risk of their behaviour or the consequences (Batchelor, Kitzinger and Burtney, 2004). This is important as Batchelor, Kitzinger and Burtney suggest that males are portrayed as more responsible for their sexual behaviour than women, who are not expected to be proud of their sexual behaviour. This may be influential at a time when young people are starting to become sexually active. It has been found that television is a key source for young people aged 14-18 to obtain their information about alcohol (Atkinson et al, 2011).

The author sheds light on the idea that younger generations are affected in a positive way when they watch reality T.V. While viewers are engaged watching a show, they learn to think critically and analyze environments and situations. Johnson discusses that in watching these shows, even reality TV for example, “kids are forced to think like grown-ups: analyzing complex social networks, managing resources, tracking subtle narrative intertwining’s, recognizing long-term patterns”(Johnson 294). I believe this could be a positive impact, but could also have some negative outcomes. Johnson believes that even bad T.V. is good T.V. because it teaches real world situations. This is where I believe the negative impact of the exposure of T.V. comes into play, because shows with high levels of violence could lead to the viewer reenacting the seen behavior; this goes for not only violence but other things as well. He also refers to a show that he considers nourishing; the finished series of 24, that “you have to pay attention, make inferences, track shifting social relationships” (Johnson 279). The benefit of these shows does not come from learning and following the characters’ actions; it comes from thinking and questioning situations. Studies done by Matthew Gentzkow, an assistant professor of economics at the university 's graduate school of business, and Jesse M. Shapiro conducted a study collecting data from cities where preschoolers were exposed to

Cultivation theory was created by George Gerbner, founder of the cultural environment movement and dean of communications at the University of Pennsylvania. Cultivation theory deals with the content of television and how it affects and shapes society for television viewers. The theory suggests that the violence embedded in television causes regular viewers to form exaggerated beliefs of society as a meaner and scary world. This is known as mean world syndrome. Although less than one percent of the population are victims of violent crimes in any one year period, heavy exposure to violent crimes through television can lead to the belief that no one can be trusted in what

Television is the new babysitter for children as young as a few months old. Being the powerful tool media is, and children being highly impressionable, it is in fact inevitable that they would learn / imitate behavior they see on screen. Thus it is very important to monitor what they watch. But the process never stops. Young adults, and then on to adults, everyone is watching television and learning social phenomena, figuring out what’s acceptable and not acceptable amongst the society they live in. It’s safe to say in Pakistan, there is a lot of foreign media influence, but the prevalence of TV serials is anything but scarce. In fact, watching TV is a primary source of entertainment for a large part of the population, and where there is heavy viewing; there are greater effects (Anderson et al. 1024-1033). The audience primarily consists of housewives, passing their time through the day watching these TV serials, and even young boys and girls. The question is that what are these serials portraying and how are they affecting their real life relationships? Are they being taught something that they shouldn’t be?

According to Klein, H. and Shiffman K. (2009), legislators and watchdog groups have been targeting the mass media for its negative depictions of violence, verbal and physical aggression, unrealistic stereotypes of different "types" of people, and too few images of certain groups. When the media disregards these certain groups that are not socially valued, it is referred to as symbolic annihilation by some writers. Groups that are valued are more often shown in the media and the audience learn about their portrayed characteristics and implied value while groups that are not valued in that same culture, the media typically leaves them out of the storyline and disenfranchise them by not showing them. This is an issue because it gives off the idea or implied message about what it means to be a member of a socially valued culture versus a member of a "out group". Cultivation theory states that people develop beliefs, attitudes, and expectations based on what they see on the media and ultimately use these expectations to make decisions in real-world settings and situations. Klein and Shiffman conducted research and focused on animated cartoons and their effect on children's earliest notions about social standards and expectations. Their results regarding gender, females were

Television has increasingly become the quintessential epicenter of communication, since its invention, in 1927. At any moment in time 2.5 billion people are viewing some form of television broadcast (Ballard). Modern society has introduced various categories of television. These variations range from educational to violent. This broad spectrum makes it hard to generalize the effects it has had on American youth; however, television seems to have increased moral and intellectual degradation. Through violent shows and monotonous news broadcasts, American youths have become desensitized to the poverties, and hardships of the world. This desensitization has had several, and moreover negative, moral impacts on the youths of America. Nevertheless,

Television occupies a central place within Indian social space. Whether it is discussion related to family gossip or serious political debates, television remains an inescapable source of information in gossips, in opinion