Mass media is an ever-changing market. The rate at which people engage with mass media has dramatically increased over the last century. As we study the evolution of mass media, it is important for us to comprehend how mass media has changed and how it affects our American culture. We must also examine media convergence and how it has affected our daily lives. Through studying these subjects in mass media, we are able to understand how media has impacted America and our lives personally.
Mass media began as books, newspapers, magazines, and even radio. Through these media channels, people were able to have a national reach. They could communicate easily and more quickly with people in other parts of the nation. However, over the last century, mass media began to transition from more of a print age to a digital age. The invention of Internet and personal computers made mass media more accessible to everyone around the world. People were able to make
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According to Campbell, Fabos, and Martin in Media and Culture (2016), media convergence is “the stage in which older media are reconfigured in various forms on newer media” (p. 11). One example of media convergence is newspapers. Newspapers used to only be in print form, but now through convergence, we have access to daily newspapers from all over the world through our smartphones, tablets, and laptops. This affects our lives today because we are no longer limited to our news sources. Another example is how oral communication has now transformed into social media and email. You no longer have to be near someone to communicate in real time. These transitions have their pros and cons. We see how the borders have been broken and we now have a global reach, which can benefit individuals, businesses and even education. However, the mass influx of media can dull the richness of what we receive. This is why media literacy is important in today’s