Critical Media Studies

 Understanding Key Terms 

Mass media refers to media technologies used to reach a large audience via mass communication. As all other things, mass media has undergone big changes over time. In light of the subject, POSTMODERNITY is a term used to refer to the contemporary historical moment, in this case for describing present day mass media in comparison with media used throughout the history. It is characterized by an economic shift from commodity-based manufacturing to information-based services. One of the major characteristics of contemporary mass media is its CONVERGENCE - accessibility to different media through one common platform. Another major characteristic of present day mass media is GLOBALIZATION - a worldwide accessibility from different nations. Though it has its good sides, such as bringing cultural products to distant markets, it has raised fears about cultural imperialism - the imposition of values of one dominant culture on others (for example Facebook, Instagram and Tinder - all of them are U.S. social media platforms which have spread over national and continentaion borders). And finally, we have SIMULATION - a false image of reality the mass media presents, which actually isn't realted to our real life (for example, Instagram is used to paint a picture of an ideal life or looks, creating a set of criteria that no one actually fits, but persuading us that we should strive to reach them).