Understanding Our Dependence on Media and Gratifications

The Internet as a form of media can be described in terms of the media dependency theory, as described by a number of researchers. This theory posits that “the more dependent an individual is on the media for having his or her needs fulfilled, the more important the media will be to that person” (Wikibooks). This is connected to Sunstein’s observation that the proliferation of media on the Internet allows individual users to choose and filter the news they read to a strong extent, filtering out information that does not meet their current views. Sunstein posits that the individual design of information access inhibits the use of the Internet as a public forum because it does not provide an opportunity for views to come into conflict. With a development of high Internet media dependency the reduction of public discourse could take place.

I believe that it is to some extent true that individual users can filter the information that they view on “their” internet. However, an individual with high media dependency will have links into a number of different viewpoints, due to the nature of the Web. Because individuals link things in such a way that it does not regard how others see the connections, it is likely that users will be exposed to different points of view regardless of their personal preferences. In effect, this is no different than choosing what newspaper to read depending on how much you like its views.

A media example of intersecting opinions that are not filtered on the Internet is Jon Stewart’s interview with Jim Kramer that occurred a few weeks ago. This video provided two different viewpoints of the financial crisis from individuals that represent starkly different points of view, and represents a dialectic discussion that led to formaiton of public attitudes across a range of public opinions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt-fb7IQ4Ko


Works Cited

Sunstein, Cass R. The Daily We: Is the Internet Really a Blessing for Democracy? 2001.
24 March 2009 http://www.bostonreview.net/BR26.3/sunstein.html.

The Daily Show. YouTube- Stewart and Cramer Face Off. 13 March 2009. 24 March
2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt-fb7IQ4Ko.

Wikibooks. Communication Theory: Uses and Gratifications. 28 January 2009. 24 March 2009
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Communication_Theory/Uses_and_Gratifications