BY: HEIDI KOVALAND ELIZABETH NEILSON

Technology and Mass Communication Through The

Ages

How Do you See Technology and Mass Communication? 13 and Under

In discussing the relationship between advancing technology and mass communication, I thought it would be interesting to see how children see technology, mass communication, and their interrelation. I interviewed three children: ages 12, 10, and 6 years old. I asked each of them several questions; some questions were the same, and some I rephrased to make them more age-appropriate.

By: Heidi Koval

1st Interview

In this interview, the 12 year old was a boy named Oliver:

What is an example of messages that you have seen in TV shows or other means of mass media?Some of the messages I have seen in TV shows are that brothers and sisters should constantly fight and that teachers hate kids. In video games, there are messages that violence is fun and if you can out-fight your enemy, you will end up advancing past them.How many hours a day do you think you are using some type of mass media?One less hour than I am awake

By: Heidi Koval

1st Interview

What do you think people did to hear about current events 100 years ago?The only thing I can think of that they would have been able to do is read a newspaper or hear about current events from other people.Do you think this was an effective way to hear about news? Why or why not?No, I don't think this was a very

effective way to hear about news because it would have taken a long time for news to travel and if it was important, it might have been too late by the time the news reached people.

By: Heidi KovalPhoto By: Jennifer Ask

How do you think the advancement of technology has changed the way people keep up with current events?The internet has made it so that people can see the latest news anywhere and at anytime on their laptop or cell phone or TV.What technology do you think has made the biggest change in the ways that people use mass communication?I think the internet has made

the biggest change in how we use mass communication. Now there's no reason why we can't know what's going on within a minute of it happening.

By: Heidi Koval Photo By: Jennifer Ask

2nd Interview

The 10 year-old I interviewed is a girl named Evie.

What is an example of messages that you have seen in TV shows or other means of mass media?If you can't do something very good right away, you should keep on trying because you should always try to do your best.How many hours a day do you think you are using some type of mass media?About eight.

By: Heidi Koval

2nd Interview

What do you think people did to hear about current events 100 years ago?Read the newspaper or talked to each other.Do you think this was an effective way to hear about news? Why or why not?Yes, I think this was a good way to hear about news because people who saw things happen could tell other people about what they had seen.How do you think the advancement of technology has changed the way people keep up with current events?Radio, TV, cameras, and computers have changed the way we hear about and see news. Cameras take pictures that can show how things looked as they happened and computers help people know what the weather might be like which can save people's lives. A lot of people read about the news on the internet, too.What technology do you think has made the biggest change in the ways that people use mass communication?The internet.By: Heidi Koval

3rd Interview

The 6 year-old that I interviewed was a girl named Ava.

What do you think the most important invention has been in the last 100 years?Radio so people can know what's going on.How many hours a day do you think you are using some type of mass media?Five

By: Heidi Koval

3rd Interview

What do you think people did to hear about news 100 years ago?Well, there were no TV's, no video games, and I'm pretty sure there weren't yo-yos, but maybe newspapers. Or books, or letters.Do you think this was an effective way to hear about news? Why or why not?Yes, because that was the only way they had to hear about news.How do you think inventions in the last 100 years have changed the way we hear about news?We can watch the news on TV now.

By: Heidi Koval

Impacts of Technology and Mass Communication

Do you think there might be any reasons to be concerned about the impact of technology and the way it relates to mass communication?Oliver and Evie responded by saying that it was almost impossible right now to really be able to shut off all means of mass communication.Oliver said that the people who control the messages being sent through mass media have a lot of power over the way people think because they are choosing what information people know and what information people don't get to see.

By: Heidi Koval

Technology, Mass Communication and the Future

Do you think it is important to keep up with knowing how to use computers, making sure you're learning as much as you can as technology continues to change?"Unanimously, they responded that yes, it is important. Without knowing how to use technology, they all agreed, you would not be able to keep up with the world. It seems that children understand what an integral role technology plays in the way we

now interact with each other and in the way we keep current with what is going on around the world, and are also capable of seeing the potential hazards of the changing landscape of mass communication.

