Social, Cultural and Political E ects of Mass Media Industry's Mode of ...

Journal of Media Critiques Vol.1 No.1 June 2015

Social, Cultural and Political Effects of Mass Media Industry’s Mode of Production and Operation

P-ISSN: 2056 9785 E-ISSN: 2056 9793 doi: 10.17349/jmc115200

Editors Can Bilgili Arif Yıldırım Richard Vickers Guest Editors Işık Özkan Semra Atılgan

Journal of Media Critiques Vol.1 No.1 June 2015

EDITORS CAN BİLGİLİ ARİF YILDIRIM RICHARD VICKERS GUEST EDITORS IŞIK ÖZKAN SEMRA ATILGAN

P-ISSN: 2056-9785 E-ISSN: 2056 9793

© Journal of Media Critiques, June 2015 doi: 10.17349/jmc115200

Vol.1 No.1 June 2015

Journal of Media Critiques www.mediacritiques.net email: [email protected]

Editors Can Bilgili Arif Yıldırım Richard Vickers

EDITORS PROF. DR. CAN BİLGİLİ is an academician, researcher and founder WEC (World Experience Campus). He was born in 1968 in Izmir. Bilgili completed his B.A. at Istanbul University, Deparment of Journalism and PR, his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at Institute of Social Sciences, Deparment of Journalism at the same university. He worked as faculty member of the Faculty of Communication at Istanbul University, (1991-1994), at Galatasaray University (1994-2008), at Yeditepe University (2008-2012) and Istanbul Commerce University (20122015) he also undertook administrative duties. Bilgili, who prepared many sectorial reports in the field of advertising, radio and television in Turkey, still gives communication consultancy services to various public and private institutions. He is the author of the book “Görsel İletişim ve Grafik Tasarım” (Visual Communication and Graphic Design) and editor of the book series “Medya Eleştirileri” (Media Critiques). He has several works and gives lectures on media management and organization, media industry, media economy, media ethics, marketing communication, competition strategies, health communication. ASST.PROF. ARİF YILDIRIM, is an Assistant Professor, working as Head of the Departments of Cinema-TV, Namik Kemal University, Tekirdağ, Turkey holding a PhD in Informatics with the thesis subject as "Data Security Approach in Information Technology and Cryptography: DNA Algorithm". Yildirim established a faculty, two undergraduate departments, and one graduate department. Additionally worked as Vice Director of Institute of Social Sciences and the editor-in-chief of Journal of Social Sciences in Gaziantep University. He is founder Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Cyber Security, Privacy and eCrime (www.jcspe.org). Dr.Yildirim teaches lectures as "Neurohacking with Social Media", "Social Media Journalism and Hacktivism", "Activism, Digital Activism and Hacktivism" and "Community Media and ICTs for Development and Social Transformation". His research focuses on social media, cryptography with genetics, neurohacking with social media, marketing, activism, digital activism, hacktivism, civil disobedience, privacy, P2P, online behavior and identity. RICHARD VICKERS, is the Deputy Head of the Lincoln School of Film and Media at the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom. He is an experienced digital media producer having undertaken leadership of complex projects, working with diverse multi-disciplinary teams, and has industry experience as a producer and consultant developing interactive projects for businesses and arts organizations, from concept through to launch and beyond. Richards’s research has two main focuses; the first is at the intersection of media and

technology, focusing on the area of networked convergent/emerging media, exploring the creative opportunities and societal/cultural impact. The second focus of his research is that of exploring and utilizing digital technologies for innovations in learning. He is currently working on a number of projects that aim to develop more open, interdisciplinary and collaborative pedagogical frameworks. Much of this is work is undertaken collaboratively between Richard and the co_LAB team at LSFM, as well as a network of national and international partners.

ADVISORY BOARD of JMC Prof.Dr. Angeles Moreno, University Rey Juan Carlos, Spain Prof.Dr. Bernard D. Frischer, Department of Informatics, Indiana University, USA Prof.Dr. David J. Gunkel, Northern Illinois University, USA Prof.Dr. Erik Malcolm Champion, Curtin University, Australia Prof.Dr. Frank E Parcells, Austin Peay State University, USA Prof.Dr. John Chetro-Szivos, Fitchburg State University, USA Prof.Dr. Lars Rademacher, h_da Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, Germany Prof.Dr. Lutz M. Hagen, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany Prof.Dr. Mike Friedrichsen, Stuttgart Media University, Germany Prof.Dr. Noha Mellor, University of Bedfordshire, UK, United Kingdom Prof.Dr. Paaige Kelle Turner, Webster University, USA Prof.Dr. Toby Miller, Cardiff Univeristy, United Kingdom Prof.Dr. Urs Dahinden, University of Applied Sciences Chur, Switzerland Assoc.Prof.Dr. Anthony Moretti, Robert Morris University, USA Assoc.Prof.Dr. Charlton McIlwain, New York University., USA Assoc.Prof.Dr. Geri Alumit Zeldes, Michigan State University, USA Assoc.Prof.Dr. Gordon Calleja, University of Malta ITU Copenhagen, Malta Assoc.Prof.Dr. Judith Simon, IT University Copenhagen & University of Vienna, Austria Assoc.Prof.Dr. Stephanie Ricker Schulte, University of Arkansas, USA Assoc.Prof.Dr. Victoria Panova, MGIMO-University, Russian Federation Asst.Prof.Dr. David Harris Smith, McMaster University, Canada Asst.Prof.Dr. Erin Schauster, Bradley University, USA Asst.Prof.Dr. Lauren Jaclyn DeCarvalho, University of Arkansas, USA Asst.Prof.Dr. Rick Sheridan, Wilberforce University, USA Asst.Prof.Dr. Robert Mckeever, University of South Carolina, USA Asst.Prof.Dr. Ryan Rogers, Marist College, USA Dr. Margarita Kefalaki, Open University of Greece, Greece Dr. Panayiota Tsatsou, University of Leicester, United Kingdom SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE (REFEREES) of JMC Prof.Dr. Angeles Moreno, University Rey Juan Carlos, Spain Prof.Dr. Bernard D. Frischer, Department of Informatics, Indiana University, USA Prof.Dr. Bonnie Rohde, Albright College, USA Prof.Dr. Emet Gürel, Ege University, Faculty of Communication, Turkey Prof.Dr. Erik Malcolm Champion, Curtin University, Australia Prof.Dr. Frank E Parcells, Austin Peay State University, USA Prof.Dr. Gilson Schwartz, University of São Paulo, Brazil Prof.Dr. Işık Özkan, T.C. Yaşar University Faculty of Communications, Turkey Prof.Dr. John Chetro-Szivos, Fitchburg State University, USA Prof.Dr. Lutz M. Hagen, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany Prof.Dr. Mike Friedrichsen, Stuttgart Media University, Germany Prof.Dr. Paaige Kelle Turner, Webster University, USA Prof.Dr. Semra Atılgan, Marmara University Faculty of Communications, Turkey Prof.Dr. Stevenson Kohir, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India Prof.Dr. Toby Miller, Cardiff Univeristy, United Kingdom

Assoc.Prof.Dr. Anthony Moretti, Robert Morris University, USA Assoc.Prof.Dr. Ayla Kanbur, Yeditepe University, Turkey Assoc.Prof.Dr. Berrin YANIKKAYA, Yeditepe University, Turkey Assoc.Prof.Dr. Charlton McIlwain, New York University., USA Assoc.Prof.Dr. Debra Harkins, Suffolk University, USA Assoc.Prof.Dr. Erhan Akyazı, Marmara University, Turkey Assoc.Prof.Dr. Geri Alumit Zeldes, Michigan State University, USA Assoc.Prof.Dr. Gordon Calleja, University of Malta ITU Copenhagen, Malta Assoc.Prof.Dr. Gregory G. De Blasio, Northern Kentucky University, USA Assoc.Prof. Kirk Hazlett, Curry College, USA Assoc.Prof.Dr. Natalia Piskunova, National Research University, Russian Federation Assoc.Prof.Dr. Stephanie Ricker Schulte, University of Arkansas, USA Assoc.Prof.Dr. Victoria Panova, MGIMO-University, Russian Federation Asst.Prof.Dr. Asta Zelenkauskaite, Drexel University, USA Asst.Prof.Dr. David Harris Smith, McMaster University, Canada Asst.Prof.Dr. Erin Schauster, Bradley University, USA Asst.Prof.Dr. Gülüm Şener, Hasan Kalyoncu Universitesi, Turkey Asst.Prof.Dr. Lauren Jaclyn DeCarvalho, University of Arkansas, USA Asst.Prof.Dr. Perrin Öğün Emre, Kadir Has University, Turkey Asst.Prof.Dr. Rick Sheridan, Wilberforce University, USA Asst.Prof.Dr. Robert Mckeever, University of South Carolina, USA Asst.Prof.Dr. Ryan Rogers, Marist College, USA Asst.Prof.Dr. Timothy James Pasch, University of North Dakota, USA Dr. Carolina Oliveira Matos, City University London, United Kingdom Dr. Margarita Kefalaki, Open University of Greece, Greece Dr. Panayiota Tsatsou, University of Leicester, United Kingdom

TABLE OF CONTENTS Bollywoodization of Foreign Policy: How Film Discourse Portrays Tension between States

11

AZMAT RASUL - MUDASSIR MUKHTAR An Essay on Actor, Actress in Turkish Cinema, Human Ans Sector Ethics in the 21st Century

29

NEVİN ALGÜL Digital Media Platforms and Education: The Uses of Social Networking in the UAE and China

47

BADREYA ALJENAIBI Are you cup of joking? : The “latte salute”, American President Barack Obama’s Visual Rhetoric

91

JENNIFER ANNE GEHRISCH Advertising in Virtual Worlds: The Example of Second Life

DİNÇER ATLI - TUNCER CAN Semiotic Analysis of E-Newspapers Interface Views within the Scope of Advertisements

103 117

BAHAR DİNÇAKMAN Interactivity and Political Communication: New Media Tools and their Impact on Public Political Communication

131

BURTON SPEAKMAN Uses and Effects of Myspace among Christian Teens and Young Adult

MICHAEL S. JEFFRESS A Narrative Criticism of Lifestyle Reality Programs

TRAVIS LOOF

145 167

Journal of Media Critiques [JMC] doi: 10.17349/jmc115201 P-ISSN: 2056-9785 E-ISSN: 2056 9793 http://www.mediacritiques.net [email protected]

BOLLYWOODIZATION OF FOREIGN POLICY: HOW FILM DISCOURSE PORTRAYS TENSION BETWEEN STATES AZMAT RASUL ∗ MUDASSIR MUKHTAR ∗∗ ABSTRACT As the nexus between film industry and state apparatus has grown critical and complex in the wake of war on terror, academic circle have paid attention to identify the patterns of relationship between entertainment industry of a country and its foreign policy. To understand the role of the soft power in assisting governments to secure their interests at international level, this article examines the relationship between Bollywood and the Indian foreign policy through the lens of critical political economy of communication approach. Popular films portraying tension and cooperation between the South Asian neighbors were critically analyzed, and the results indicated that Bollywood closely followed the foreign policy initiative of the Indian government. Keywords: Bollywood; media and foreign policy; political economy of communication; entertainment industry; South Asia

INTRODUCTION Since 1998, official circles in India have been expressing their intentions to employ the potential of Bollywood as a soft power to project the mounting economic, geostrategic, and cultural significance of the largest country in the South Asian region. After being declared an industry in 1998 by the Indian government, Bollywood has produced numerous movies that portrayed the image of India as a progressive global power capable of playing a pivotal role at regional and international levels. The culture industries invariably offer unconditional support to the core foreign policy initiatives of a nation-state, and work together with the policy-makers in image building endeavors in order to promote key cultural, economic, and military interests of their countries ∗

School of Communication, Florida State University, Tallahassee FL 32306, USA Email: [email protected] Ph: 001-850 524 5570 ∗∗ Department of Communication, National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad, Pakistan E-mail: [email protected] Ph: 0092-333-517 0176

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Bollywoodization of Foreign Policy: How Film Discourse Portrays Tension Between States

(Hesmondhalgh, 2007; Pindle, 1993; Sinha, 2006). The nexus between film industry and state apparatus has grown critical and complex in the wake of war on terror, as the war doctrine orchestrated by the Western policy-making circles categorize countries and groups as necessarily good or evil (Trotman, 2009). Consequently, academic circle have paid attention to identify the patterns of relationship between entertainment industry of a country and its foreign policy to comprehend the role of the soft power in assisting governments to secure their interests at international level. To examine this relationship, I investigated the connection between Bollywood and the Indian foreign policy through the lens of critical political economy of communication approach in this article by focusing on the popular films portraying tension and cooperation between the South Asian neighbors during the first decade of the 21st century. There is no denying the fact that entertainment media have emerged as an important sociopolitical institution in all societies and enjoy the power to influence thinking patterns at governmental and individual levels through their discourses. Popular media are directly linked to the culture where they operate, and portray social realities according to norms, mores, values and laws of that society (Zelizer & Allan, 2011). The corporate media cultivate realities for the audiences and help them assign meanings to the world around them (Gerbner et al., 2002). As news and entertainment media are our windows through which we see the world beyond our direct contact, we retrieve complicated information on foreign policy issues through the portrayal of a nation’s relations with other nation-states in entertainment products, and such representations transmit something more than innocuous information, especially during crisis situations (Baum, 2007; Cohen, 1963; Entman, 2004; Chomsky, 1989; McChesney, 2008; McQuail, 2005). Thus, the role of the media is central not only as a discourse-producing mediator but also as a vehicle that defines the complex but symbiotic relationship between the government and media. Questions related to the role of an autonomous entertainment media, capable of working independently or in some way associated with the state machinery to secure their commercial interests, are heuristically significant. The answers to these questions are not very simple because, throughout the world, the relationship between media and governments is very delicate and complex – ranging from astringent conflict to open cooperation. The modern technology-intensive and commercially motivated media promote dominant ideologies because their political and economic interests are intertwined with those in the corridors of power (Bagdikian, 2004; Bettig & Hall, 2003; Norris, 1990; Vivian, 2006). Accordingly, media and government become allies and synergistic patterns of relationship between the elites holding power and the media of communication, which are owned by a potent business community that perpetuates an ideology to maximize their profits, are established. Unquestionably, large media organizations are commercial ventures established to meet vital societal needs related to cultural, social, and political activities (Mosco, 2008). Media content, therefore, is produced by commercial forces interested in enhancing profits, and they have deep connections with the elites controlling political and economic structures of a country (Mosco, 2009). Since media’s economic and operational interests are tangled with the elite, they purport an ideology that

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advocates interests of those who control the media (Altschull, 1995). The mediasponsored ideology is particularly important when it reflects on the relationship among nation-states (Doyle, 2002). An examination of ideology-laden media products is also important because a plethora of academic literature suggests that consumers of the ubiquitous mass media form their opinions and shape their attitudes about other nations and cultures after receiving messages from these media. By first articulating the rapport between media and foreign policy issues in the South Asian context, this article sheds light on the academic relevance of the models of media-foreign policy relationship and the significance of critical political economy of communication approach as a methodology, which is followed by the description of the global Bollywood’s influence, and the political economic analysis of the four selected movies. Through employing critical political economy of communication approach to analyze models of media-foreign policy relationship, I have ventured to investigate questions dealing with media-foreign policy relationship that have previously been addressed through quantitative research. Film industry has the potential to produce a discourse that shapes public opinion in favor of foreign policy initiatives of various governments, but unlike other means of mass communication such as newspapers and television, it remains an under-researched medium in this domain (Guback, 1969; Pindle, 1993; Hesmondhalgh, 2007). I have focused on the film industry in this article by selecting four movies produced and released at a time when relationship between Pakistan and India was passing through diametrically opposite stages of escalation and de-escalation in the past decade to find patterns of convergence in Indian foreign policy and the discourses of selected movies. Reciprocal Influences: Media and Foreign Policy in South Asia Since the first Gulf War in 1991, academic circles have been debating the interconnection between television, public opinion, and foreign policy. CNN effect as a phrase was popularized to connote the idea of a synergistic relationship between the news media and framers of the foreign policy (Gilboa, 2005; Robinson, 1999). In fact, academic research on media-foreign policy relationship dates back to the stormy years of the Cold War when Cohen (1963), in his germinal work, argued that mass media are the chief source of information about other cultures and societies, and help the audience to cultivate a worldview in agreement with the information packaged in the media content. According to him, media plays a pivotal role in shaping public opinion on issues linked to the external relations of a nation-state with other countries. Consequently, media are substantial actors in shaping public opinion on key foreign policy issues, and also affect the foreign policy-making processes in numerous ways. Nevertheless, the impact of media on the formulation of foreign policy has numerous facets. A foreign policy formulation in order to be dynamic must embrace five essential elements: prioritizing national interests; evolving a strategy or a number of strategies to achieve those interests; eliminating any obstacle that might arise in pursuit of those interests; creating friendly regimes in the neighboring countries; and understanding and utilizing international climate in pursuit of those national interests (Jan, 1993). Keeping in view all these factors, one may wonder whether media are

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Bollywoodization of Foreign Policy: How Film Discourse Portrays Tension Between States

powerful enough to have an influence on foreign policy of a state. The answer is yes as well as no. Yes, in the sense that it can create euphoria for an anticipated event; it can also evoke anger, disgust or fear on a certain foreign policy postulate or issue (Bagdikian, 2004). But to say that it is the chief determinant of the foreign policy of a nation-state would be a naivety (Malik, 2003). In fact, the media is unlikely to assume the role of the chief architect of the foreign policy of a country due to its dependence on assorted state organs for regulatory benefits and commercial operations, and the official establishments invariably uses media to project a preconceived foreign policy (Jan, 1993; Napoli, 2003; Zelizer & Allan, 2011). Other researchers (Chomsky, 1989; Merrill & Dennis, 1996; Gilboa, 2003, 2005; McQuail, 2005) also argue that approximately everywhere, mass media are expected to advance national interest and promote certain key values and behavior patterns in times of active conflicts or other national crises. Correspondingly, various media including press, television, Internet and film have played a proactive role in promoting foreign policy objectives of the South Asian countries in the region. The unprecedented growth of television and global appeal of the Bollywood films have made them potent weapons to be used by the establishments in India and Pakistan (Rasul, 2004). Consequently, media and interstate relations have witnessed revolutionary changes in the South Asian context. Especially, the first decade of the 21st century marked a watershed in the history of relationship between two South Asian nuclear neighbors. The relationship between India and Pakistan has passed through many turbulent phases; however, it has been particularly unpredictable in the aftermath of Kargil conflict between the two countries in 1999. On the one hand, Indian government accused Pakistan of sending its regular troops to occupy a strategically important mountain post in the disputed area of Jammu and Kashmir and, on the other hand, the two governments led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee of India and President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan kicked off a process of détente. During this period, terrorists attacked the Indian parliament on December 13, 2001. The terrorists were overpowered and killed in a gun battle by the security forces and they were identified as Pakistani nationals. This turn of events brought mutually hostile South Asian neighbors to the brink of a war as both countries amassed their armed forces on the borders. Due to active intervention of the international community, both countries pulled back their forces to the barracks and a deadly conflict in the region was averted. In the meantime, the Indian prime minister launched a significant diplomatic initiative in April 2003 when he invited Pakistani government to begin a comprehensive dialogue process with India. Pakistan responded positively and relations between two nuclear powers in South Asia began to improve. Many positive steps were taken by both governments including lessening of visas restrictions and reduction in propaganda against each other. Another terrorist attack in Mumbai in November 2008 brought the peace dialogue to a halt. Although, Pakistani government expressed its solidarity with the Indian people, but Pakistani nationals were involved in this act of terrorism termed as India’s 9/11 and a new phase of tension visited South Asia. It is, therefore, academically significant to critically analyze the role of media, especially the film industry, in these perplexing situations. Investigating how did the Indian film industry respond to the ebb and flow of events in South Asia in the past decade could also help

