3rd RTF Blog Post: Technological Change in Radio

            Radio emerged very quickly in America during the 1920s because of technological change. This period in history is commonly known as the ‘Roaring Twenties’ because of the radical transformation caused by the many changes happening in technology with new advancements, discoveries, and inventions. The radio industry was experiencing an economic boom, as it became a product of the mass media.

Technological change is known as progression in a product: the creation of a technology, the process of improving that good (in which it becomes less expensive), and the diffusion of that product. In this case, the constant advances in radio stimulated social hype, raising profits for the industry. Having radio become almost a common necessity in an average American household also pushed inventors to add news, entertainment and more to the once very simple instrument.

By the late 1920s, about 60% of American homes owned at least one radio. Technological advances affected the evolution of radio keeping the consumers in constant crave for what was to come next. An example would be Apple’s iPod. Since the arrival of the 1^st generation iPods, society took a bit of an interest in this new innovative gadget. As apple continued to release newer models, the iPod became even more common and affordable. Today, the iPod is seen as a common necessity just like radios were in the early 20^th century. Technological changes have affected the way radio and other goods evolved through history.

2nd RTF Blog Post: Social Learning

Society has become accustomed to follow the ideas that the media sets through social learning. We feed off of what television, radio, and newspapers promote. For example, teen pregnancies have become more common ever since movies like Juno appeared in theaters.

Social learning is the idea that society follows trends that the media and peers set. People learn through observing others’ behavior, attitudes, and outcomes of those behaviors.  Learned behaviors are then perceived as the social norm. As a few start the trend, the rest begin to follow, mimicking the actions that are seen in media, society, etc.

The concept of getting pregnant while a girl is underage has always been frowned upon in the past. However, since the movie Juno came out in theaters, society has praised this movie for its comedic performances and has, somewhat, gotten over the fact that teen pregnancies are a big deal. Now more than ever, the number of underage girls getting pregnant has risen, which shows that society follows the “trend” that Juno and other pregnant teen shows through social learning.

1st RTF 305 Post: Hegemony in Media

Media has always had a key role in teaching people to do things that support the power of companies like Axe. Hegemony is used in their advertisements to make viewers (in this case, heterosexual men) believe that in order to be desirable and attractive, they must buy Axe’s product.

The concept of hegemony is basically a political, social, cultural, or economic influence by a higher group. Large corporations make consumers buy what they want, eat what they want, look how they want, and even act how they want without actually forcing them to do so. Basically, the men with the most wealth or strength are able to convince lower classes that their views are the correct ones, in this case through media.

For example, in the Axe Shower Gel ad, the product apparently makes women more attracted to men due to the scent. It is so strong that it permeates through the pipe that drains the shower, drawing women from every floor. All of their commercials boast that any unattractive and undesirable man can use their products to instantly become sexually appealing.

AXE Shower Gel