By: Heidi Koval Photo By: Jennifer Ask

How Do you See Technology and Mass Communication? 50 and older

For younger generations, it’s hard to imagine a world without technology. Television, radio, and the Internet are all taken for granted; yet, not too long ago, these communication technologies were nonexistent. Radio became prevalent in the early 1900s, television didn’t see popularity until the 1940s, and the Internet began to reach home computers in the 1990s. However, older generations still remember a world without television and Internet. Their unique perspectives on life before these technologies can help us better understand the effect that television and Internet have had on those who don’t take the Information Age for granted.

By: Elizabeth Neilson

1st Interview

The 55 year-old that I interviewed was a man named Roy.

EN: When did your family get their first television set?RP: We always had one.EN: How has television changed since you were younger?RP: Well, TV started as black-and-white with only four channels, then turned color. Then cable came in, then satellite… with four million channels, more choices… but it also went from free to a hundred dollars per month, and now there’s lots of garbage channels. TV is a hard thing… it has a lot of good stuff like sports and news… but most of it is just garbage.EN: So, I take it you don’t think television is any better now? When would you say it was the best?RP: It was at its best in the sixties. Less trash.By: Elizabeth

Neilson

1st Interview

EN: What was the main source of news when you were younger?RP: Newspapers and TV.EN: Where do you get most of your news now?RP: The Internet. I can read other countries’ news and get more truth.EN: Since the Internet provides easy access to thousands of news sources all over the globe, do you take advantage of that by reading different online sources for different perspectives?RP: Well, all we used to have was the newspaper and the major news networks… after the Internet, it went global. And yes, I love the fact I can read papers from all over and get instant news from all sources, not just one view.EN: Speaking of the Internet—was it hard for you to learn how to use the computer?RP: Yes, it was very hard, since we never

had training in school… typing classes weren’t required when I was in high school either so I chicken-peck everything on the keyboard.

EN: How did you learn?RP: Trial and error on my own, and from

my daughter.By: Elizabeth Nelson Photo By: Jennifer Ask

1st Interview

EN: How has the Internet impacted your life?RP: It’s hampered [my generation] in the work force. We are expected to know how to run computers but were never given any training; we got passed over and fell through the cracks. I mean, I thought a mouse was a rodent and nothing but. I knew nothing about the machine. The first computer we bought was so my daughter could use it for schoolwork in middle school—that was the first one I ever worked with. EN: What do you use the Internet for?RP: Sports, news, talking to my daughter, WebMD, e-mail, and other general information.EN: Finally, how many hours a day do you think you are using some sort of mass media?RP: 2 to 3 if you don’t count the fact that the TV is on just for noise while I work. A lot of times I listen to the classic rock channel on Sirius. (Note: Roy works from home, assembling allen wrenches in his own shop.) If you count that, then about 7 to 8.

By: Elizabeth Neilson

2nd Interview

The second person that I interviewed was a 53 women named Vicki.

EN: When did your family get their first television set?VP: 1962. It was a Christmas present for all of us kids.EN: How has television changed since you were younger?VP: It went from nonexistent to only three channels, then to black and white, then color, and now we have hundreds of channels. From no variety to everything. I could have never imagined I’d have a big-screen TV with satellite reception. Also, it used to go off the air at midnight until six a.m.—now you can watch it all night long.

By: Elizabeth Neilson

2nd Interview

EN: Do you think television was better then or now? When would you say it was the best?VP: TV programs were better in the sixties because they weren’t so violent or sex-oriented. There were more family shows. They seemed to teach, not corrupt. But the one thing I like about today’s is they have a bigger variety of news programs and how-to programs. We also never had any shopping programs. I love the Jewelry Network and QVC.