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in developing an understanding of the increasing socio-political role of global film industries such as Bollywood. Having millions of fans in Pakistan, it would be interesting to examine whether Bollywood was a neutral commentator or a partisan discourse producer while dealing with the conduct of relations between India and Pakistan. These questions are heuristically significant as cinematic portrayals of distant cultures are an important source of information and opinion formation (Wasko, 2004).To answer these queries, models dealing with the influence of mass media on the formation of foreign policy of a country have been discussed in the following section. Models of Relationship between Media and Foreign Policy The available scholarship on the media-foreign policy relationship plainly manifests that no fixed model of association exists between media and foreign policy. Media behaves in different ways in diverse cultural and political systems (McQuail, 2005). However, various research studies on media-foreign policy relationship specify that media functions in different ways as an advocate, adversary, and indifferent actor in assorted political systems. There has been an agreement among researchers in the literature developed in 80s and 90s that in a free society, the media is not supposed to be an active player in policy formulation processes, but it should work only as an objective observer of these developments. Similarly the media in authoritarian systems such as former Soviet Union, China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Iran cannot adversarially comment on the policy of the government on external relations. The research on media-foreign-policy nexus can be classified as studies based on advocative, adversarial, and indifferent models that suggest advocative, oppositional, and neutral role for the media respectively while commenting on vital foreign policy issues (Robinson et al., 2009). The upholders of advocative model view mass media as an instrument in the hands of a dominant class, elite, or power-holding group (Bagdikian, 2004; Cohen, 1963; Guback, 1969; Herman & Chomsky 1988; Kern et al., 2003; McChesney, 2008; McQuail, 2005; Zelizer & Allan, 2011). According to this paradigm, the content of media actively distorts the marketplace of ideas in favor of an ideology of the powerful. Cohen’s (1963) study suggests that in countries, where political power is highly centralized, the media of communication tend to become instruments of centralization and reflect the needs of the ruling groups in maintaining their power and advancing their policies. The media, in other words, are important devices in sustaining the constitutional and political powers of the central governments. In case of conflict with another country, the media is likely to articulate views of the state and the economic elite (McQuail, 2005). Herman and Chomsky (1988) argue that “the media’s purpose in a free society is to manufacture consent among the governed, rallying the population to endorse elite decision” (p. 12). McChesney (2008) contends that the U.S. media firms have acknowledged that Washington has a moral right and authority to send troops into other countries or to place an economic quarantine around those countries whose governments are seen as hostile toward democracy or capitalism. It is evident from the fact that during the two Gulf wars in 1990 and 2003, 9/11 terrorist attack and subsequent invasion of Afghanistan, the media depended on

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briefings conducted by military officers, and opportunities for journalists to collect information independently were severely curtailed. It is interesting, however, that media never questioned veracity of this information and unquestioningly propagated the official point of view (Bagdikian, 2004; McChesney, 2008; Zelizer & Allan, 2011). A few studies provide evidence that the media does not always follow government directives without a careful scrutiny of information. In democratic societies, media are supposed to play a socially responsible role by monitoring activities of those at the helm of affairs (Cohen, 1963; McQuail, 2005). There are also several cases where administrative requests for secrecy have been denied. For instance, President Carter and many of his advisers were infuriated when, in 1980, NBC negotiated a deal with the Iranian militants whereby an interview with hostage, William Gallegos, was aired on the condition that the Iranian students could also present their point of view (Rasul, 2004). A few other studies (Becker, 1977; McQuail, 2005; Robinson et al., 2009; Thussu, 2007) have posited that it would be wrong to assume that the U.S. media always supports the government policy as in democratic societies, media work independently and play the role of an objective observer in the conduct of international relations. Media organizations, therefore, neither advocates nor opposes the foreign policy of a country. The indifferent model, on the other hand, elucidates that at the initial policy-making stages, the media objectively observe and report foreign policy isuues because media professionals are not experts in analyzing the intricacies of international politics (Berry, 1990). After a foreign policy is framed and implemented, it is easy for the media to analyze it by seeking professional opinion from foreign policy experts. In a bid to categorize literature and facilitate analysis in the media-foreign policy relationship research tradition, it could be established that several studies in the past decades (Bagdikian, 2004; Cohen, 1963; Herman & Chomsky, 1988; McChesney, 2008; Robinson et al.; Zelizer & Allan, 2011) reflect that media of a country advocates governmental policies on external relations. At the same time, a few researchers (Becker, 1977; Malik, 2003; Pindle, 1993; Robinson et al., 2009) are of the view that media do not necessarily promote governmental point of view because in egalitarian cultures, media work independently and report events objectively. Another school of thought (Berry, 1990; Flew, 2007, Thussu, 2006) assigns an indifferent role to media according to which media makes situational decisions and supports or opposes the official policy according its political and economic interests. Consequently, the decision to follow a particular model is situational and it may vary in different regions of the world depending upon political, economic, and ideological fabric of the society. The South Asian situation is particularly interesting where countries remain politically divided but the entertainment media is a cultural bond among mutually hostile societies. In such a scenario, critical political economy is an appropriate approach that sheds light on patterns of relationship between production, distribution, and consumption of media products and the market forces which are governed by the powerful central governments. Critical Political Economy of Communication Critical political economy of communication approach explores questions related to production, distribution and consumption, of cultural products. Modern mass media

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perpetuate hegemonic ideologies that help the elite maintain their control over the society through conformist messages produced by cultural industries (Hesmondhalgh, 2007). The media of communication heavily depend on the market forces for their operations and it is no surprise if they are advancing the interests of those who supply them money in the form of advertising dollar and subsidies (Altschull, 1995). The reliance of mass media on the business elite for production and distribution of cultural products results in the commodification of culture that leads towards consolidation, conglomeration, and concentration of ownership (Rasul & McDowell, 2012). The commercial forces and marketers have used modern mass media innovatively to further their economic interests by striking deals with media firms for product placement, advertising, and promotional activities. McChesney (2008) argues that the commercial cart is pulling the cultural horse and transnational business firms are using “media firms’ entire arsenal of media assets” to promote their corporate interests in the profit-driven capitalist economy (p. 275). It, therefore, is totally unsurprising when MasterCard struck an over $ 100 million deal with Universal Studios that would ensure MasterCard’s visibility in the theme parks, movies, and other entertainment programs of the Universal Studios. Thus, the synergistic relationship between media firms and transnational commercial ventures endorses consumerism and promotes a commercial culture that runs contrary to democratic values, freedom of choice, and sovereignty of the audience. Critical political economy approach questions the unholy alliance between commercial interests and media firms by critically examining the political, economic, and ideological structures of media conglomerates. It is significant for critical political economists to question how various political, ideological, economic, and power structures are interrelated in the cultural sphere in assorted societies. The dominant ideology and hegemonic ideas emerging as a result of the interplay between forces of exploitation controlling economic structure of media industry necessitates a critique of mass media (Flew, 2007; Mosco, 2008). Similar to the Marxian critique of capitalism, a critical appraisal of mass media would lead to a broader comprehension of the existing social, political and economic order in classridden societies (Flew, 2007). Accordingly, the structure of economic relations is exceedingly important for political economists who analyze how class relations develop in capitalist economy. In order to comprehensively analyze structures of dominance and control operative in media industry, critical political economists stress on the need to develop interdisciplinary research, understand historical processes, examine processes of media globalization, and establish a link between media practitioners and researchers (Flew, 2007; Golding & Murdock, 2000; Mosco, 2009; Schiller, 1969). Critical political economists have also criticized traditional effects theories and positivist research in the field of communication for its inability to address questions related to the economic, political, and ideological structures of mass media. This approach has focused on the globalization of media industry ensuing from the domination of a few giants who control the audiovisual media production across the globe (Benz, 2007). Critical political economy approach is sparingly used to analyze the influence of motion pictures on different political organs of the society. However, its use as a methodology is critical as the entertainment industry is affecting billions of consumers all over the world and it is imperative to discuss the ideologies purported by these

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Bollywoodization of Foreign Policy: How Film Discourse Portrays Tension Between States

global actors in the name of entertainment. The transnational entertainment industries are involved in coproductions and a multitude of joint ventures at global level to geometrically enhance their profits and capture new markets. Hollywood has emerged as a major investor in Bollywood in recent years, mainly because of the gigantic Indian market where Hollywood’s traditional English language products made up only five per cent of the market (Benz, 2007; Govil, 2005; Jaikumar, 2006; Rasul & Proffitt, 2011). Critical political economy approach helps us understand these trends by addressing questions linked to the globalization of entertainment industries and their impact on local cultures. By applying this paradigm, various scholars (Flew, 2007; Kavoori & Punthambekar, 2008; Miller et al., 2001) have evaluated issues related to dominance, ideology, and power and advanced critical political ideology approach by deviating from the traditional media imperialism literature. Kavoori and Punthambekar (2008) have endeavored to examine the role of Bollywood in a globalized media environment and, the emergence of Bollywood as a global entertainment giant; however, a lot needs to be done to critically investigate the interplay between political and economic forces controlling Bollywood. Bollywood also had its economic interests intertwined with the Indian government in terms of entertainment tax, foreign investment, and bank loans after being declared an industry in 1998 (Thussu, 2007). As Pindle (1993) has reported that Hollywood seeks Washington’s nod of approval while filming international issues irrespective of its liberal biases, Bollywood also strives to win the pleasure of policy-making circles to safeguard its economic interests. Bollywood and Foreign Policy The nature of film industry is intrinsically different from other media. It is relatively free from governmental regulation and heavily relies on attracting viewers for generating revenues. However, producers and managers of production houses have their political and economic interests and, as Wasko (2004) argues that film industry should be considered as “commodities produced and distributed within a capitalist industrial structure” (p. 132). Guback (1969) describes the synergistic relationship between American government and Hollywood and explains the film industry’s role in advancing capitalist ideology in Europe with the active financial and political support of the U.S. government. Pindle (1993) also focuses on the political role of the Hollywood and its association with the government as an industrial complex. Chakravarty (1993) posits that the entertainment media tend to advocate actions and policies of large governments and this is what leads to status quo. By and large, the audio-visual media have been controlled by the government due to its unprecedented power in influencing behavior of the audience (Danmole, 1999). Despite growing political importance of film industry, a little attention has been paid by communication scholars to look into the role of entertainment media in shaping public debate and policy (Zoonen, 2005). Although Bollywood’s unprecedented growth and global importance has provided worthwhile opportunities to communication scholars, yet there has been a little critical discussion on the economic structure, political leaning, and ideological orientation of Bollywood, which has emerged as a gigantic movie producer in the sub-continent in recent years and it dominates the cultural industry not only in South Asia but it also poses a challenge to the supremacy of Hollywood in different parts of the world (Power & Mazumdar, 2000). Mishra (2002) argues that approximately 11 million people watch Bollywood films every day and the

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Indian films not only cater to the aesthetic taste of Indian communities but also reflect popular culture of India that draws attention of the cine goers across the globe. Thussu (2006) rightly points out that Indian films have found an eager audience keen to spend money on watching Indian cultural products at the expense of local industries all over the world. The global operations of the Indian cinema could not materialize without an active support from the Indian government. Kavoori and Punathambekar (2008) state that the Indian cinema has permeated diverse societies like United kingdom, America, Fiji, Guyana and a number of countries in the Middle East and Africa where Indian immigrants settled and helped governments of these countries to establish long-term ties with the India government and people. Bollywood has also cultivated strong ties with the Indian Foreign Ministry. According to Chatterji (2008), the Public Diplomacy Division of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs cooperated and financed Saregama India Ltd to produce a special volume of Indian popular songs that would be gifted to diplomats and foreign dignitaries as a part of diplomatic courtesy. Interestingly, this album was presented for the first time to the officials of Pakistani Foreign Ministry when an Indian delegation visited Pakistan in 2006. The Indian government is actively exploiting Bollywood’s potential as a tool to achieve foreign policy goals. In the recent decade, Bollywood has produced movies revolving around political themes and advancing Indian government’s political agenda in the region. Especially after the Kargil War between India and Pakistan in 1999 and ensuing tension in the region due to terrorist activities in India, Bollywood had produced movies that reflected the nature of relationships between the South Asian neighbors. These movies had strong patriotic and jingoistic undertones that were in consonance with the government’s foreign policy. However, when a process of détente had caught momentum in the region after 2003, a few movies were released that aimed at promoting harmony and friendship between India and Pakistan. The Motion Picture Diplomacy Four popular box-office hits from Bollywood (LOC Kargil, 2003; Lakshya, 2004; Veer Zara, 2004; and Main Hon Na, 2004) have been selected to scrutinize the portrayal of Indo-Pakistan relationship during the first decade of the 21st century. The objective of analysis has been to identify the connection, if any, between the Indian government and Bollywood. There is growing concern in the South Asian region that media’s jingoistic role is a key obstacle in the process of normalization of relations between India and Pakistan (Rasul, 2004). Two of the selected movies (LOC Kargil, 2003 and Lakshya, 2004) had strong nationalistic sentiments reflecting tension between the two countries while the other two films (Veer Zara, 2004 and Main Hon Na, 2004) advanced an atmosphere of camaraderie in South Asia. These movies have been selected because their stories directly comment on relationship between India and Pakistan. During the past decade, Bollywood has been producing a number of movies focusing on the soar relations between South Asian neighbors and portraying the nature conflict in the region. However, these portrayals have invariably been in agreement with the government policy. Almost everywhere in the world, media work closely with policymakers and, advance foreign policy objectives of the country, especially in times of war or crisis

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(Herman & Chomsky, 1988; McQuail, 2005; Zelizer & Allan, 2011). Scholars in the tradition of critical political economy (Bagdikian, 2004; Bettig & Hall, 2003; McChesney, 2008; Mosco, 2009; Wasko, 2004) also agree that all media including film industry have their political and economic interests intertwined with the policies of the government. To have a media system totally free from the government control is a utopian idea divorced from reality (Altschull, 1995). Discussion in the following paragraphs revolves around discourses on Indo-Pak relations as portrayed in four popular Bollywood productions. Two of the selected movies (Lakshya, 2004; LOC Kargil, 2003) contained jingoistic subject matter as these were filmed on the Kargil episode while the other two (Main Hon Na, 2004; Veer Zara, 2004) focused on normalization of relations and appreciated the peace process between two countries. Veer Zara Veer Zara was released in 2004 and enthralled Hindi cinema lovers across the globe. Set against the backdrop of tense relations in the South Asian region, this starstudded romantic movie revolves around a love story of a Pakistani girl, Zara, and an Indian Air Force Officer, Veer Pratap. The two lovers had remained separated for more than twenty years as they had different religions and they lived in mutually hostile countries. Veer Pratap quits his job and comes to Pakistan to meet his beloved but he is imprisoned by the Pakistani authorities on the charges of spying for India. Finally, a Pakistani human rights activists and lawyer gets him released from the prison and tries to arrange a reunion of the lovers. This love story finally turned out to be the topgrossing Bollywood production of the year not only in India but also internationally as was predicted before the movie was released. It was successful in earning approximately Rs. 750 million worldwide and was presented at numerous prominent film festivals across the globe. The success of this movie reflected the changing nature of relationship between India and Pakistan. The peace process between the two countries had gained momentum by 2004 and the two governments had softened their stand on controversial issues. Thus, Veer Zara reflects Bollywood’s contribution towards supporting Indian diplomatic efforts to normalize relations with Pakistan. Main Hoon Na Another important movie starring the King of Bollywood, Shahrukh Khan, was released in 2004. Main Hoon Na is about the heroic tale of Major Ram Sharma (Shahrukh Khan) who thwarts sabotage activities of a dangerous terrorist Raghavan. Raghavan was a military officer having extremist tendencies and killed 11 Pakistani citizens who mistakenly crossed the border. He was court-martialed and dismissed from the service. He established his private army and began to sabotage peace process between India and Pakistan. He was trying to sabotage a project called Milaap (Unity) initiated by the Indian military to foster friendship between India and Pakistan. He planned to abduct college students including the daughter of an army general who was the incharge of project Milap. Major Ram intervened and foiled his plans and the project Milap continued uninterrupted. Numerous dialogues and scenes in the movie promote language of peace contrary to the jingoistic undertones in previous entertainment products. Main Hon Na was an endeavor to accelerate peace dialogue with Pakistan and it portrayed a soft image of the Indian army which was represented as having a solid commitment to peace in the region.

