Deviance 2.0: The Role of the Media – Study Notes

Big Picture: Media and Deviance

This chapter explores how media is not a neutral force but actively shapes our perceptions of normality and deviance, influences group boundaries, and determines which social issues are prioritized. It distinguishes between two main approaches to studying media—administrative and critical—and introduces the five-part media–deviance nexus.

4.1 Media: Definition and Forms

Definition of Media

• Media: Vehicles used to transmit information in acts of communication.

Forms of Media

• Historical forms: Telegraph (Morse code), letters, print newspapers and magazines, radio.

• Contemporary forms: Television, streaming services (e.g., Netflix), internet websites, smartphone apps, social networking services (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube), music streaming, movies, video games, podcasts.

Exam Tip: When asked what counts as media, include both traditional and digital forms to demonstrate breadth.

4.2 Why Sociologists Study Media

Core Reasons

• Pervasiveness: Media use is massive and integrated into all aspects of life, often becoming "invisible" due to its ubiquity.

• Impact: Media shapes beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors; defines group boundaries ("us" vs "them"); identifies social problems; and influences public debate and morality.

Key Point: Media does not merely report reality—it constructs it, influencing who is seen as guilty or innocent.

4.3 Patterns of Media Use and Its Effects

A) Patterns of Media Use

• Simulmedia: Using multiple media simultaneously (e.g., TV and internet), which stabilizes total media time but changes the mix.

• Trends (2001–2018): Internet use increased significantly; radio and magazines declined; TV remains dominant.

• Age Differences: Older adults (55+) watch more TV and use less internet; younger adults spend more time online and on streaming platforms.

• Social Media: Usage has increased across all age groups, with platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram being most popular in Canada.

• Digital Natives: Individuals born into a world where digital media is ubiquitous, making its use feel natural and automatic.

Exam Tip: Use the concept of "digital natives" to explain generational differences in media effects and debates about youth regulation.

B) Impact of Media on Individuals and Society

• Defining Boundaries: Media frames who is "us" and who is "them," often through portrayals (e.g., "good" vs "bad" mothers).

• Defining Social Problems: Media influences what issues are seen as important, who is at risk, who is to blame, and what solutions are reasonable (e.g., print media's effect on perceptions of intimate partner violence).

• Morality and Ethics: Media makes ongoing moral judgments about what is wrong, who is responsible, and what should be done.

Exam-Ready Sentence: Media is both pervasive and a powerful cultural institution that defines boundaries, identifies problems, and shapes debate, directly linking it to deviance and social control.

4.4 Administrative vs Critical Approaches to Media Studies

Administrative Research (Micro-Level)

• Focus: Effects of media messages on individuals.

• Goal: Identify cause-and-effect patterns to shape outcomes (e.g., selling products, reducing harm).

• Theory Style: Positivist, objective.

Examples:

• Advertising Effects: Exposure increases brand recognition, positive associations, and purchase intentions.

• Persuasion Research: Examines how source, message, and audience characteristics affect persuasion.

• Product Placement: Brands integrated into media content; virtual placement allows for regional or personalized targeting.

• Media Violence: Small but significant relationship with aggression; studied via correlational and experimental methods.

• Desensitization: Repeated exposure to violence dulls emotional and physiological responses.

Exam-Ready Contrast: Administrative research asks, "How do media messages change individuals?"

Critical Research (Macro-Level)

• Focus: Structures of power, social control, culture, and ideology.

• Goal: Reveal how media is embedded in power relations and reproduces or challenges inequality.

• Theory Style: Interpretive, critical.

Key Concepts:

• Symbolic Power: Media constructs reality through language and imagery.

• Framing: Selecting and highlighting aspects of reality to shape problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and treatment recommendations.

• Racialized Framing: Media often underrepresents or stereotypes minority groups, reinforcing social boundaries and inequalities.

• Hegemony: Media normalizes dominant ideologies, making them appear as common sense.

• Media Ownership:

  • Convergence: One company owns multiple media types.

  • Conglomeration: Companies merge into large multi-subsidiary entities.

  • Concentration: A few corporations control most media products.

• Concerns: Profit-driven decisions, conflicts of interest, limited diversity of ideas, and threats to democracy.

Exam-Ready Contrast: Critical research asks, "How does media shape culture and power?"

4.5 The Media–Deviance Nexus: Five Relationships

Memorize these five relationships and be able to provide examples for each.

#	Relationship	Explanation	Example
1	Media as a cause of deviance	Media messages may influence deviant behavior.	Media violence increasing aggression; online radicalization.
2	Media constructs deviance and normality	Media frames define what is considered deviant or normal.	Stigmatizing mental illness; shaping sexuality norms; moral panics.
3	Media as a tool to commit deviance	Media platforms are used to carry out deviant acts.	Cybercrime, phishing, deep fakes, livestreaming violence.
4	Media as the site of the deviance dance	Media is where conflict, debate, control, and resistance over deviance occur.	Comment sections, content moderation, law enforcement tracking, competing moral claims.
5	Media itself becomes deviantized	Media products are labeled deviant and subject to control.	Censorship, ratings, bans, parental restrictions, boycotts, historical examples (jazz, swing culture).

Memory Trick: Cause → Construct → Tool → Dance → Deviantized

Ultra-Useful Exam Answers Bank

• Why does media matter for deviance? Media is pervasive and powerful: it can influence individual behavior and also frames people and issues in ways that shape moral codes, public debates, and social control.

• Administrative vs Critical: Administrative research studies media effects on individuals (micro, cause-effect). Critical research studies media as part of power and culture (macro, framing, ideology, ownership).

• What is framing? Framing is how media selects and highlights parts of reality to shape how we define a problem, assign blame, judge morality, and imagine solutions.

• What are the five relationships in the media–deviance nexus? 1) Media causes deviance; 2) Media constructs deviance/normality; 3) Media is used to commit deviance; 4) Media is where the deviance dance plays out; 5) Media itself gets deviantized and controlled.