EN: What was the main source of news when you were younger?VP: Newspapers, radio, and TV.EN: Where do you get most of your news now?VP: Local newspaper and TV. My husband uses the Internet for news a lot, and passes stories on to me.EN: Since the Internet provides easy access to thousands of news sources all over the globe, do you take advantage of that by reading different online sources for different perspectives?VP: Not really. Once in a great while. I really don’t have the time—I watch the news and rely on my husband and son-in-law to fill me in, since they’re usually very well-informed.

By: Elizabeth Neilson

2nd Interview

EN: Speaking of the Internet—was it hard for you to learn how to use the computer?VP: Absolutely, and I am still learning—I had no training at school or the workplace. I did take typing classes in high school, but that’s all.EN: How did you learn?VP: I’m learning bits and pieces from people at work, from my husband, and from my daughter.EN: How has the Internet impacted your life?VP: At work, everyone thinks I should know as much as the younger generation, but I don’t. I’m expected to maintain e-mail and use programs when I don’t even know how to turn the thing on. But it’s given me greater access to information of all kinds.EN: What do you use the Internet for?VP: Shopping, talking to my daughter, recipes, medical questions, news, finding garage sales, how-to projects, weather, mapping out trips, reserving motels, buying tickets.EN: And finally, how many hours a day do you think you are using some sort of mass media?VP: Three to four hours.

By: Elizabeth Neilson

3rd Interview

The final women that I interviewed was a woman age 89 named Florence.

EN: When did your family get their first television set?FP: Well, we started out with no TV, cars, phones, or anything on the farm but a radio. [Morrill] brought our first TV set home about a year after we were married, in the forties.EN: How has television changed since you were younger?FP: Back then we only had a couple channels. And there were more westerns than there are now.EN: Do you think television was better then or now? When would you say it was the best?FP: Back when we first got one! There were more westerns. Less of this stuff you see now with gangs and dead people and people stuck on islands and all that. I like the dance programs they have on today, though.

By: Elizabeth Neilson

3rd Interview

EN: Growing up, what was the primary source of news for you?FP: On the farm, we never bought a paper or anything at all. Our news was word of mouth from neighbor to neighbor. We wrote letters.

EN: Where do you get most of your news now?FP: From the Star Tribune and the (Monticello) Shopper, and I watch the news on Kare 11 every night.EN: Do you watch any world news? CNN or Fox News, for example?FP: No. I don’t like them. Most of their stories are a bunch of bull.EN: Have you ever used a computer?FP: No! I could never figure one out. I can barely play movies in my VCR.EN: How many hours a day do you think

you’re using some sort of mass media—television, radio, etc.?

FP: I mostly read books or play cards downstairs, but I listen to radio programs on NPR too… and I watch Kare 11 like I said, and the Twins if they’re playing. Maybe four hours. Depends on the day.

By: Elizabeth Neilson Photo By: Jennifer Ask

Conclusions

These three individuals all seem to agree on a few important points.

#1: Quantity does not equal quality.Though the diversity and number of channels is increasing, television hit its peak long before my generation was born. Both Florence and Vicki expressed dissatisfaction about violence on television, while Roy classified the majority of today’s programming as “garbage.”

#2: Older generations spend less time with mass media.The average American is exposed to mass media for seven hours each day. Vicki and Florence responded with an estimate of three to four hours. Roy was unsure about which answer to give, since the television in his shop is on “for noise” during most of the work day, and he primarily listens to commercial-free music. His estimate, without the “noise,” was two to three hours—significantly lower than the average American.

Roy and Vicki also point out one very interesting (and important) fact: individuals of their generation missed out on some very important training. Since schools did not begin introducing computer labs until the 1990s, the only training most individuals had were their typing classes from high school. Those who graduated before the 1990s were forced to seek out community computer classes or to receive informal training from their colleagues or children. The staggering suddenness of the computer and Internet impact on society left plenty of otherwise capable workers in the dust.By: Elizabeth Neilson