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Lakshya Lakshya was released in 2004 and this movie portrayed heroic deeds of an Indian army officer during Kargil War of 1999. The Indian army was ordered not to cross the border between India and Pakistan in Kashmir. However, they had to covertly attack at night in order to occupy the Tiger Hill, a strategically important mountain peak which was taken by the Pakistani troops three weeks before. Karan, an Indian army officer, climbs the precipitous mountain and emerges triumphant in dislodging Pakistani soldiers from the mountain post. Lt. Karan had not had a goal in his life, but this operation makes him feel that he had been cut to safeguard his country. This movie was a tribute to the Indian armed forces for their successful defense of the Indian territory. The movie portrays Pakistani army as treacherous, cowardly and supportive of terrorists. This is a traditional propaganda theme to dehumanize the enemy and it is universally propagated through silver screen to boost morale of the armed forces. Raney (2004) points out that audience enjoy media content when their favorite characters emerge victorious in the end. This movie was supportive of the Indian policy towards Pakistan after the Kargil war. However, the movie was not a big boxoffice success because peace process between India and Pakistan had gained momentum in 2004 and jingoistic themes were not much popular. LOC Kargil LOC Kargil was premiered in the movie theatres in 2003. This was another starcrossed movie having anti-Pakistan undertones. As the name indicates, this film was also produced after the 1999 Kargil conflict to highlight bravery of the Indian armed forces and openly advocated Indian foreign policy goals. The film begins with scenes of chaos as an important peak has been occupied by unidentified enemy and the Indian forces were utterly surprised by this sudden attack. Many attempts by various battalions of the Indian armed forces ended up in smoke as the unknown enemy was sitting on top of the steep and treacherous peaks surrounding Kargil. The female actresses are marginalized in the film as they are only shown missing their departed mates and singing songs. This reflects the bias of the mainstream media towards women as they are not considered being capable of playing a role on foreign policy front (Zoonen, 2005). The film reflects resourcefulness of the Indian army personnel who are successful in regaining control of the peak in the end after a fierce fight. The discourse in this movie reflects hostility between India and Pakistan in the early years of the new millennium after conflict in Kashmir and a terrorist attack on the Indian parliament. The discussion in the preceding paragraphs indicates that Bollywood has been supporting Indian foreign policy by producing motion pictures with discourses in line with the thinking of the policy makers. The hegemonic model of media-foreign policy indicates that media of a country plays the role of an advocate while producing discourse on issues related to external relations (Cohen, 1963; McQuail, 2005). Herman and Chomsky’s Propaganda Model (1988) also describes five filters through which media content passes and government structure is an important filter that helps determine the content of the media. There have been very few dissident voices in US media and elsewhere on foreign policy issues because of the political and economic interests of the elite who own and control media (Bagdikian, 2004; Bettig & Hall, 2003;

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McChesney, 2008; Zelizer & Allan, 2011). The Indian government has been actively facilitating Bollywood because it considers culture industry as a “soft power” and the industry paid back as did big media in the U.S. where mainstream media out rightly supported Bush administration which had promoted media corporation’s economic interests in the country (McChesney, 2008). Thus, analysis of the discourse of selected movies indicates that there is a symbiotic relationship between Indian cinema and the Indian Foreign Ministry. The movies discourse played an advocative role as suggested by Cohen (1963) and Robinson et al. (2009). By applying critical political economy and models of media foreign policy relationship, a careful analysis indicates that the Indian foreign ministry uses cultural products to further foreign policy agenda and Bollywood produces movies supplementing Indian government’s agenda through supportive discourses at international level. CONCLUSION To sum up, analysis of the four popular motion pictures manifests that Bollywood advocated Indian foreign policy and it enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with the policymaking circles. These films portrayed Pakistan positively when Indian government was engaged in a dialogue with Pakistan. Bollywood offered hostile treatment to Pakistan when the relations between the two neighbors were tense despite the fact that there is a sizeable viewership of Bollywood motion pictures in Pakistan. In fact, media firms are direct beneficiaries of government policies and managers of the corporate media strive hard to maintain a close liaison with government officials in order to protect their economic interests (Altschull, 1995; Anderson, 1991; Bagdikian, 2004, Bettig & Hall, 2001; Herman & Chomsky, 1989; McChesney, 2008; Wasko, 2004; Zelizer & Allan, 2011). Mosco (2008) argues that “political economy of communication has always contained an important international dimension” (p. 40). This article concludes that media, especially film discourse, influences public opinion as has been manifested by the commercial success of four movies selected to examine Bollywood’s connections with the Indian Foreign Ministry. However, governments do not allow media to become sufficiently influential actor in political arena. Pindle (1993) says that the American government has made all possible efforts to ensure that the Hollywood’s economic muscle should not be allowed to purchase political influence. At the same time, it admits of no doubt that reciprocity of interests and economic necessity breeds a symbiosis between governments and mass media (Herman & Chomsky, 1988). Bollywood has been declared “soft power” of India by Indian cabinet members and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has urged on Indian cinema to work as a tool of diplomacy. The Indian government has realized growing social, economic, and political importance of Bollywood as Indian culture industry is no more constrained within Indian boundaries (Gokulsing & Dassnayake, 2009). Bollywood has emerged as a transnational entertainment producer having strong connections with Western media conglomerates (Mosco, 2008). Its products are popular across the globe and these are officially presented to foreign dignitaries as an ingredient of diplomatic courtesy. The government has also purveyed economic relief to Bollywood by relaxing foreign investment rules, bank financing and reducing entertainment tax. Bettig and Hall (2003) contend that movies sponsored and distributed by commercial and political interests are rarely independent. Thus, it is all but natural if the Indian cinema discourse advocates foreign policy of the government by enthusiastically producing

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films in consonance with the government’s external policies to exhibit its patriotism as does commercial media in other parts of the world (Bagdikian, 2004; Herman & Chomsky, 1988; McChesney, 2008; Zelizer & Allan, 2011). Bollywood generates tangible profits and creates intangible service which generally reinforces dominant ideology; nonetheless, its products have the potential to be seen outside dominant ideology (McChesney, 1999; Meehan, 2007). It criticizes Indian politicians and government on domestic issues, but never questions India’s role as a regional power. The military invariably receives positive treatment in motion pictures (Zoonen, 2005) and Bollywood, in its discourse, has always treated Indian military operations in the region as sacrosanct. This is in agreement with the dominant ideology of Indian politico-cultural grandeur envisioned by the founding fathers of modern India and perpetuated by the political and economic elite. Therefore, discourse of Bollywood’s cultural products follows the advocative model of media-foreign policy relationship. As India has traditionally had tense relationship with Pakistan, motion pictures closely follow the policy of the government while commenting on the relationship between the two countries. However, it remains to be seen whether Bollywood supports Indian foreign policy towards other countries of the region in general and its engagement with the United States in particular. This situation generates a heuristic demand to further study and analyze Bollywood’s content, structure, economic interests and production and distribution strategies.

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Journal of Media Critiques [JMC] doi: 10.17349/jmc115202 P-ISSN: 2056-9785 E-ISSN: 2056 9793 http://www.mediacritiques.net [email protected]

AN ESSAY ON ACTOR, ACTRESS IN TURKISH CINEMA, HUMAN ANS SECTOR ETHICS IN THE 21st CENTURY NEVIN ALGÜL ∗ ABSTRACT Introduction of cinema to Turkey has gone through a rapider progress than that of printing and cinema has become very popular in Turkey. Cinema has contributed positively to this rapid progress thanks to its nature. It stimulates more than one sense conveying several things at one glance and alternating in between dreams, imagination and life’s realities and therefore it is desired greatly… When we look at the history of the world cinema, moving images have become very popular and have been adopted deeply even in the West which has an established culture of printing. While the West cinema which was born into an environment that dominates and always develops the world technology propagandizes itself naturally, analyzing with which ‘mind-set’ the people who are interested in this sector approach cinema will help to identify the past accurately, evaluate today correctly and to define the identity and future of Turkish cinema. Story culture still exists in our country the commonsense of which has not been completely and surely defeated by capitalism and imperialism, which acts as a bridge between two continents, where several civilizations were founded and which has a well-established culture and it seems that people of these lands are suited the best to modernize this eternal storytelling and narration in the light of zeitgeist in each and every sense and area and to cherish it with the technology that we have not developed. The purpose of this article is to analyze the definition of actor, actress mostly addressing female performers, give some examples in history and in today’s world, promote the re-thinking on the reason why cinema is important over the 21st century ‘human’ and to bring the responsibilities of sector and artists up for discussion and to analyze the ethics/responsibilities of the sector in countries such as Turkey where the level of education is low and problematic and where social differences are very evident. The difference between theater and cinema and the acting in cinema and theater were also addressed. Key words: Actor, Actress, Acting, Artist, 21st century human, Turkish Cinema, Cinema, Theater, the Concept of Cinema, Sector, Work Ethics, Professional Ethics. ∗

Asst. Prof. Dr., Marmara University, Faculty of Communication, Istanbul, TURKEY

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An Essay on Actor, Actress in Turkish Cinema, Human Ans Sector Ethics in the 21st Century

INTRODUCTION Auguste and Louis Lumiére brothers introduced their invention, that they named as cinematograph, to the public with the demonstration that they held on December, 28 1895 in Granda Café, Capucines Boulevard, Paris. A similar demonstration was made one year after that date with the same movie (Grand Rue de Pera) in Sponeck Pub, on number 246 of Istiklal Street and cinematograph was introduced to Ottoman society (Özuyar, 2013: 15). Cinema, as a field of art and technology, exists for only one century. Primitive tools of cinema were developed in France, the United States, Germany and Great Britain around the same years in 1890s (Smith, 2003:13). Although ‘invention’ of cinema is attributed to French, German, American and English pioneers, the English and the German have played a relatively small role in rapid popularity of cinema on the world. The most vigorous exporters of this invention were first and foremost the French and the Americans followed them and helped establishment of cinema in China, Japan, Latin America and Russia. Despite the contributions of Italy, Denmark and Russia before the First World War, it was again the French and the American who pioneered this development in art (Smith, 2003:19). Cinema was also used as a tool in education, propaganda and scientific research. Cinema which, at the beginning, comprised the elements including vaudeville, popular melodrama and picture conference gained an artistic distinction rapidly; however, as the other mass media and entertainment tools emerged, its domination was threatened and started to lose its distinctiveness (Smith, 2003:13). Silent movie technology which was invented in 1860 could not be commonly used until 1880-1890s when film spools were easily manufactured. Cinema has gone through fast development within the first twenty years of its invention. Although it was considered only as an innovation in 1895, it became a continuous industry in 1915 (Smith, 2003:30). Silent movies naturally have a universal language which can be instantly understood once the message appears on screen as it is a part of semiotics. First years of Turkish cinema could not be definitely established despite all the researches of Nejat Özön (Scognamillo, 1998: 7). One of the reasons of this can be the lack of established printing culture. This culture would also bring along many elements such as archiving and the works such as innovation, foundation of a sector and domination which would include the technological requirements in this area. Türker İnanoğlu, in his book that is entitled as “Turkish Cinema with 5555 Posters” and published by Türvak, states that “This missing part may be the reason why it was so difficult to find the posters of the movies that were shot between 1910 and 1950. Posters were destroyed in time or used for manufacturing paper bag, as a cover for meat safes or as a window or curtain by adhesion after they served their purpose (İnanoğlu, 2004: 9) because this is the pattern of behavior and approach in traditional doctrine. It is widely known that Enver Pasha saw the Army Film Unit in Germany, got a similar organization established in Ottoman Army when he came back to Turkey and war-related documentaries were shot at that time. The same unit also shot a comedy

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that was entitled Hikmet Ağa’nı İzdivacı (1916) (Marriage of the Landlord Hikmet) for the public later on (Onaran, 2012:223). Therefore, the shooting, by the young Turkish military officer, Fuat Uzkınay (18881948) of the destruction of San Stefano Monument on November 14, 1914 Saturday is one of the first film shootings and this has been accepted as the beginning of Turkish cinema (İnanoğlu, 2004:15). Although it is said so, it is debatable. It was first Nurullâh Tilgen who claimed that this was the first Turkish movie and then it was repeated in many other works about Trkish cinema history without investigating the first resources, interrogating and justifying it with concrete evidence. Although we assume that the destruction of the Russian Monument in San Stefano was shot and then it disappeared for many reasons, this movie is not the first Turkish movie because it is said that there are at least four or five movies that were shot before this one. Nevertheless, only one of these movies survived and still exists today. One of them is only claimed to exist. And there is still not much information about the rest. However; despite all this, it has become definite that movies were shot by Turks in Turkey before 1914 (Evren, 2003:49). ACTING: ACTRESS, ACTOR, CINEMA, THEATER… “Acting is like eating carob. It is one of the most demanding jobs on the world. It is not what it seems like. But these days when I eat the carob is worth everything.” (Özdoğan ve Oğuz, 2006:89) “The important thing is to teach the audience to judge.” B. Brecht (Utku, 1960 :9) Movie seems to be very similar to stage drama on the surface. Commercial movies that were shot in early years of this century are definitely rooted in stage drama; however, cinema is different from stage drama in several aspects. Cinema has the vivid and distinctive visual potentials of visual arts and has great capacity of narration. The most striking distinction between stage drama and filmed drama is the perspective just like the difference between prose narration and film narration. We watch a play from our own perspective while we watch a movie from the director’s perspective. As a matter of fact, there is greater potential to see more in movies. It is known that while a movie actor/actress uses his/her face, theater actor/actress acts with his/her voice. It is difficult for a theater audience (by listening, not by watching) to notice everything even when they are very extremely attentive (Monaco, 2001:50). The audience conceives the gestures clearly. On the other hand, movie actor/actress does not need speaking let alone voice (warm regards to dubbing!). Dialogues can be added afterwards; however, the face of the actor should be extraordinarily expressive. It should be expressive especially in close-ups when it is zoomed in thousands of times. When an actor/actress gives a self-confident look, the audience will think that he/she has had a good day (Clark Gable; Ayhan Işık , Humprey Bogart Look). If we consider that movies can be produced with unprofessional actors/actresses who have not received any training in acting and that it can be even shot with people who are not aware that they are being shot, the differences between acting on stage and acting in a movie become more evident.

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An Essay on Actor, Actress in Turkish Cinema, Human Ans Sector Ethics in the 21st Century

Another point which is as important as the difference in the style of acting is the contrast between the dramatic expression on stage and in a move. In Shakespearean period, the characteristic element was the scene rather than the play itself. One play used to be composed of twenty or thirty scenes rather than a couple of actions. This has also changed in the 19th century. Theater started to be played within a framework in this period and while the reality has become an important power, the actions which lasted longer and which were more real-like gained importance. During a play which lasted almost one and a half hour, audience was able to enter into the world of characters as it was more real-time while the scenes which lasted shorter made it more difficult to feel so (Monaco, 2001:51). The actress of the Western cinema Audrey Hepburn used to say that she could not learn how to act as she wished and that she did not even have a technique when she was asked questions about her acting. On the other hand, her acting was based on hard work, deep concentration and instinct. She did not go to acting school. She did not even rehearse in front of a mirror. She was born with this talent and she used to act in an easy, plain and natural way like breathing ( Selçuk, 2002 :326). We may get similar answers when we ask the same questions to an actor/actress in Turkey. The actors tears come from his mind while a sensitive man's burst from his heart. It is the chest of a man that shakes his mind in an uncontrollable way while it is the actor's mind that puts a temporary flame in an actor's chest. An actor cries like a priest who does not have strong faith but who preaches the tortures that Jesus Christ suffered from and cries like a beggar on street or in front of a church, who starts to swear at you when he abandons the hope that you will pity on him (Siyavuşgil, 1943: 17, 18). This is an applicable discourse for stage in theater. In the first ages; spectacular broadness of Amphitheatre, distance between actors and the audience and the dazzling radiance of the daylight prevented the audience to witness well what was happening on stage. Actors were able to express a passion or feeling, a character or nature strongly but they could not get out of their role until their performance ended. One had to have read the play beforehand (Siyavuşgil, 1946:86). They used to wear high-heeled shoes and invent clothing which made them look bigger than they really were. They used to talk in daily life rhetorically which was all forced and unnatural as if they were speaking through brazen megaphones. But distance softens these exaggerations. It is obvious that the art of gesture was not used at all in these stage performances. The gesture was used only in comedies two thousand years after those times. And even in Moliere, it was used as nothing but a series of loops (Siyavuşgil, 1946: 86, 87); so the disinterest in mimics and gestures remained as a rule until the beginning of the 20th century. The electricity made every detail visible and, on the other hand, cinema proved the infinite power of gesture in expression of thoughts. The public also was enchanted more by action through more evident and meaningful gestures and therefore, in turn, started have greater pleasure in drama (Siyavuşgil, 1946: 86, 87). It is a fact that outdoor theater buildings which lean on a mountain were first established in Greek cities. Aiskhylos is the first author of the art of drama. Outdoor theaters of those times were established in sizes which allowed the entire community

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to watch a play at once. In other words, all the residents of the city used to go to theater when a play was to be put on stage. Theater building was so developed that when a stone was thrown on the stage, six thousand people could hear that simultaneously, which was called skene, even in outdoors. We can experience this acoustic achievement in today’s outdoor theaters that have been inherited from the Greek or the Roman (Neyzi, 2004; 98). While Grotowski researched the details and elegance of the art of performance, he had chosen acting as the personal interest area. According to him, an actor/actress needs to reach the depth of his/her subconscious in order to get the best performance out of himself/herself. In addition to that, it is a must to direct the impulsions to activate the reactions. For individuality to emerge, one needs to get purified of all the habits (Neyzi, 2004: 98). There is a huge difference between reading and listening to a play. The pleasure that is taken in reading a play is different from the pleasure taken in seeing and listening to it. A play which may be boring when it is read can be listened to attentively on stage. Music, that is the melody of words, affects the audience when they are watching the performance. Theater sculpturing is an art which cherishes painting, dance and music (İzzet, 1935: 12). What differentiates theater from other forms of art is that in the art of theater, performance and reception take place together and that all the elements serve to perception of audience. This is surely important for other forms of art; a movie director or an author of a novel also takes the audience into consideration when he/she produces his/her work. However, in theater, it is beyond consideration. A play is nothing before it is put on stage. Even if a novel is kept in a drawer or a movie is not watched by an audience, it exists when it is shot (Tönel, 2013:9-10). All the elements of a theater play that are the language of conversation pattern, decoration, gestures, costume, make-up and intonations of actors/actresses and also many other indicators contribute to bringing the meaning of performance into light. Each element of a performance should be considered as an indicator which explains a scene of an action, an event, a moment, a part of the general interpretation. In theater, many indicators of expression reach the audience simultaneously. Decoration, gestures and mimics of actors/actresses, music, light and the authentic methods of expression communicate with the audience. Therefore; objects which are subject to change in continuous flow of a play need to be addressed all together in order to bring the main meaning of a performance into light (Tönel, 2013:54-55). As motion-based indicator is easier to be read by the audience, it is also a more direct tool for communication of side text to the audience. Motion-based indicators are included on stage definitely to convey a meaning to audience. These meanings may sometimes serve to support the verbal expression just like the function of paralinguistic elements. In addition to that, they are sometimes used to convey an emotion or a thought independently from the indicator and sometimes even in contrast to the indicator. However, motion-based indicators never occur randomly. Action-

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An Essay on Actor, Actress in Turkish Cinema, Human Ans Sector Ethics in the 21st Century

based indicators basically include the bodily behaviors of the actor/actress. These indicators can be collected under the titles of mimic, gesture and spatial movements (Tönel, 2013:46). In Turkish cinema, melodrama has a prominent place just like comedy. Melodrama movies focus on the female character, are still popular and the narrative patterns of today’s TV series increase in melodrama form… Not only the decoration and mise-enscene but also acting is exaggerated. The root of exaggerated acting is associated with the French Revolution and bodily movements. Melodrama is basically classified as a genre that is directed to women and that is also based on women. The main interest area of melodramas (except for male melodramas) is women (Akbulut, 2008:1176,77). In Turkish cinema, melodrama is deeply rooted in verbal cultural products, fairy tales, love stories and it takes its form today in cinema (Akbulut, 2008: 93). It is described how a family is destroyed only because of ambitions of a woman. This narrative structure was reflected on cinema with the movies where Neriman Köksal plays the female villain. However, melodrama became a popular genre in movies when cinema was introduced to Turkey. Even in the early years of cinema in Turkey, melodrama was an indispensable genre (Akbulut, 2008: 95). The New Turkish cinema has been considered as the Turkish cinema after 1990s. As Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto has expressed, “Has melodrama been really lost or has it gone into subconscious?” (Pehlivan, 2011: 176). Even in its early steps, Turkish cinema preferred pornography not erotic films except for a couple of works. Sexuality is spoken in cinema only with e expressions. Otherwise, in our cinema, the movies that are intended to be erotic just remain at being pornographic (Özgüç: 2006: 13). Turkish cinema which has gone several changes within years approached eroticism with interrogative attitude and stood out with the image of a femme fatale woman. On one side Yeşilçam’s doll woman sexuality and eroticism of passion on the other hand (Özgüç, 2006:15). Türkan Şoray who had established an artificial world being labeled as the woman with half-open wet lips and amorous looks in her eyes and the woman of Turkish cinema who had been fallen in love the most have played the suffering woman in light novel adaptations. Big eyes and wet lips stood out in all close-ups. Türkan Şoray is one of the most copied women of Turkish cinema. For example; Zeynep Aksu, Figen Say, Mualla Omay, Deniz Akbulut… She returned to real woman personalities after singer adventures and melodramas (Özgüç, 2006: 52). Female characters in Turkish cinema: Although Turkish women who have never been given the value she deserved in Ottoman times were allowed to work any field, even as whore if she had the license, was not entitled to be engaged in fields of art like theater and cinema in no way whatsoever. Afife who got on stage on September 9, 1920 under the pseudonym of Jale was arrested by police one week after that. It is said that there are two others who got on stage before Afife Jale; one of whom was Mevdude Refik, the aunt of Gülriz Sururi. According to statements of Vasfı Rıza Zobu, Ms. Kadriye performed on stage in Nazilli in 1889. Upon revolution; Bedia Muvahhit, Neyyire Neyir and Cahide Sonku who appeared on Turkish cinema in 1933 with the movie One Word One God. She is important in the sense that she paved the way for the female stars that followed her. For example, Türkay Şoray may be the last

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example of the worshipped woman myth in Turkish cinema, who is difficult to reach, because of the changing conditions in time. From 1935 to 1953, there has not been a real start in Turkish cinema other than Cahide Sonku and Sezer Sezin. During the period of village and bourgeoisie melodramas, actresses were almost insignificant and did not have much function. Adventures and historical movies which attracted the attention to actors made this situation even more evident. The following characters: Turkish woman of the rural areas and ghettos were mostly lonely and weak. They knew how to love and forgive their men. And they were equally taken advantage of and excluded from society. That was the role of Muhterem Nur in Turkish cinema (Özgüç, 2006: 37-39-41-43). Mysterious woman of an erotic introversion; Leyla Sayar: she is the actress who brought a new dimension to her foxy woman personality through erotic endowments. Fatma Girik is a girl from a neighborhood with low development level. As a result of marketing by publications, three actresses who are Fatma Girik, Hülya Koçyiğit and Türkan Şoray became the female objects of desire of the audience. Belgin Doruk was the doll empty inside, Filiz Akın was the romantic girl and Hülya Koçyiğit was the bourgeoisie woman who played the female protagonist, desperate lover of novels which made people cry. The period after 1960s was the period when childish women stood out. Sevil Candan, Bahar Öztan, Esen Püsküllü, Nazan Saatçi, Semiramis Pekkan, Seyyal Taner, Beyza Başar, Gülsün Kamu, Pembe Mutlu were young and petty women who combined their naïve parts with their femininity and this was a cinema-specific experience. These actresses generally could not be nothing more than co-stars except for Müjde Ar. When she first started to act in movies, she was one of those childish women but then she got mature, got rid of her childish characteristics, became a star and moved up in the social ladder. Those who got naked: Arzu Okay, Zerrin Egeliler and Müjde Ar, the new name of nakedness: brought a whole new perspective to cinema. Müjde Ar was a hidden symbol of sexuality which subtly abuses art and nakedness in movies with a social message. And Hülya Avşar was the new sexual object of 1990s (Özgüç, 2006: 44-48-51,52). PRACTICES FOR THINKING AND PROMOTING THINKING ON 21ST CENTURY HUMAN AND CINEMA/TELEVISION DRAMA… Starting from the invention of cinema, the effects of its physical and expressive characteristics on communities showed that this can be a strong tool of propaganda that can be used to ensure that an idea, discipline, ideology and belief are spread, adopted and popularized by and in public (Özuyar: 37). In the years that followed the First World War, movie demonstrations were frequently organized in African colonies. The apparent purpose was surely to make people spend delightful time watching the most contemporary entertainment form of that time but the real purpose was to show the African community that the white people were superior to them. The leaders and the religious functionaries of that time were invited to such organizations and they could not even reject to attend as it would be considered as a rebellious act (Carriere 2012:9).

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An Essay on Actor, Actress in Turkish Cinema, Human Ans Sector Ethics in the 21st Century

Why is cinema so effective? The perspective and the light. Opening, spreading and reflection of the depth of field. This depth of field is the homogenous medium that enables the reality effect of all cinematographic works. Cinema is not the only system which has such effect but the power of this effect is perceived in a more established, perfect and deep way than that in other representative systems (painting, photography, theater etc.). Vivid, alive, moving depth affects a person significantly (Bonitzer, 1995:9). The reality that the screen presents is never satisfactory; it may cause one to get dazzled or frightened but it is never satisfactory alone. As soon as the first amazement fades away, people start to look for reasons. However, it is known that something with reasons fails. What fails? The reality of the impression of reality? No, but as the phrase goes, the reality of this reality: something is missing somewhere somehow. Nothing can make it more evident than the movies which claim to show everything, historical and pornographic movies; especially the new ones. They are all seen but it is also the place where the greatest thing is missing, there are a lot of missing things. What is shown is never sufficient. It has never been and it never is. The cinematographic imagery is never left alone by that it does not contain (Bonitzer 1995: 10-11). For an idea to be marketed, it needs to appeal to not only intelligence and mind but also to emotions (Hughes, 1959:7). The core element of cinema is the link and relationship between images, emotions and characters. And also as the special technique and language of cinema enables it to make great explorations, cinema has affected everything around us and also entered into our lives. While it surrounds us in a way that we cannot even conceive, it has even shaped our personal behaviors (Carriere, 2012: 37). “The seamless clothing of reality” Andre Bazin (Bonitzer, 1995: 11). In every movie, there is a secret shadow area that is not seen and it might have been intentionally placed in the movie by producers (the 25th frame) (Carriere, 2012: 9). There are many educated people who think that movie cannot be an art as it is a mechanical reproduction of reality. However; when we compare the reality with what is seen on screen, we will see how different these two images are from each other basically. Actually these discrepancies are the elements that provide the movie with its artistic resources and these discrepancies make the cinema an art. 20th. century Memoirs of an acquaintance who spend his childhood in early 20th century: “At that time, reading novels at home was a tradition in families who were deemed modern or knowledgeable…”. “Time was Turkish style. The sun would set at twelve o’clock. The dinner was eaten before it got dark and people would leave the dinner table. After the meal, my mother or elder sister and rarely my father would sit by the oil lamp and read one of these novels. My grandfather, grandmother, my 4 brothers and sisters and I used to sit in the corner and listen to them” (Selçuk, 2002: 5). The first understanding and perception stage of humanism spirit emerges with the adoption of the work of art. Among the branches of art, literature is the one which includes the highest number of mental elements (Siyavuşgil, 1943:5). This was said by

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Hasan Ali Yücel in 1941 in the preamble of the translated book of Diderot, named as Divergent Thoughts About Acting. The more a person acquires information in his childhood, the less effort he/she makes in adult life. Information should be acquired in any way. All the great artists embraced knowledge with great love. They tried to acquire knowledge in the light of an oil lamp. The sleepless nights and long working hours are indispensable for them. The accumulation of knowledge is inevitable and such knowledge is necessary for everyone who wants to educate himself/herself to convey his/her personal ideas. Without such a cultural basis, one will definitely fall into the trap of small-talk in community although they do fine under primitive conditions (Eisenstein, 1993:71). 21st. century “’Critical self-guiding human thought that is accepted as the basis of humanity develops only in literacy. Human is a product of literacy. Destruction of written culture brings along the rise of violence” (Sanders, 2010:10). The definition of literacy has changed for the 21st century people. 21st century human neither reads nor is engaged with paper and pen. People who do not think were needed in order to create the consumer prototype. And today, as a result of such developments which may not be intentional, though, a community who do not produce, think and who spends the money that they do not own was created and this community is more dependent on seeing than many other centuries. In this sense, 21st century people became manageable through senses more than any other society of the previous centuries. Today’s people are subject to ‘sense attacks’ just like cyber attacks. This discourse belongs to Ruth Benedict: “An eye that sees is not only a physical organ but also a tool of perception that is conditioned by the tradition in which the person has developed.” In this age of ours, it is so much more important than the other ages because of the human profile. As the 21st century human has become accustomed to perceiving by seeing, they started to display childish behaviors. They cannot put up with long sentences, they cannot read classical novels, lost their ability of reasoning, they use bigger fonts, they use short sentences and music, which is very important for kids as child psychiatrists say, gained prominence for the 21st century people. People who cut their relationship with literacy become an open target for being directed by their senses. In the early 21st century, neuroscientists came together and set forth the definition of new unconscious. With this new definition, it has been understood that a section over the cortex is responsible for our attitudes and behaviors that we think we display consciously. It is neither subconscious nor unconscious as we know it. It is the new unconscious. Briefly, the attitudes and behaviors that we think we display consciously are actually the result of the social environment that we were born into and our experiences in life and we perceive the world through that perspective (Mlodnow, 2013: 21-29, 47-49). That is the reason why everything that is based on cinema and visual transfer, visual communication design, visual communication and human psychology is so important today. Just like the first product placements, music is also included in that. Everything is shaped in this medium and seems to be shaped in the future either.

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An Essay on Actor, Actress in Turkish Cinema, Human Ans Sector Ethics in the 21st Century

R. S. Albert says, in an article that he wrote in 1958, in respect of film critics and film criticism, that film critics constitute actually a cultural identity which thinks and reacts on behalf of others as their deputy and that the duty of a critic is to make a general judgment on behalf of others about the general content of works of art and to shape the attitude of community towards such work of art. While a critic does that, he/she can determine the fact whether such works will be affective, cared or eliminated in others’ lives. As a result of such performance, a critic acts as a cultural tool or a gateman (Biryıldız, 2003:7). Film critics and criticisms became even more important in the 21st century. WORK AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS Work ethics is practiced in real life and includes all the moral problems that are encountered in work ethics. These problems may occur between employees, employees and managers, organization and those who interact with the organization or organization and environmental dynamics. Work ethics does not mean being kind and polite in the work place or being against money and wealth. The common perception that there is a common definition of work ethics for the business world should be rejected. Work ethics or the moral problems that are encountered in business life cannot be addressed differently than general moral problems. Work and professional ethics are also integrated with the philosophy of ethics. If breaking one’s word is not an ethically correct behavior in life, work ethics cannot present it as an acceptable behavior either. For work ethics, what needs to be done is to analyze what type of promises can be made or not (Arslan, 2001:8). The purpose of the work ethics is not only to make philosophical analyses. As economical operations are very important for the community, moral problems are also very prominent. Work ethics are divided into two groups as definite and normative. Normative work ethics analyzes the behaviors that are in compliance with work ethics and works on defining codes of conduct. Normative work ethics seeks an answer for the question what should be done and what should not be done. Normative work ethics is based on assumptions made from moral common sense. Moral common sense is dependent on current moral values. Definitive work ethics is related to the moral problems in business world and uses the methods of attitude and behavioral sciences in this area. The most significant distinction between work ethics and theoretical moral philosophy is that work ethics is related to the standards of judgment in society (Arslan 2001:9). An example: “Poland Media Ethics Term: Being aware of the importance of media’s role in human life and community, taking into consideration the principle of being useful to public; the reporters, editors, producers and publishers who duly respect the irrevocable rights of humans accept this term and stipulate that they will fulfill their duties per following principles (Avşar; Kaya. 2013:323).” All the rules that define the standards that have to be abided by all the members of a profession are called professional ethical principles. These principles encompass the main values of an organization or profession and the rules that have to be abided by the members of that profession. Professional ethical principles vary depending on professions and organizations and are not directly related to philosophy of ethics.

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Many western companies have list of ethical principles (Arslan, 2011: 77). An organization should have its own ethical principles. These principles, first and foremost, set forth the implementation standards. It does that either by describing a present implementation or sets forth a new implementation. A professional ethical principle does not have to be in written format. It is generally in written format where writing culture is established (Arslan, 2011: 77). Communities which do not preserve their moral values do not have chance of survival in future. Elevation and preservation of communities’ moral systems is not an easy process. The main purpose is to create the conditions for development of moral system without causing any social problem. Support and contribution of all the individuals and institutions constituting the community is needed for creating this. Insincerity and disinterest in individuals and institutions is the most significant obstacle which prevents achievement of this objective. Such obstacle can be overcome with conscious training and a principles administration which serves to the entire community. On the other hand; it requires expertise to address the subject of moral values as it is related to strategic objectives such as consistent social and economic structure, understanding of responsible management and increasing the life quality (Özgener, 2004: preamble). Just like the time before the 19th century, the enlightenment tradition should be improved to ensure that promises of liberty and development are kept for the development and liberty of the entire community (Oskay, 1993:417). Great people and great leaders share common ethical values. They believe in honesty, being responsible for yourself and others. They show mercy to their friends. They are capable of forgiving themselves and others (Lennick; Kiel, 2005:30). “It is not the duty of art or artist to educate the society.” The actor Ahmet Söylemez who indicated that it is not the duty of art or artist to educate the society stated that: “We do not have such duty. If you keep us in society for too long, we disrupt that community. You need to exclude us as much as possible. We need to be outside you. We need to save our breath to run ahead of you so that we put mirrors on those routers where you shall pass. You look at those mirrors, our dear teachers and bureaucrats do what needs to be done at points of diagnosis and treatment and a healthy community emerges.” (http://www.memurlar.net/haber/370058/). CONCLUSION In the 21st century, cinema has become even more important than it was in previous years. 21st century people gained a new visual and auditory identity as the consumer profile of the 21st century requires and it is managed and driven again through such tools and stipulated to be so in the future. What needs to be done in our community to which the culture of printing was introduced late, the academic level of which is low and problematic, the reading habit

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An Essay on Actor, Actress in Turkish Cinema, Human Ans Sector Ethics in the 21st Century

of which is not well-established because of the age we are in and therefore in a community which does not think much? The individual discipline of ethics; adopting a secular education policy which ensures that people in a community feel responsible for other people, can empathize and that an honest generation is raised. I think this is also the way how a group of people becomes a community and how a land becomes a homeland. In developed countries, different institutions, organizations and sectors state their rules of work and professional ethics through their written statements in communities where there is a well-established culture of writing. In the love of Sumerians, this sector can be institutionalized, Statement of Work and Professional Ethics can be arranged and this can be also applicable for television series producers. Otherwise “the Turkish cinema which used and then showed no interest in our actresses whom we used to cherish in the past in 1970s” (Erdoğan, 2015: 39) may cause new victims to arise. Marketing games which use women sexuality in order to increase the popularity of a movie by leaking a desired/undesired picture about the movie to the press or narrative patterns which are filled with dramas and melodramas… I guess melodrama has been used the most on this land. People whom the marketers want to make popular support him/her with melodrama. See: “Atiye will organize concerts to pay the debts of her father” (Vatan Magazin October 7, 2010). The solution to such event is to be equipped with a perspective which does not need such things, to create that culture and to be nourished by that. Such an environment would enable the progressive cinema to arise or progressive cinema arises in such an environment. We need a different mind-set. Can this be called progressive cinema? There is a progressive cinema discourse of Ataol Behramoğlu. This might not be what he means but it is a nice discourse: in a platform where the progressive cinema finds the opportunity to develop freely, pornography and all types of harmful production will lose its market share significantly (Ataol, 1996:24). It is for sure that our national culture needs support overall (Ataol, 1996:90). “Poland Media Ethics Term: Being aware of the importance of media’s role in human life and community, taking into consideration the principle of being useful to public; the reporters, editors, producers and publishers who duly respect the irrevocable rights of humans accept this term and stipulate that they will fulfill their duties per following principles (Avşar; Kaya. 2013:323).” Just like the above-mentioned Poland Media Ethics Term, Turkish cinema which is a candidate for becoming a huge industry can be institutionalized and the sector can audit itself strictly through the rules of work and professional ethics it determined. It can create solutions and receive solution suggestions to eliminate the conditions which may make it difficult for it to abide by the rules it sets. The local cinema industry which is on rise has to take serious steps in this sense. In communities like us which have not seen the renaissance reform, have not experienced the enlightenment age and could not realize the industrial revolution, members of the society can build the society further by taking on responsibility for each other. The responsibility of the artist can be positioned within this context. It would be greatly useful for people to think over the

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characteristics of the community they were born and raised in over the 21st century human and take on responsibility on behalf of the community. It is put forth that a world full of fictional characters and situations that the screen presents shape the expectations of the audience from the real life in time. Gerbner sets forth that although television dramas do not directly give moral lessons like in Greek theater, imagery world that is created in such dramas attract the attention of individuals and cause them to turn their attention away from the irregularities and inconsistencies of the real world and therefore people’s ability to face the real world is negatively affected. Gerbner states that the more the television is watched, the more the concept of reality on television is accepted (Çaplı, 2002:126) Bogart who analyzes the content of cinema movies and television dramas claims that such productions normalize crime and even make those who commit crime look sympathetic. The crime that is committed in such productions does not yield as heavy and severe results as in the real life; instead, they get away with what they do and continue to lead their life in a better and happy way (Çaplı, 2002:125). Bogart indicates that social layers which exist in real life are not included in television dramas where the sexuality and violence are seen as the prescription to attract greater audience (Çaplı, 2002:126). Narration is one of the ways to understand and explain life, relationships, people and love. Therefore; starting from myths and tales, narrations constitute the cores of the cultural life. Narration is the way of saying that “reality is as it is represented here”, “this is what is natural”. Therefore narration is ideological at heart. It is impressive in the sense that finding the similarities between the tensions that are experienced in daily life and the ones that are included in popular narration leads one to get relieved thinking that such problems are natural, ordinary and inevitable instead of questioning why it is so or what the alternatives are (Abisel, 1994: 125-126). The documentary producer Paul Rotha wrote in 1930s “Cinema is a big equation between art and industry and that cannot be solved”. Cinema is the first and maybe the greatest industrialized art form that is dominant on the cultural life of the twenty first century. It has become a million-dollar industry and the most spectacular and authentic contemporary art form within the process that passed from its modest start in festival areas (Smith, 2003:13). In movie theaters, we keep our eyes open; at least we think so. But in deep down, we cannot prevent some prohibitions, beliefs or habits inside of us from closing our eyes to some of or the entire play of light moving in front of us (Carriere, 2012: 9). It can be stipulated that once human profile is changed fundamentally, we will not close our eyes (!) to anything.

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An Essay on Actor, Actress in Turkish Cinema, Human Ans Sector Ethics in the 21st Century

However; what needs to be done in today’s world is to get stronger by help of our roots, produce leaves and flowers. Then we will start to create and become world class, getting rid of being restricted with Turkey. What is this root? The comedies that are played in the palace that is mentioned by the Byzantine Princess Anna Commena, the demonstrations that are made in circumcision feasts and entertainments in the Ottoman Empire time, Karagöz (a famous puppet character in Turkish history), public story teller, theater-in-the-round are all the roots of Turkish entertainment culture. When we examine the pre-history texts, traditions and communities and when we see Anatolia’s prayers for rain, abundance ceremonies and village games that have been derived from a range of pagan demonstrations, we can say how rich the Turkish theater tradition is. Ethics: It is the overall standards that are set to differentiate the good and the bad ( Adanır, 2003:18). Turkish cinema sector should take on responsibility; the sector which is restricted to individual morality should scrutinize itself and define its principles and ethical approach and get away from purely commercial considerations and the mind set which abuses the sexual senses over female body. It should define and implement professional and moral values. An actress surely with high level of consciousness, talent and economic power can create great works of art in a free environment in respect of thought and behavior ( Adanır, 2003:31). It would make it easier to take on responsibility for the society. Movie discussion which starts the cinema history of a country and that it is still not definite can be considered as a great defect for researchers but although it has been forty years since the first movie was shot, similar movies are shot and the productions based on the repetition of those that are shot in 60s still continue and this constitutes the basis of the subject that needs to be emphasized. A discussion which is based on language and content which is applicable also for today’s world will be more useful than the claims about the movies which start our history of cinema and which are not present at this moment (Tunalı, 2006: 174). Rise of melodrama took place on the basis where the discipline of taking pleasure in suffering got combined with social and moral discipline. Although fear, anxiety, loss, love and sadness emerge in cultures based on some causal discrepancies, global/instinctive and therefore intellectual transfers of humanity are applicable for each period (Tunalı, 2006: 65). “Audience of that period is defined as family audience. So everyone in the family can watch and understand the movie all together. It does not appeal to only housewives or only classy women. It appeals to average taste. But woman is still in the foreground. Then comes the child. The child forces his/her mother to go to a movie. These are the things that we consider when we are choosing a subject and processing a movie. For example there is a kid and then we film kids, then we film a witty old man and then the elderly. It is like anchoring. Not one fishing line but many others so that maybe one of them catches. I took all into consideration surely…” Bülent Oran. (Tunalı 2006: 207) Could have this approached completely today? The 7th art, the cinema is 100 years old. What adventure has our Turkish cinema gone through within this period which is a pretty short period of time for a branch of

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art? What we need to do when we look at our cinema is to define an identity. What are we as Turkish cinema? What did we do? (Tuncer, 1996:369) The sector should stop and think over the citations made above. Identity of Turkish cinema is based on representation and image rather than reality. Individualization and independence of tools of communication is a great hope for liberalization of local narrative potentials in countries like Turkey (Şasa, 2002: 22-23). The necessity of determining principles and fundamentals are equally felt. In the 21st century, people are managed over their senses and that is what is aimed at. Our eye is a tool of perception in this age. The relationship between visual communication design and human psychology will be the rising value and research area of the 21st century. Shaw says “whenever theater is in crisis, it has overcome that crisis by the help of realism” (Özün, 1995: 83). The sector which sees and knows the effect of reality and that it reaches many people and therefore it turns into money explores ‘you’, that is, ‘the audience’ through information technology and can detect ‘one-direction interaction-forced subject’ and ‘passive’ (money) resource of ‘sentences, ideas’ in this age when interactive cinema is popular. And it is done by intruding into private life and not paying the copyright but this has also become traditional in life discipline in our country, hasn’t it? Or is it a problem? The last words are uttered by Enis Batur: “Could saying that cinema has not died as a branch of art in Turkey and that it has not even found the opportunity to live properly anyway be considered the same as provoking the devil (Batur.2007, :28). Is it too merciless? Generally? The main purpose of the article is to provoke thinking anyway. This article, hereby, is attributed to our actresses who have set their hearts on acting in cinema, who have been forced to do things that they did not want to do and whose weaknesses and frailties been taken advantage of and used as commodity.

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REFERENCES Abisel, Nilgün (1994), Türk Sineması Üzerine Yazılar, Ankara: İmge Kitabevi. Adanır, Oğuz(2003), Sinemada Anlam ve Anlatım, Bursa:Alfa Yayınları. Akbulut, Hasan (2008), Kadına Melodram Yakışır, Türk Melodram Sinemasında Kadın İmgeleri, İstanbul: Bağlam. Arnheim, Rudolf (2002), Sanat Olarak Sinema (Çev.: Rabia Ünal), Ankara:Öteki Yayınevi. Arslan, Mahmut(2001), İş ve Meslek Ahlaki, istanbul: Atlas yayın Dağıtım. Avşar, B. Zakir; Kaya, Elif Emre(2013), Medyanın İffeti, Dünyada Medya Meslek Örgütleri ve Yayın Kuruluşlarının Medya Etik Kodları, Ankara: Altınpost Yayıncılık. Batur, Enis(2007),

Enis Batur’dan Sinema Yazıları, İstanbul:Es Yayınları.

Behramoğlu, Ataol(1996), Utanıyorum : kültür ve siyaset, ideoloji ve ahlâk, aydın sorumluluğu ve örgütlenme üzerine, İstanbul : Çağdaş Yayınları. Biryıldız, Esra(2003), Film Eleştiri ve Gençlik, İstanbul:Es Yayınları 13. Bonitzer, Pascal (1995), Bakış ve ses (Çev.: İzzet Yaşar), İstanbul:YKY. Carriere, Jean Claude (2012.), Sinemanın Gizli Dili, İngilizce’sinden Simten Gündeş), İstanbul, Der Yayınları.

(Çev.: Jeremy Leggatt’ın

Diderot (1943), Aktörlük hakkında Aykırı Düşünceler, (Çev.:Esat Sabri Siyavuşgil), İstanbul: Maarif Matbaası. Eisenstein, Sergey M.(1993), Sinema Sanatı, İngilizce’den Çev. Nilgün Şarman, Payel Yayınevi, İstanbul Evren, Burçak (2003), Türk Sinemasının Doğum Günü, İstanbul :Antrakt Sinema Kitapları. Hughes, Robert(1959), FILM: BOOK 1, The Audince and the Filmmaker, New York:Edited by Robert Hughes, Grove Press Inc. İnanoğlu, Türker(2004), 5555 Afişle Türk Sineması, İstanbul: Türvak Kitapları, Kabalcı. İzzet, Selâmi(1935), Tiyatro Sanatı, İstanbul :Akşam Matbaası. Lennic, Doug; Kiel, Fred(2005) Etik Zekâ, İstanbul: CSA Global Publishing. Mlodinov, Leonard(2013), Bilinçdışımız Davranışlarımızı Nasıl Yönetir? İstanbul: Okyanus Yayınları.

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Neyzi, Ali H. (2004), Tiyatrodan Gösteri Sanatlarına, Tiyatronun Başlangıcı ve Geçirdiği Evreler, İstanbul :Mitos-Boyut Tiyatro Yayınları. Onaran, Âlim Şerif (2012), Sinemaya Giriş,İstanbul: Agora Kitaplığı. Özgener, Şevki(2004), İş Ahlâkın Temelleri, Yönetsel Bir Yaklaşım, Ankara: Nobel Yayınları. Özdoğan, Başak Deniz; Oğuz, Ayşegül Oğuz (2007), Sinema Söyleyişleri, İstanbul: B. Ünv. Yayınevi. Pehlivan, Behice(2011), Türk ve Dünya Sineması Üzerine Sentezler, (Editör: Serpil Kırel), İstanbul:Parşömen Yayıncılık. Sanders, Barry(2010), Öküzün A’sı, İstanbul: Ayrıntı Yayınları. Selçuk, Aslı(2002), Çağın Tanığı Sinema,İstanbul: Cumhuriyet Kitapları. Smith, Nowell Geoffrey(2003), Dünya Sinema Tarihi, (Çev.: Ahmet Fethi)İstanbul: Kabalcı Yayınevi, Sinema Dizisi:7. Strowsky, Fortunat (1946), Tiyatro ve Bizler, (Çev.: Sabri Esat Siyavuşgil) İstanbul:Maarif Milli Eğitim Basımevi. Şasa, Ayşe(2002), Yeşilçam Günlüğü, İstanbul, Gelenek Yayıncılık. Monaco, James (2001), Bir Film Nasıl Okunur? Sinema Dili, Tarihi ve Kuramı, Sinema, Medya ve Multimedya Dünyası, (Çev.: Ertan Yılmaz), İstanbul: Oğlak Bilimsel Kitaplar Yayınları. Nutku, Özdemir(1960), Oyun Yazarı, İzlem Yayınları:40. Oskay, Ünsal(1993), XIX. Yüzyıldan Günümüze Kitle İletişimin Kültürel İşlevleri, Kuramsal Bir Yaklaşım, İstanbul: Der Yayınları. Özuyar, Ali(2013), Türk Sinema Tarihinden Fragmanlar (1896-1945),Ankara: Phoenix. Özgüç, Agâh, Türk Sinemasında Cinselliğin Tarihi, +1 Kitap, İstanbul, 2006. Özün, Nijat (1995), Karagözden Sinemaya , Türk Sineması ve Sorunları, 1.Cilt. Tarih,-Sanat- Estetik-Endüstri-Ekonomi Ankara: Kitle Yayınları. Tunalı, Dilek(2006), Batıdan Doğuya, Hollywood’dan Yeşilçama Melodram, Zihniyet ve Kültür Etkileşimleri Çerçevesinde Yeşilçam Melodramına Bakış, Ankara: Arjantin Felsefe Grubu Yayını.

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Tuncer, Gülsen(1996), Türk Sineması Üzerine Düşünceler,(Haz.: Süleymân Murat Dinçer), Ankara:Doruk Yayınları. Erdoğan, Gökçen(2015), Women’s Fitness, İstanbul: Turkuvaz. Gazete, Dergi Basım A.Ş. http:www.gazetevatan.com 7 Ekim 2010 http://www.memurlar.net/haber/370058/

Journal of Media Critiques [JMC] doi: 10.17349/jmc115203 P-ISSN: 2056-9785 E-ISSN: 2056 9793 http://www.mediacritiques.net [email protected]

DIGITAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND EDUCATION: THE USES OF SOCIAL NETWORKING IN THE UAE AND CHINA BADREYA ALJENAIBI ∗ ABSTRACT Young people today are growing up in a digitalized environment. What challenges do they face in navigating this content-rich, symbolic environment? In this article, the researcher reviews university students' perceptions of media literacy by examining the use of social networking platforms (SN) in academic settings. The researcher distributed 1200 surveys evenly split between Chinese and UAE students and 998 were returned and analyzed. The findings reveal that while many students believe that media literacy should become a priority in modern curricula, this urgency is not felt by the majority of students. The researcher reviews current views and methodologies in the literature related to media literacy and its status in current pedagogy. The study draws from gravitation theory to place the use of SN tools within a broader background of communication. The Uses and Gratification Theory is also invoked to explain how SN was made attractive to campus activists and protesters in the two countries. Keywords: Social media and pedagogy, social networking, media literacy and education, digital media and education, etc.

INTRODUCTION Digital media has become part of the everyday lives of most people across the globe. Young people have grown up in an environment permeated with digital images, messages, symbols and music. As reported by Lundby (2009), “Media and the messages they broadcast can consequently be said to penetrate more deeply into everyday consciousness. And newer interactive or participatory media (e.g. mobile phones, texting, blogging, etc.) increasingly interpenetrate everyday practical activity” (Lundby 2009, p. 64). Consumers use their SNart phones to get on the Internet at any time in any place. They use social media to stay connected with friends. They use online websites to shop. It should not be so surprising, then, that digital media has become part of education also.

∗

Associate Professor Dr, Mass Communication, United Arab Emirates University [email protected]

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Digital Media Platforms and Education: The Uses of Social Networking in the UAE and China

In fact digital technologies are transforming the learning environment not only to provide exciting new learning tools but to meet the changed literacy needs of students. Kellner (2005), argues, “Computer and multimedia technologies demand novel skills and competencies and if education is to be relevant to the problems and challenges of contemporary life, engaged teachers must expand the concept of literacy and develop new curricula and pedagogies” (Kellner, 2005, p. 370). Although digital literacy and the use of technology in the classroom are highly valuable for today’s students, too many teachers are not addressing new literacy needs, and students are missing out on a valuable part of their modern education. With the advent of social networking platforms (hereafter referred to as SN) in educational institutions, student skills have been enhanced in various ways. This research focuses on SN usage of university students in the UAE and China. The research explores the importance of new technologies in the classroom and new online learning environments. This study explores the following issues: What impact has SN played in enhancing classroom interaction and discourse in UAE and Chinese universities? What is its future potential? The researcher also aims to understand how students use social networking outside of the traditional meeting and learning space and how they perceive the use of social networking for educational purposes. The following research questions are addressed in this study: RQ1: How do students use SN outside of the traditional university meeting and learning space? RQ2: What effect does SN have on the bond between professors and students? RQ3: What are UAE and Chinese students' attitudes and perceptions toward using SN for educational purposes? Quantitative and qualitative text analysis of two primary sources are used in this study. First, online articles, texts, and print monographs on the subject are analyzed. Further, a quantitative descriptive survey was conducted with 998 university students in China and the UAE. Literature Review In today’s world of digital technologies, educators increasingly believe that digital media literacy is a growing priority for their students. In the past decade, technology has been introduced very rapidly and it is causing the world to change profoundly in terms of communication and media availability and type. McLoughlin and Lee (2010) report that: The socially based tools and technologies of the Web 2.0 movement are capable of supporting informal conversation, reflexive dialogue and collaborative content generation, enabling access to a wide raft of ideas and representations. Used appropriately, these tools can shift control to the learner, through promoting learner agency, autonomy and engagement in social networks that straddle multiple real and virtual learning spaces independent of physical, geographic, institutional and organisational boundaries (McLoughlin & Lee, 2010, p. 48).

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The term 'media literacy' has generated a variety of definitions. For example, Adams and Hamm (2001) emphasize the importance of critical thinking in media literacy by stating that: media literacy may be thought of as the ability to create personal meaning from the visual and verbal symbols we take in everyday from television, advertising, film, and digital media. It is more than inviting students to simply decode information. They must be critical thinkers who can understand and produce in the media culture swirling around them (in Potter, 2010, p. 675).

Hobbs (2001) echoes this definition in finding that ‘literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and communicate messages in a variety of forms’’ (in Potter, 2010, p. 675). Similarly, Siverblatt and Eliceiri (1997) in their Dictionary of Media Literacy define media literacy as ‘‘a critical-thinking skill that enables audiences to decipher the information that they receive through the channels of mass communications and empowers them to develop independent judgments about media content’’ (in Potter, 2010, p. 675). Hall (2006) highlights that media literacy as essentially interactive, since it is: primarily something people do; it is an activity, located in the space between thought and text. Literacy does not just reside in people’s heads as a set of skills to be learned, and it does not just reside on paper, captured as texts to be analyzed. Like all human activity, literacy is essentially social, and it is located in the interaction between people (p.10).

The National Communication Association offers an overarching definition, finding that a media literate person “understands how words, images, and sounds influence the way meanings are created and shared in contemporary society in ways that are both subtle and profound. A media literate person is equipped to assign value, worth and meaning to media use” (in Potter, 2010, p. 676). Many educators are trying to develop new tools in ways to help students deal with what Bahlina de Abreu calls digital platforms. De Abreu (2010) explains that a digital platform for media is where there is real-time delivery of video, audio or information to multiple networks such as cable, satellite, and broadband. Delivery of the media is made through many devices including mobile phones, set-top boxes, PDAs and computers. De Abreu (2010) argues that media literacy education is the key way students can learn to interpret and understand the media images and information that surround them in their environment. She also argues that media literacy can help students to become critical thinkers and that educators can help students become “digital citizens” (p.24) who are sophisticated and SNart when it comes to discourse and how to participate in it. As she writes, “these forces are reshaping traditional values while transforming them into contemporary new ways of understanding life, society, and culture” (De Abreu, p. 26). Traditionally, of course, literacy refers to the acquisition of reading abilities. In today’s content-rich media environment, traditional literacy may not be sufficient to enable students to navigate their digitalized world. Media literacy expands on the tradition of reading and oral literacy to include electronic and digital media tools and records. Media literacy is also referred to as information literacy, digital literacy, visual

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literacy, and 21st-century literacy (Tyner, 2007). What constitutes literacy changes when social change occurs? Kellner (2005) argues that what is considered literacy shifts when there are social and cultural changes in a society and it is based on the elites who control the most powerful social institutions. Kellner (2005) also argues that in light of current technological changes, “educators must develop robust forms of media literacy, computer literacy, and multimedia literacies, thus cultivating ‘‘multiple literacies’’ in the restructuring of education” (p. 370). Although media literacy might generate several definitions, they are all meant to broaden what is meant by literacy in general. Media and education are traditionally not considered integrally linked. As Lundby (2009) reports: In educational discourse, media are also thus subsumed firstly as a cultural element outside of the institution and secondly, as a technical element instrumentalized within educational contexts. Today, educators refer to multimedia learning, which is described as …focusing … on how people learn from words and pictures in computer-based environments. [These] environments include online instructional presentations, interactive lessons, e-courses, simulation games, virtual reality and computer-supported class presentations (p. 71).

Because of the pervasiveness of media, there seems to be some urgency in how it is being addressed by educators. According to Lundby (2009), pedagogical issues related to media as a new field with a range of implications for both research and teaching include: the need for further research on the ways that knowledge is produced, distributed and tranSNitted with current digital platforms; the presentation of media and media-related issues in education curricula; and a best-practices approach in the educational environment related to practical media pedagogical activity in "various areas of youth and adult education" (Lundby, 2009, p. 72). Perhaps if the study of media was framed as a type of new literacy required by modern students, then the pedagogical issues would be clearer. For example, media literacy may occur through teachers teaching about media and how to interpret it, but it also refers to the new uses of media forms and technology and content in the classroom. It is considered a new way to acquire knowledge. Furthermore, the use of the new technologies may enhance skills in ways that are superior to traditional literacy methods. For example, McLoughlin and Lee (2010) argue that digital tools enhance self-regulated learning. Self-regulated learning refers to the ability of a learner to prepare for his/her own learning, take the necessary steps to learn, manage and evaluate the learning and provide "self-feedback and judgment, while simultaneously maintaining a high level of motivation” which enables them to “execute learning activities that lead to knowledge creation, comprehension and higher order learning" (p. 49). McLoughlin and Lee (2010) believe that digital platforms have enhanced the ability of students to self-regulate and personalize their knowledge acquisition. From a pedagogical perspective digital platforms help to: • ensure that learners are capable of making informed educational decisions; • diversify and recognize different forms of skills and knowledge; • create diverse learning environments; and

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• Include learner focused forms of feedback and assessment (McLoughlin and Lee, 2010, p. 49). Linked to the pedagogy above is the valuing of personalization or personal learning environments (PLEs) which can be created through a "collection of tools, brought together under the conceptual notion of openness, interoperability and learner control. As such, PLEs are comprised of two elements - the tools and the conceptual notions that drive how and why we select individual parts" (McLoughlin & Lee, 2010, p. 49). There are two domains of media literacy—the use of media in the classroom and a content analysis and critical evaluation that is meant to help students be able to use a critical understanding of the nature of mass media, the techniques used, and their impact. Media literacy usually includes hands-on projects where students use a range of texts and tools, including artifacts found in popular culture, primary and secondary source materials, mass media, educational media, advertising, as well as blogs, podcasts, vodcasts, wikis, and the way people use media tools and discourses, such as text messaging (Tyner, 2007). Kathleen Tyner (2007) writes of media literacy, “More specifically, it is education that aims to increase students' understanding and enjoyment of how media work, how they produce meaning, how they are organized, and how they construct reality. Media literacy also aims to provide students with the ability to create media products” (p.524). As more teachers emphasize media literacy, it is being used to give people the skills they need to make sense of the overwhelming amount of daily media that they are surrounded by. Digital platforms can be used by educators as a learning tool in the same way that students use them for entertainment. New technologies can help improve the purpose and outcome of modern education. The research of Kaveh (2012) has revealed that many vital educational advantages stem from applying new technologies. For example, knowledge atmospheres that have a multiplicity of media used “promote social cooperation models, better teaching methodologies, and better initiatives and collaborations” and they “enable students to expand their information base, world view, and collaboration” (Kaveh, 2012, p. 35). Kemker et al (2007) argue that new technologies can help students have a more authentic learning experience. This authentic learning means that: (1) students construct meaning and produce knowledge, (2) students use structured inquiry toward meaning, and (3) student's work will have value or meaning beyond success in school (Kemker et, 2007, p. 305). Kemker (2007) and her colleagues conducted a research study with students using digital technologies and teaching materials to create an authentic learning experience. The study used 300 sixth graders and followed them through their next three years of schooling. With the addition of laptop computers and other technologies, the students with technology access scored significantly higher on achievement tests than student in the same school in previous years who were not using digital technologies (Kemker, 2007). Aside from using digital media to connect to different forms of information sharing, teachers are also using new technologies to helps students with basic problem-solving skills and for things like reading and math. For example, video games have been

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developed that have educational purposes. Their use is based on research that shows students gain many benefits such as quicker response time, ability to problem solve, and increased cognitive skills. Professor David Miller (2011) conducted research with elementary school children where computer games were used in elementary classrooms in 32 schools in Scotland. In some classrooms, students used game consoles for 20 minutes each day where they had a brain training game to play. The study continued for 9 weeks. At the end of the experiment tests were given to the students who used the video games and the students who did not. The research found that there were significant gains in the speed and accuracy in solving math and other problems from the students who used the video games. In fact, the video games students had a 50% higher rate of performance than the students who did not use the games. These kinds of measures were found both for speed and accuracy. There was also a significant gain in self-confidence in the students who had used video games for “brain teaser” game exercises (Miller & Robertson, 2011, p.856). Not only do new technologies create better tools for teachers and more positive learning environments, they also help students participate in the outside world through news and information sharing. In other words, new technologies also provide social benefits to students. One social benefit of using media in the classroom is that some educators believe it will help students participate more in their surroundings. For example, Preston (2008) believes the use of technology in the classroom will help the students become better citizens and have more democratic ways of thinking. Preston (2008) likes to use political issues in the classroom such as social justice and political activiSN. She uses media like Myspace to help with this (Preston, 2008). Students have their own Myspace page, and they post discussions to each other and to anyone who wants to respond to critically evaluate responses. Lee (2003) explains how she is using technology to increase the experience of teaching politics in her college classrooms. She uses the media to allow students to participate actively in the learning experience. Lee’s approach is based on the theories of Vygotsky, Piaget and others who believe that students learn better by doing than by just being passive (Lee, 2003). She uses media to encourage students to actively participate in discovering and responding to social issues. Catherine Burwell (2010) also believes that interactive technologies can create community, empower users, and revolutionize communications. She describes that one of the biggest promises is that web social networks will bring democracy to media production. It is true there have been major changes in the way people communicate and share news. For example, SN creates a connection between those who make the news and those who receive the news. Now, ordinary citizens have become “citizen journalists.” As Burwell (2010) states, “Perhaps one the most insistent promises of a new, participatory culture is the democratization of media production” (p.382). Such descriptions of these users are used by marketers who say they are positioned to be competitive, powerful, unpaid digital “citizens.” Much is starting to be written about this revolution (Burwell 2010). Young people are often the focus, and they are described by the media as being synonymous with digital technology, actively using texting, tagging, blogging, social networking and remixing. This is reflected in many new books such as Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation (Tapscott, 2008) and Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives (Palfrey

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& Gasser, 2008). Stories of young people becoming famous because of their participation in the new media as both creators and producers are becoming common. It has also been argued that the use of technology in the classroom will help students become better citizens and have more democratic ways of thinking (Crawford 2010; Chan 2007). For example, Crawford writes that the government of Australia is promoting the use of technology in the classroom. Crawford argues that the government believes that globalization is placing new needs on students, and technology in the classroom will help prepare them for this international environment they will be facing, while bringing Australian students in line with the technological skills they will need to participate competitively in global markets (Crawford, 2010). Chan writes about the use of internet technologies and other media technologies in China. The first goal is to improve their literacy, but the second goal is "to help them develop into global citizens" (Chan, 2007, p. 45). Without the Internet, the two worlds of the classroom and the outside world are largely separated. But with internet technologies, the classroom becomes a place where students can connect to the world and learn about world issues first hand. Using technologies in the classroom does not automatically mean that students will have a better learning experience or perform better in learning outcomes. But using media can help develop more active learning strategies. Mateer (2013) argues that media should be used carefully in the learning process. Mills & Levido (2011), state, “What literacy teachers need to know is how to translate print-based practices that have dominated Western schooling into digital practices that most closely reflect the authentic uses of literacy beyond the classroom” (Mills & Levido, 2011, p. 79). Additionally, media can be used to motivate discussions or lock in concepts. If the new technologies are not used correctly, they could do nothing to improve learning or even cause more problems than they create. For example, using the Internet is a very passive experience. In fact, Carr (2008) argues that too much use of the Internet is actually making people less intelligent. The way information is received by surfing over large amounts of data has changed the way our brains operate. People are not able to concentrate or read deeply due to excessive internet usage (Carr, 2008, p. 3). However, while new technologies certainly may affect the way people read or gather information, if they are used correctly in the classroom they can enhance students' abilities, engage them more profoundly as self-regulated learners, and help students become active learners. Teachers need to be trained on how to use new technologies effectively if they do not know how to use them already in order to increase student abilities. Potter (2012) argues there are three key issues related to media literacy. First, ‘media’ must be clearly defined. For example, when discussing media literacy scholars are not necessarily referring to a broad range of mediums. Second, an operative definition of 'literacy' must be provided. As reported by Potter (2010) “some regard media literacy primarily in terms of increasing skills. Still other scholars regard media literacy as an activity or as a political, social and cultural practice” (Potter, 2012, p. 677). Lastly, the purpose of media literacy must be considered. Most writers hold that

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the purpose of media literacy is to improve the lives of individuals in some way, usually by giving them more control over how media affects them. Most views of media literacy seem to complement each other, with differences in emphasis (Potter, 2012). Potter (2012) also identifies some common themes related to media literacy. First, mass media potentially creates both negative and positive effects on young people. Media literacy enables young people to protect themselves from media’a potential negative effects by facilitating more control over the influence media can have. This literacy is particularly urgent in a culture where media messages are pervasive. Further, media literacy is something that must be learned with the guidance of experts, especially “considering that media messages are constantly evolving” (Potter, 2010, p. 678). Although using new technologies offer a lot of promise in the classroom, teachers need to learn how to use the technologies first, and then use them in ways that improve learning. Using media requires that the instructor step outside of the traditional lecture method and facilitate learning by encouraging students to learn through the media. This approach works best when students are primed. If students are not adequately informed about what they are expected to learn, they will struggle to make the connection between the learning objectives and the media to which they are exposed. SN in China According the World Watch Institute (2015), the economy of China is increasing day by day because of huge international demand for its products (Alon, 2003; Mente, 2000). China has been ranked the top country for internet users, with 641,601,070 million users and an average yearly growth of 24,021,070. The total population of the country is 1,393,783,836 billion. The media culture of China is different from other countries (Guo, 2011; Crampton, 2011; GoldSNith, 2006). Crampton (2011) indicated that China is using very different media from the rest of the world. As China's borders were opened to other countries and cultures in 1979, it has become the country with the largest number of users of advanced technology (MacKinnon, 2008). According to Yu (2012), Charles (2012), and Keith (2012) China has a unique SN landscape from the rest of the world. The objective behind China's unique usage of SN may be to create cultural particularities (Yu, 2012). In order to operate a business in China, people must understand this media and business culture. China does not have Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter. William (2007) suggests that the reason that China uses different SN platforms and under different regulations is in order to attract customers of SN. In this way, multinational telecommunication companies cannot easily access China's markets (Swartz, 2009). Chinese students’ instant message but China has a unique platform called QQ, which has nearly 808,000,000 users per year (Chen, 2014). Different search engines are popular in China, including some that are not present in the rest of the world (commonly used search engines include Baidu, 360, Google, Sogou, and SOSO). The largest social network in China is called QZone (Annual revenue of Baidu, 2013). Renovah (2014) found that Qzone has more users than Facebook. Further, China is

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using We Chat, Tencent Weibo, Sina Weibo, Renren and Kaixin. In fact, the number of people using WhatsApp in the whole world is less than the users of We Chat in China alone. The market for SN in China is massive, with over 500 million users (Pring 2012). Most people utilize smartphones for web access (Lee, 2000). Rather than using SNS, it is common for youth to use We Chat. In addition, the market of China is different (Trappey & Trappey, 2001). Pring (2012) wrote the international market is using Facebook, YouTube and similar but China is using different styles of media for their people. China has its own media and restrictions, representing a substantial departure from that of the rest of the world (Wright, 1996). Keith (2012) notes that the Chinese government censors international media while making its own media user friendly for Chinese people. China's distinct culture has resulted in the creation of a unique media landscape (Rapoza, 2011). For example, Youku is used instead of YouTube and offers a distinct platform for videos. In the videos, Chinese has not only short films present, but also videos contain pure content present in which the government are showing its culture and attract Chinese (Charles, 2012). The government shows pure content that attracts individuals to see videos repeatedly, the content must follow Chinese regulations and laws (Williams, 2013). The government restrict their people and are not able to use YouTube, in china they have a similar tool to YouTube created by government, because they don't want Chinese to publicly make common use of their norms and values like other nations. The Chinese government know and aware about the international markets like SN which getting interest to know the culture of Chinese that is a plus point for China. That is why Chinese government do not allow Chinese to access to YouTube, twitter, Facebook and they created their own social media tools. Similarly, Dorban, Qzone and RenRen are Chinese alternatives to Facebook (MacKinnon, 2008). The Chinese government has banned Facebook usage. Qzone is China's largest social network and attracts many youths (GoldSNith, 2006). University students tend to use RenRen, which functions similarly to Facebook (Lenhart, Purcell, SNith & Zickuhr, 2010). Sina Weibo is the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, launched in 2009 and becoming popular for microblogging since. Users are able to write almost 140 characters (436 Chinese words) as their status, a relative increase over Twitter (Fu, 2013; Xiaoxiao, 2013). They can post, comment, and follow their friends easily on computers or smartphones. SN in China is heavily restricted and regulated by the government, but this does not go undisputed. For example, on October 1, 2014, China blocked Instagram, Twitter, and WhatsApp applications completely because of happenings in Hong Kong (Parker, 2014). Many students walked in Hong Kong streets to show support for SN freedom, and this posed a threat to the Chinese government's policy of regulation and was also tied to pushes for democratic elections in the territory. In light of this, the government blocked the SN platforms (Liu, 2014; Fritchard, 2014).

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Digital Media Platforms and Education: The Uses of Social Networking in the UAE and China

SN in the UAE Extensive literature exists detailing the myriad ups and downs associated with SN across the globe (Feenberg, 2002). As far as the Arab world is concerned, to the surprise of many in the West, SN usage has been extensive. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) serves as an important case study because of its relatively large internet usage in comparison to other Arab countries. Despite this fact, there is no current, comprehensive and accurate accounting of SN usage in the UAE, although some estimates and data are available. One source ranked UAE users third among Middle Eastern countries in usage with 8.8 million users, after Iran and Saudi Arabia (Internet Usage Statistics, 2014). Unlike in China, all SN tools are open for the public in the UAE. According to a 2014 survey, 93% of respondents held SN accounts and 57% of respondents strongly supported government use of SN for design and delivery of public services (Mourtada % Alkhatib, 2014, p.11). According to Al Dhaheri (2015), UAE industrialists are increasingly using SN to raise their commerce by advertising products and events through social media locally and internationally. SN has also shaped the relationship between citizens and their government by: providing people from all walks of life with a platform to voice their opinions and discuss their concerns. In doing so, it has provided decision-makers with a detailed insight into society, offering information that cannot be found elsewhere. SN will increasingly be used by governments to engage with citizens and involve them in the decision-making process (Al Dhaheri, 2015, p.1).

But the sheer size of data on SN presents a challenge. According to Stats.ae (2015) , a website that screens SN usage, UAE youths post 2.5 million tweets a day. There is a similarly large and potentially rich set of data from circulation on Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr and other SN tools (The National, 2014). Students in the UAE also use SN in different grade levels. For example, over 26,000 in the 12th-grade use SN, which constitutes nearly 70%. Students followed their final grades thought SN (Schools in UAE, 2014, p.1) after the final exams, they act, chat and discuss together on the SN websites in the UAE Ministry of Education, in the first three days of tests, the students respondents aggressively responded an official Ministry survey meant at accomplishing general satisfaction in the behavior of exams and the presentation of students. That's mean UAE students are using the SN for academic purposes. The survey, aimed to get many comments and attitudes from students, was sent on the Ministry’s Twitter and Facebook sites (Schools in UAE, 2014). Al-Jenaibi (2014) argued that the most well-known SN tools in the UAE are usually similar to those used in other counties in the Middle East, including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and others. UAE students are both generally skilled in the use of a variety of SN, and well aware of its possible moral and practical limitations. It has served as a vital foundation and vehicle for news, data, commercial growth, opinion sharing, cultural production, and entertainment. But citizens are also well-aware of its potential as a platform for making business and government practices more transparent, and its usefulness as a mobilizing platform for political change.

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Al-Jenaibi (2013a) found in her study that students still require more media freedom and fast internet without censorship. According to a study done by Mourtada and Alkhatib (2014), "59% of respondents stated that they visited official government SN pages regularly, with 20% of them visiting these pages at least once a week, 8% of them at least once a day, and 31% of them several times a day. Of the remaining 41%, 29% claimed that they rarely visited official government SN pages, while 12% said they never did" (p.12). The number of SN users is growing in the UAE due in part to new services and promotions provide by telecommunication companies (Al-Jenaibi, 2013b). Therefore, most of the users believed that using SN for community service might be helpful. For short-term profits, "85% said that by creation " (p.14) communication among citizens and government more proficient, SN could decrease the prices of making and carrying these facilities, while "80% agreed" (p.14) that SN’s ability to improve data exchange could increase service quality. Theoretical Perspectives This study draws from Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT) that was developed to understand mass media in 1974 by the theorists Blumler, Katz, and Gurevitch (Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch,1973–1974) Applied then to understanding mass media, it suggests that receivers are responsible in selecting media that satisfies their needs, such as for knowledge and for social communication (Katz, 1987). It maintains that mass media is actively incorporated into their lives by audiences. The theory states how the receivers use the media in order to satisfy their specific gratification (Katz & Gurevitch, 1974). In this study, interview data will determine: a) whether SN satisfies the professional needs of professors and students to contribute to their teaching and learning abilities, and b) the understanding of university professors of the effectiveness of SN in satisfying the expectations of their targeted receivers. Gratification theory is a receivers-centered approach that transfers the focus of research from the purpose of the communicator to the needs of the receivers (Katz & Gurevitch, 1973). When receivers such as students use media, they are looking to satisfy a specific need, whether for entertainment, business, or acquiring information (McQuail, 2010). The high use of Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites reflects the satisfaction of audience needs through chatting, updating statuses, tweeting and re-tweeting, etc. A key facet of the theory is the requirement of expectations (Severin & Tankard, 1997). Individuals such as university students search for media that satisfies or fulfills their expectations. If expectations are not met, continued usage is discouraged (Rubin & Windahl, 1982). A gratification-based need for media is motivated not only by psychological reasons (Grant, et al., 1998), but also by social circumstances. For instance, new students in a university would likely use SN to connect with classmates, to acquire information about campus resources, and for academic purposes. The application of the Uses and Gratification theory supports the primary aim of this study, which is to gain an initial understanding of a set of basic questions about SN in classrooms as a basis for future research. This aim includes: a) to obtain a general gauge of the kinds of SN sites preferred by university students in China and

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Digital Media Platforms and Education: The Uses of Social Networking in the UAE and China

UAE, b) to explore the reasons users decided to use these sites, c) to learn more about various challenges they came across while using different social networking sites, and d) to solicit opinions about how difficulties could be overcome. The study focuses on the use of media and interests in relation to people's livelihoods and satisfactions which determines selection of media type and usage. The study included some queries that helped provide an accurate picture of how SN is actually being used, under what conditions, and essential information about future plans to develop SN, get students' feedback, and track students. Methodology and Method Sample: This study uses quantitative and qualitative analysis methods. First, a literature review is conducted of articles and books published on the subject and located through databases such as EBSCO, Lexis Nexis, ProQuest and JSTOR. The second method is a quantitative descriptive survey. The researcher distributed 1200 surveys evenly split between Chinese and UAE students and 998 were returned and analyzed. Reasons for combining a Quantitative and Quantitative Research Format This study uses a multi-method approach by combining a qualitative and quantitative analysis. This multi-method approach helps to verify interpretations of what is taking place in a given environment (Hammond, 2005; Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998), works toward obtaining more complete answers, and raises overall robustness (Mingers, 2015). Owing to its analytic power, this research approach enriches a researcher’s understanding of particular situations and enables researchers to broaden their scope of study and factor in other characteristics of a phenomenon (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998; Plewis & Mason, 2005; Sammons et al., 2004). Multi-method research places the researcher in a position to discover new factors which might encourage future research (Hoyles et al., 2005; Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998). Interview and focus group methods are not applicable in this study because of the large sample size in two countries, the distance between the countries, and language differences. According to Mae Sincero (2012), surveys carry the advantage of allowing people to answer questions freely, especially considering the sensitive topic about SN in China. Additionally, surveys circumvent geographical dependence (Wyse, 2012). Surveys also allow researchers to combine analysis of subjective, qualitative opinions with more valid statistical information. The researcher selected students in the United Arab Emirates University and Zayed universities in Dubai and Abd-Dhabi because they are the largest government universities and have many local students who are the targeted sample. In China, Peking University and Beijing International Studies University were selected for the same reasons. More than 600 survey were distributed in each country from September 2014 to March 2015. Out of 1200 surveys, 998 were returned. Two sets of data were collected among 403 Chinese and 595 UAE students with the proportion of nearly 58% female and 42% male for the Chinese sample and 59% Female and 41% male for UAE sample. The majority of students were aged 18-25 (Chinese nearly 94% and UAE nearly 97%) and single (95.3% Chinese and 85% UAE).

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Data collection The Likert scale instrument is best suited to a matrix survey-questionnaire format that allows the researcher to effectively gauge attitudes and gather relevant data. The questions focus on capturing respondent’s perceptions and/or attitudes regarding the following factors: • desirability of SN among students in China and UAE • perceived advantages of SN in the classrooms • need for SN in the teaching environment • concerns about adequate usage of SN at universities • benefits of SN to university students in China and UAE The 5-point Likert scale asks respondents to select either (1) Strongly Disagree, (2) Disagree, (3) Neutral, (4) Agree, or (5) Strong Agree with statements about perceived favorability of work-place environments. Research Questions included in the Survey. The research problem examined in this study is summarized: What needs are fulfilled by young people through using social networking (SN) and how is usage linked to academic performance? From this key research question, the following operationalized questions and variables emerge: 1. Habits and patterns of use of students' social networks Q 1: What habits and patterns of SN suage exist in terms of: the extent of use, the most widely used networks, the number of hours and days of usage times and places of employment? Q 2: Are there any statistically significant differences at the 0.05 level in the habits and patterns of use of communication networks and gender? Q3: Are there differences in the needs / saturation achieved by young people from using SN according to the variables of gender and the university to which that student belongs? Q 4: Is there a statistically significant relationship at the 0.05 level for the use of SN in the university and increasing students' research skills? 2. Students use SN more than older populations. Q 5: What needs are satisfied by young people through using SN? Q6: Are there differences in the needs / saturation achieved by young people from using SN depending on the variables of gender and income? Q 7: Is there a statistically significant relationship at the level of 0.05 between increasing the number of SN hours and possession of more than one phone and computer? Independent variables: income, university

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Digital Media Platforms and Education: The Uses of Social Networking in the UAE and China

Intermediate variables: gender (male, female) Dependent variables: gratification derived from the use of SN Identify the differences and differences in the study sample of university students about usage patterns and new media, according to the views of the general traits are as follows: A. Differences in the rate of youth employment and SN usage, according to the extent of owning a SNart phone or the number of phones and computers available in the universities. B. Differences in the rate of youth employment and SN, according to the average monthly income categories in the classroom T. Differences in the rate of youth employment and SN usage, according to the extent of Internet use at the university. W. Differences in the rate of use of SN according to their distribution to students. C. Differences in the cumulative average for users of SN by type (student). H. The degree of satisfaction among a sample study of young people using SN by age variables monthly income and the field of study and type (student) gratification. X. The study sample about the extent of dissatisfaction with SN views D. The impact of the use of SN to gain expertise in the university, such as research. Y. The most important places to use SN and gender networks. T. Needs of young people achieved by the use of SN. Statistical Analysis As previously indicated, t-test, regression, descriptive statistics (frequency) and inferential statistics (correlation coefficients) are used in data distribution on the mean and to find the relationship between independent and dependent variables. It was measured at the ordinal level because this option measure both numbers and categories. The researcher used inferential statistics such as Pearson’s correlation coefficients to test hypotheses. This statistical procedure is used to determine the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSES Respondents’ profile In this study respondents included 403 Chinese and 595 UAE students. The majority of Chinese respondents were female (n:232:, 57.6%) and 42.4% were male (n:171). UAE respondents included 243 Male (40.8%), and 352 Female (59.2%). The

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majority of student’s age was between 18-25 (Chinese nearly 94%) and UAE (96.7%) and the majority were single (95.3% Chinese and 85% UAE). Chinese Profile Table 1 Chinese profile Frequency

Percent

male female Total

171 232 403

42.4 57.6

20-18 21-25 26-30 Above 30

189 189 19 6

46.9 46.9 4.7 1.5

Married Single divorce Widow

8 384 10 1

2.0 95.3 2.5 .2

Chinese

403

100.0

6 340 49 7 1

1.5 84.4 12.2 1.7 .2

159 122 44 30 45 3

39.5 30.3 10.9 7.4 11.2 .7

234 169

58.1 41.9

10 15 51 150 125 52

2.5 3.7 12.7 37.2 31.0 12.9

Gender

Age

Social status

Nationality Family size live alone 2-4People 5-7 People 8-10 People above 10 People Economic status (In Dirham) less than 1000 1001-3000 3001-6000 6001-10000 above 10000 didn't answer Permanent Residence / emirate Beijing Another city GPA less than 2 2-2.5 2.5-3 3-3.5 3.5-4 without a GPA

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Digital Media Platforms and Education: The Uses of Social Networking in the UAE and China

Profile (UAE) Table 2 UAE profile Frequency

Percent

Gender Male Female Total

243 352 595

40.8 59.2 100

Age 18-24 25-30 31-36 Above 37

198 377 17 3

33.3 63.4 2.9 .5

Married Single Divorced Other

71 506 16 2

11.9 85.0 2.7 .3

Emirati Gulf countries Arabian Other nationalities

485 50 54 6

81.5 8.4 9.1 1.0

35 144 168 166 82

5.9 24.2 28.2 27.9 13.8

112 232 70 65 116

18.8 39.0 11.8 10.9 19.5

273 131 46 13 6 96 30

45.9 22.0 7.7 2.2 1.0 16.1 5.0

Frequency 80 192 189 84 50

Percent 13.4 32.3 31.8 14.1 8.4

Social status

Nationality

family size Valid

live alone 2-5 People 6-7 People 8-10 People More than 10 People Economic status (In Dirham) Valid less than 1000 1000-3000 3000-6000 6000-10000 Above 10000 Permanent Residence / emirate Valid Abu Dhabi DUBAI Sharjah Ajman Umm Al-Qaiwain Ras Al Khaimah Fujairah GPA Valid

less than 2 2-2.5 2.6-2.9 3-3.5 3.6-4

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Device usage and time spend Majority of Chinese student have 1-2 computers (53.3%) and SN smartphones (71.7%), while majority of UAE student have 3-4 computers (41.7%) and 1-2 SN smartphones (46.1%). Time students spend online is 1 -3 hours (Chinese 51.6%, UAE 31.4%) and 4-5 hours (Chinese 25.3% and UAE 28.7%). Chinese Table 3 Device use and time spend-Chinese Select the number of computers (PC) you have in your home 1-2 215 3-4 155 5-6 28 7-8 5 Select the number of smart phones you have 1-2 289 2-3 69 3-4 33 more than 4 12 how many hours a day do you spend in the use of SN Less than an hour 44 1 -3 hours 208 4-5 hours 102 6-7 hours 30 more than 7 hours 18 6 1

53.3 38.5 6.9 1.2 71.7 17.1 8.2 3.0 10.9 51.6 25.3 7.4 4.5 .2

UAE Table 4 Device use and time spend-UAE Select the number of computers (PC) you have in your home 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 more than 8 Select the number of smart phones you have 1-2 2-3 3-4 more than 4 How many hours a day do you spend in the use of SN Less than an hour 1 -3 hours 4-5 hours 6-7 hours more than 7 hours

Frequency 204 248 91 40 12

Percent 34.3 41.7 15.3 6.7 2.0

274 140 57 124

46.1 23.5 9.6 20.8

66 187 171 106 65

11.1 31.4 28.7 17.8 10.9

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Digital Media Platforms and Education: The Uses of Social Networking in the UAE and China

Habits and patterns of use of students' social networks What habits and patterns of use exist in China and the UAE for social networks in terms of: the extent of use, the most widely used networks, the number of hours, days of usage times and places of employment? In terms of the number of computer, 53.3% Chinese and 34.3% of UAE student have 1-2 computers in their homes; 38.5% of Chinese and nearly 42% of UAE students have 3-4 computers; nearly 7% of Chinese and 15.3% of UAE student have 5-6 computers. The proportion of 71.7% of Chinese and 46% of UAE have 1-2 SN smartphones in home; 17% of Chines and 23.5% of UAE have 2-3 SN smartphones in home. Among the respondents, 51.6% of Chinese and 31.4% UAE students spend 1-3 hours a day online; 25.3% Chinese and 28.7% of UAE student spend 4-5 hours a day online. Are there any statistically significant differences at the 0.05 level in the habits and patterns of use of communication networks and Gender in China and the UAE? Independent sample t-test shows that there is not a statistically significant different between males and females towards patterns of use of communication networks in China. However, it was found that male and female students in the UAE have different ideas about purpose of using communication networks. The result shows there is a statistically significant different idea about the purpose of using communication networks between males and females towards using Google, Facebook, and Twitter in UAE. Males in UAE are less likely to use these modern SN techniques compared to females. Table 5 T-test of gender differences towards use of comm network (Chinese) Levene's Test for Equality of Variances Mean F Sig.

How far you use of modern SN techniques: Google? How far you use of modern SN techniques: Facebook? How far you use of modern SN techniques: Twitter? How far you use of modern SN techniques: YouTube? How far you use of modern SN techniques: Instagram? How far you use of modern SN techniques: BBM? How far you use of modern SN techniques: WhatsApp? How far you use of modern SN techniques: Skype? How far you use of modern SN techniques: Snap chat?

male female male female male female male female male female male female male female male female male female

3.281 2.903 4.023 4.095 4.509 4.420 4.108 4.047 4.152 3.966 4.702 4.703 4.655 4.608 4.322 4.276 4.532 4.595

.704

.40

.004

.949

1.851

.174

.022

.881

1.595

.207

.026

.873

.755

.385

.028

.868

2.214

.138

t

Sig

2.07 2.782 -.547 -.544 .903 .920 .498 .497 1.403 1.415 -.010 -.010 .503 .507 .396 .396 -.597 -.586

.006 .585 .587 .367 .358 .619 .619 .161 .158 .992 .992 .615 .613 .692 .693 .551 .558

Mean Difference .3777 .3777 -.0714 -.0714 .0885 .0885 .0608 .0608 .1865 .1865 -.0008 -.0008 .0472 .0472 .0458 .0458 -.0627 -.0627

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Table 6 test of gender differences towards use of comm network (UAE)

How far you use of modern techniques: Google? How far you use of modern techniques: Facebook? How far you use of modern techniques: Twitter? How far you use of modern techniques: YouTube? How far you use of modern techniques: Instagram? How far you use of modern techniques: BBM? How far you use of modern techniques: WhatsApp? How far you use of modern techniques: Skype? How far you use of modern techniques: Snap chat?

SN SN SN SN SN SN SN SN SN

Gender Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female

Mean 1.486 1.313 2.481 3.693 2.008 2.105 1.765 1.813 1.951 1.912 1.790 1.852 2.107 1.943 2.576 3.210 2.687 2.741

F 21.25

Sig. .000

11.407

.001

22.916

.000

.108

.742

7.708

.006

1.851

.174

9.713

.002

1.009

.316

3.356

.067

t 2.565 2.469 -9.762 -9.934 -.938 -.978 -.577 -.582 .374 .389 -.565 -.576 1.537 1.518 -4.984 -4.962 -.398 -.402

Sig. (2tailed) .014 .000 .000 .349 .329 .564 .561 .709 .697 .572 .565 .125 .130 .000 .000 .691 .688

Mean Difference .1731 .1731 -1.2117 -1.2117 -.0969 -.0969 -.0471 -.0471 .0387 .0387 -.0621 -.0621 .1638 .1638 -.6341 -.6341 -.0542 -.0542

Are there differences in the needs / saturation achieved by young people from using social networking according to the variables of gender and the university that the student belongs in China and the UAE? Independent sample t-test shows that there is not a statistically significant difference between males and females towards use of communication networks as documented sources of information in China except Google and BBM. As the results show, males are less likely to use Google as an information source compared to females. Meanwhile, it was found that male and female students in the UAE have different ideas about purpose of using all types of communication networks. The results show a statistically significant difference between males and females towards using Google, Facebook, and Twitter and other social networking as an information sources. Male are less likely to use these modern SN techniques compared to females.

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Digital Media Platforms and Education: The Uses of Social Networking in the UAE and China

Table 7 Using social networking as an information sources (Chinese) Gender How far you agree that Google is documented sources of information? How far you agree that Facebook is documented sources of information? How far you agree that Twitter is documented sources of information? How far you agree that YouTube is documented sources of information? How far you agree that Instagram is documented sources of information? How far you agree that BBM is documented sources of information? How far you agree that WhatsApp is documented sources of information? How far you agree that Skype is documented sources of information? How far you agree that snap chat is documented sources of information? How far you agree that other SN are documented sources of information

Mean

F

Sig.

t 3.243

Sig. (2tailed) .001

Mean Difference .3070

4.816

.029

3.183

.002

.3070

male female

2.424

male female

2.721 2.560

.082

.774

1.680 1.662

.094 .097

.1615 .1615

male female

2.939 2.799

.004

.948

1.557 1.541

.120 .124

.1407 .1407

male female

2.682 2.686

1.897

.169

-.041 -.041

.967 .968

-.0040 -.0040

male female

2.809 2.633

.600

.439

1.798 1.796

.073 .073

.1763 .1763

male female

3.152 3.124

4.586

.033

.354 .345

.723 .730

.0276 .0276

male female

3.030 3.053

.365

.546

-.267 -.265

.789 .791

-.0228 -.0228

male female

2.903 2.894

2.969

.086

.101 .099

.920 .921

.0092 .0092

male female

3.015 3.075

.616

.433

-.733 -.717

.464 .474

-.0601 -.0601

male female

2.596 2.493

.687

.408

1.099 1.086

.272 .278

.1024 .1024

2.117

Table 8 Using social networking as an information sources UAE Gender How far you agree that Google is documented sources of information? How far you agree that Facebook is documented sources of information? How far you agree that Twitter is documented sources of information? How far you agree that YouTube is documented sources of information? How far you agree that Instagram is documented sources of information? How far you agree that BBM is documented sources of information? How far you agree that WhatsApp is documented sources of information? How far you agree that Skype is documented sources of information? How far you agree that snap chat is documented sources of information? How far you agree that other SN are documented sources of information

Mean Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female

1.35 1.151 1.868 1.378 2.407 2.179 1.877 1.398 2.609 2.202 1.996 1.599 2.029 1.378 1.576 1.392 1.683 1.378 1.000 1.145

F

Sig.

t

27.3

.000

31.732

.000

7.754

.006

13.476

.000

20.015

.000

10.981

.001

43.955

.000

5.516

.019

22.132

.000

40.874

.000

3.24 3.098 5.964 5.534 1.965 1.929 5.603 5.353 3.430 3.313 4.658 4.432 7.882 7.423 2.245 2.186 3.503 3.324 -3.088 -3.718

Sig. (2tailed) .002 .000 .000 .050 .054 .000 .000 .001 .001 .000 .000 .000 .000 .025 .029 .000 .001 .002 .000

Mean Difference .2033 .2033 .4905 .4905 .2284 .2284 .4788 .4788 .4073 .4073 .3965 .3965 .6510 .6510 .1841 .1841 .3053 .3053 -.1449 -.1449

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Is there a relationship statistically significant at the 0.05 level in the place of the use of social networking in the university and the increase of research students' skills in China and the UAE? Pearson correlation results shows that there is a significant relationship between use of social networking in classroom and ‘strength communication’ as well as ‘spread news’ among both Chinese and UAE student. The relationship between use of social networking in classroom and ‘strength education’ as well as ‘broadcasting advertisements’ was found to be significant for UAE students. The relationship between the use of social networking in classroom and entertaining was significant for Chinese students. The more the Chinese and UAE students use networking in classroom, the higher positive effects they gain in terms of ‘strength communication’ as well as ‘spread news.’ UAE students believed that using networking in classroom has positive effects on ‘strength education’ and ‘broadcasting advertisements.’ Using social networking in classroom for Chinese students has positive effects on entertaining. Table 9 Relationship between using S.N in classroom and positive effect (chines and UAE) Impacts in strength communication Strength education Spread news between people? Exchange cultures Broadcasting advertisements Entertaining Positive impacts in community?

Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed)

Chinese .149** .003 .061 .224 .135** .007 .044 .374 .030 .552 .145** .004 .006 .909

UAE .171** .000 .146** .000 .242** .000 .096* .020 .170** .000 .042 .307 .011 .794

Student Usage of SN Are there significant statistical relationships at the level of 0.05 among increasing the number of hours, the use of social networks, and possession of more than one phone and computer in China and the UAE? There is a statistically significant difference between time Chinese and UAE students spend using S.N and the number of computers they have. The relationship between numbers of SN smartphones and time Chinese students spend using S.N was not significant, but was significant for UAE students. Those who have 1-4 devices spend more time using S.N.

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Table 10 Numbers of device and amount student spend using S.N (UAE)

Time spend how many hours a day do you spend in the use of SN

Total

Less than an hour 1 -3 hours 4-5 hours 6-7 hours more than 7 hours Missing

Chinese Select the number of computers (PC) you have in your home 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 28 14 2 0 120 75 13 0 45 43 11 3 10 18 1 1 12

0 215 Chi-Square Tests

Value

Total

Less than an hour 1 -3 hours 4-5 hours 6-7 hours more than 7 hours Missing

44 208 102 30

4

1

1

18

1 155

0 28

0 5

1 403

Asymp. Sig. (2sided)

df

Pearson Chi26.271a 15 Square Likelihood Ratio 27.386 15 Linear-by-Linear 6.954 1 Association N of Valid Cases 403 a. 12 cells (50.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .01.

Time spend how many hours a day do you spend in the use of SN

Total

.035 .026 .008

Select the number of smart phones you have 1-2 2-3 3-4 more than 4 29 9 4 2 157 31 16 4 71 18 10 3 20 6 1 3

Total 44 208 102 30

11

5

2

0

18

1 289 Chi-Square Tests

0 69

0 33

0 12

1 403

Value

df

Asymp. Sig. (2sided)

Pearson Chi11.831a 15 Square Likelihood Ratio 10.828 15 Linear-by-Linear .493 1 Association N of Valid Cases 403 a. 12 cells (50.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .03.

.692 .765 .482

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Table 11 Numbers of device and amount student spend using S.N (UAE) UAE Select the number of computers (PC) you have in your home more 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 than 8 How many hours Less than an hour a day do you spend in the use 1 -3 hours of SN 4-5 hours

31

22

2

10

1

66

72

77

29

6

3

187

55

75

23

15

3

171

6-7 hours

27

44

27

5

3

106

more than 7 hours

19

30

10

4

2

65

204

248

91

40

12

595

Total

Chi-Square Tests Value 36.008a 36.908

Asymp. Sig. (2sided) .003 .002

df

Pearson Chi-Square 16 Likelihood Ratio 16 Linear-by-Linear 5.269 1 .022 Association N of Valid Cases 595 a. 7 cells (28.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 1.31. Select the number of smart phones you have more 1-2 2-3 3-4 than 4 How many hours a day do you spend in the use of SN

Total

Total

Less than an hour 1 -3 hours

Total

33

11

9

13

66

113

24

15

35

187

4-5 hours

73

57

14

27

171

6-7 hours

35

28

11

32

106

more than 7 hours

20

20

8

17

65

274

140

57

124

595

Chi-Square Tests Asymp. Sig. (2Value df sided) Pearson Chi-Square 45.857a 12 .000 Likelihood Ratio 46.454 12 .000 Linear-by-Linear Association 11.273 1 .001 N of Valid Cases 595 a. 0 cells (0.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 6.23.

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Digital Media Platforms and Education: The Uses of Social Networking in the UAE and China

China and the UAE usage patterns and new media Language used Using language is measured by fine-Likert scale ranged as: (1)Always, (2) Often, (3) Sometimes, (4) Rarely, (5) Never. The responses were sorted from highest to lowest Majority of Chinese students think Chinese language is the most used language in communication with SN (mean1.22) Majority of UAE student think Arabic language is the most used language in communication with SN (mean1.17) Table 12 Language usage-Chinese Do you agree that Chinese language is the most used language in communication with SN Do you agree that English language is the most used language in communication with SN Do you agree that other languages are important to use when you communicate through the SN? Do you agree that French language What is the most used language in communication with SN Do you agree that Spanish language What is the most used language in communication with SN Do you agree that Arabic language What is the most used language in communication with SN Valid N (list wise)

N

Mean

Std. Deviation

403

1.22

.570

403

2.95

.873

291

4.13

1.407

398

4.81

.615

398

4.82

.637

395

4.84

.633

Mean

Std. Deviation

286

Table 13 Language usage-UAE N Do you agree that Arabic language is the most used language in communication with SN Do you agree that English language is the most used language in communication with SN Do you agree that other languages are important to use when you communicate through the SN? Do you agree that French language What is the most used language in communication with SN Do you agree that Spanish language What is the most used language in communication with SN Do you agree that Chinese language What is the most used language in communication with SN Valid N (list wise)

595

1.17

.492

595

2.18

1.024

526

4.21

.477

595

4.55

.764

595

4.65

.623

595

4.68

.610

526

Primary source of information Types of SN as a primary source of information is measured by fine-Likert scale ranged as: (1)Always, (2) Often, (3) Sometimes, (4) Rarely, (5) Never. The responses were sorted from highest to lowest. Chinese students used Radio is Friends is the primary source when I hear about the SN services before you use them (mean: 1.45) The first five media choice for Chinese are: 1. Friend 2. Mobile

Journal of Media Critiques [JMC] – Vol.1 No.1 June 2015 3. 4. 5.

T.V Magazine Radio

The 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

first five media choice for UAE are: Other sources Friend Magazine Mobile T.V

71

Table 14 media choice for Chinese N Friends is the primary source when I hear about the SN services before you use them? Mobile is the primary source when I hear about the SN services before you use them? TV is the primary source when I hear about the SN services before you use them? Magazines is the primary source when I hear about the SN services before you use them? Radio is the primary source when I hear about the SN services before you use them? Newspaper is the primary source when I hear about the SN services before you use them? Other sources? Radio is the primary source when I hear about the SN services before you use them? Valid N (list wise)

Mean

Std. Deviation

403

2.00

.991

398

2.05

1.147

403

2.97

1.240

402

3.27

1.235

402

3.32

1.130

402

3.41

1.142

133

3.58

1.333

402

3.81

1.120

129

Table 15 media choice for UAE N Other sources? Friends is the primary source when I hear about the SN Magazines s the primary source when I hear about the SN Mobile is the primary source when I hear about the SN TV is the primary source when I hear about the SN Newspaper is the primary source when I hear about the SN Radio is the primary source when I hear about the SN Radio is the primary source when I hear about the SN Valid N (list wise)

595 595 595 595 595 594 595 577 577

Std. Mean Deviation 1.34 1.083 1.45 .784 1.56 .869 1.58 .956 2.09 1.130 2.73 1.347 2.79 1.320 2.93 1.482

Devices use to connect with SN Types of devices is measured by fine-Likert scale ranged as: (1) Always, (2) Often, (3) Sometimes, (4) Rarely, (5) Never. The most highly used devices for the Chinese sample were Laptop and IPhone respectively. For the UAE sample, they were Blackberry and Galaxy respectively

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Digital Media Platforms and Education: The Uses of Social Networking in the UAE and China

Table 16 Device choice for SN-Chinese Mean

Std. Deviation

Kind of Devices you use to connect with SN (Chines) The most device you use to connect with SN is laptop

N 401

2.60

1.532

The most device you use to connect with SN is IPhone

400

3.16

1.732

The most device you use to connect with SN is computer

399

3.20

1.379

The most device you use to connect with SN is I pad

399

3.38

1.492

other social media

161

3.47

1.628

The most device you use to connect with SN is Galaxy

401

3.63

1.635

The most device you use to connect with SN is blackberry

398

4.73

.850

Valid N (list wise)

159

Table 17 Device choice for SN-UAE Kind of Devices you use to connect with SN (UAE) other SN The most device you use to connect with SN is blackberry The most device you use to connect with SN is Galaxy The most device you use to connect with SN is IPhone The most device you use to connect with SN is I pad The most device you use to connect with SN is laptop The most device you use to connect with SN is computer Valid N (list wise)

N 595 595 595 595 595 595 595 595

Std. Mean Deviation 1.51 1.319 1.96 1.485 2.18 1.355 2.27 1.599 2.32 1.663 2.43 1.406 3.41 1.705

Place of using SN Place of using SN is measured by fine-Likert scale ranged as: (1) Always, (2) Often, (3) Sometimes, (4) Rarely, (5) Never. As the results show, the majority of Chinese and UAE students mostly use SN in their house. Table 18 Place of using SN (Chinese) Place of using SN (Chinese) I prefer to use social networks constantly in my house I prefer to use social networks constantly at classroom. other places I prefer to use social networks constantly at classroom in public places Valid N (list wise)

N 400 402 21

Mean 1.86 2.43 2.48

Std. Deviation .902 1.038 1.289

403

2.49

1.064

N 592

Mean 1.38

Std. Deviation .830

other places

595

1.47

1.238

I prefer to use social networks constantly at public places

595

2.12

1.292

I prefer to use social networks constantly at classroom.

595

2.51

1.260

Valid N (list wise)

592

21

Table 19 Place of using SN (UAE) Place of using SN (UAE) I prefer to use social networks constantly in my house

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Kind of SN that students use Kind of SN that students use is measured by fine-Likert scale ranged as: (1) Strongly Agree, (2) Agree, (3) Neutral (4) Disagree, (5) Strongly Disagree. Chinese students mostly use Google and Instagram, while UAE students use Google and YouTube. Table 20 Kind of SN that students use it (Chinese) Kind of SN that students use it (Chinese) other SN How How How How How How How

far far far far far far far

you you you you you you you

use use use use use use use

of of of of of of of

modern modern modern modern modern modern modern

SN SN SN SN SN SN SN

techniques? techniques? techniques? techniques? techniques? techniques? techniques?

N Google Instagram Facebook YouTube Skype Twitter Snap chat

How far you use of modern SN techniques? WhatsApp How far you use of modern SN techniques? BBM Valid N (list wise)

188 396 398 400 399 398 398 395 398 396 183

Mean 2.34 3.07 4.04 4.06 4.07 4.29 4.45 4.56 4.62 4.70

Std. Deviation 1.681 1.365 1.325 1.297 1.215 1.151 .977 1.049 .936 .816

Table 21 Kind of SN that students use it (UAE) Kind of SN that students use it (UAE) How far you use of modern SN techniques: other SN How far you use of modern SN techniques: How far you use of modern SN techniques: How far you use of modern SN techniques: How far you use of modern SN techniques: How far you use of modern SN techniques: How far you use of modern SN techniques: How far you use of modern SN techniques: How far you use of modern SN techniques: Valid N (list wise)

N Google? YouTube? BBM? Instagram? WhatsApp? Twitter? Snap chat? Skype? Facebook?

595 595 595 595 595 595 595 595 595 595 595

Mean 1.38 1.47 1.79 1.83 1.93 2.01 2.07 2.72 2.95 3.20

Std. Deviatio n .813 1.259 .978 1.319 1.240 1.279 1.238 1.634 1.556 1.602

Ease of use of SN Ease of use of SN is measured by fine-Likert scale ranged as: (1) Strongly Agree, (2) Agree, (3) Neutral (4) Disagree, (5) Strongly Disagree. Google and Facebook are easy for Chines student to use. Google and Instagram are easy for Chines student to use

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Digital Media Platforms and Education: The Uses of Social Networking in the UAE and China

Table 22 Ease of use of SN (Chinese) Chinese How far you agree that use? Google other social media? How far you agree that use? Facebook How far you agree that use? instagram How far you agree that use? BBM How far you agree that use? Twitter How far you agree that use? Skype How far you agree that use? WhatsApp How far you agree that use? Snap chat How far you agree that use? BBM Valid N (list wise)

N the following modern SN are easy to

the following modern SN are easy to the following modern SN are easy to the following modern SN are easy to the following modern SN are easy to the following modern SN are easy to the following modern SN are easy to the following modern SN are easy to the following modern SN are easy to

Mean

Std. Deviation

345

2.24

.975

168

2.54

1.152

332

2.63

1.001

327

2.69

1.016

326

2.71

1.027

313

2.85

.964

315

2.92

.968

303

3.04

.923

299

3.05

.892

300

3.16

.845

142

Table 23 Ease of uses of SN –UAE Easiness of uses of SN How far you agree that use? Google Other SN? How far you agree that use? Instagram How far you agree that use? BBM How far you agree that use? BBM How far you agree that use? Twitter How far you agree that use? WhatsApp How far you agree that use? Snap chat How far you agree that use? Skype How far you agree that use? Facebook Valid N (list wise)

N the following modern SN are easy to

the following modern SN are easy to the following modern SN are easy to the following modern SN are easy to the following modern SN are easy to the following modern SN are easy to the following modern SN are easy to the following modern SN are easy to the following modern SN are easy to

Mean

Std. Deviation

595

1.33

.744

595

1.38

1.100

595

1.61

.847

595

1.64

.963

595

1.65

.878

595

1.68

.835

595

1.69

.965

595

2.07

1.229

595

2.21

1.204

595

2.51

1.345

595

Trust of SN as a documented source Trust of SN as a documented source is measured by fine-Likert scale ranged as: (1) Strongly Agree, (2) Agree, (3) Neutral (4) Disagree, (5) Strongly Disagree. The majority of both Chinese and UAE believed that Google is a trusted source of information. The most trusted sources to get the information for Chinese are: 1. Google 2. Facebook

Journal of Media Critiques [JMC] – Vol.1 No.1 June 2015 3. 4.

YouTube Twitter

The 1. 2. 3. 4.

most trusted sources to get the information for UAE are: Google Skype Snap chat Facebook

75

Table 24 Trust –Chinese Trust of SN as a documented source (Chinese) How far you agree that Google is documented sources of information? How far you agree that Facebook is documented sources of information? How far you agree that YouTube is documented sources of information? How far you agree that Twitter is documented sources of information? How far you agree that Instagram is documented sources of information? How far you agree that Skype is documented sources of information? How far you agree that WhatsApp is documented sources of information? How far you agree that BBM is documented sources of information? How far you agree that Snap chat is documented sources of information? Valid N (list wise)

N

Mean

Std. Deviatio n

348

2.11

.986

325

2.59

1.032

322

2.64

1.036

316

2.68

1.050

322

2.74

1.004

306

3.01

.914

303

3.03

.866

298

3.06

.888

298

3.06

.876

295

Table 25 Trust –UAE UAE How far you agree information How far you agree How far you agree How far you agree information? How far you agree information? How far you agree information? How far you agree information? How far you agree How far you agree How far you agree information? Valid N (list wise)

N that other SN are documented sources of that Google is documented sources of information? that Skype is documented sources of information? that snap chat is documented sources of that Facebook is documented sources of that YouTube is documented sources of that WhatsApp is documented sources of that BBM is documented sources of information? that Twitter is documented sources of information? that Instagram is documented sources of

Mean

Std. Deviation

595

1.09

.567

595 595

1.23 1.47

.757 .987

595

1.50

1.055

595

1.58

1.014

595

1.59

1.051

595

1.64

1.040

595 595

1.76 2.27

1.038 1.397

595

2.37

1.437

595

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Digital Media Platforms and Education: The Uses of Social Networking in the UAE and China

Social networking in the classroom Using SN in university classrooms is measured by fine-Likert scale ranged as: (1) Strongly Agree, (2) Agree, (3) Neutral (4) Disagree, (5) Strongly Disagree. The majority of Chinese and UAE student use social networks to communicate with colleagues in the classroom. Table 26 Social networking in the classroom-Chinese Chinese Do you use social networks to communicate with colleagues in the classroom? Do you use social networking to connect with the university administration? Do you use social networking to connect with Professor / Dr at university? Valid N (list wise)

N

Mean

Std. Deviation

402

1.85

.912

402

2.91

1.198

402

3.01

.989

402

Table 27 Social networking in the classroom-UAE UAE Do you use social networks to communicate with colleagues in the classroom? Do you use social networking to connect with Professor / Dr at university? Do you use social networking to connect with the university administration? Valid N (list wise)

N

Mean

Std. Deviation

595

2.24

1.207

595

2.71

1.355

595

2.76

1.421

595

Uses of SN in the classroom Uses of SN in the classroom is measured by fine-Likert scale ranged as: (1) Strongly Agree, (2) Agree, (3) Neutral (4) Disagree, (5) Strongly Disagree. The majority of Chinese students agree they are using SN for information in the classroom (mean:2.9). The majority of UAE student agree they are using SN for information in the class room (mean:1.53) Table 28 Uses of SN at the classroom (Chinese) Uses of SN at the classroom (Chinese) How you use the SN in the class room? (for information) How far you agree that the student cant dispensing for using the SN services at the university? How you use the SN in the class room?(For fun and spend time in lectures)? How you use the SN in the class room? (To communicate with colleagues inside the classrooms) How you use the SN in the class room? (Use for projects and assignments) How far you agree to the use of modern social networking technologies in classrooms instead of traditional teaching methods? How you use the SN in the class room? (To connect with Prof / Dr inside classrooms) Valid N (list wise)

N 402

Mean 2.09

Std. Deviation .978

388

2.10

.898

401

2.30

1.053

402

2.37

1.105

402

2.42

1.057

389

2.57

.885

402

3.43

1.122

388

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Table 29 Uses of SN at the classroom (UAE) Uses of SN at the classroom How you use the SN in the class room? (for information)

N

How you use the SN in the class room? (Use for projects and assignments) How far you agree that the student cant dispensing for using the SN services at the university? How you use the SN in the class room? (To communicate with colleagues inside the classrooms) How you use the SN in the class room?(For fun and spend time in lectures) How far you agree to the use of modern social networking technologies in classrooms instead of traditional teaching methods? How you use the SN in the class room? (To connect with Prof / Dr inside classrooms) Valid N (list wise)

Mean

Std. Deviation

595

1.53

.880

595

1.63

.916

595

2.06

1.227

595

2.20

1.287

595

2.31

1.418

595

2.34

1.195

595

2.52

1.477

595

Academic problems and SN uses Academic problems and SN uses is measured by fine-Likert scale ranged as: (1) Strongly Agree, (2) Agree, (3) Neutral (4) Disagree, (5) Strongly Disagree. The majority of Chinese students (Mean: 2.58) and UAE students (mean: 1.16) agree that Facebook wastes time (Mean: 2.58). Table 28 Wasting time –Chinese N How far you agree that Facebook is waste the student time? How far you agree that Twitter is waste the student time?? How far you agree that the other social networking sources are waste the student time? How far you agree that Instagram is waste the student time? How far you agree that YouTube is waste the student time? How far you agree that snap chat is waste the student time? How far you agree that WhatsApp is waste the student time? How far you agree that BBM is waste the student time? How far you agree that Skype is waste the student time? How far you agree that Google is waste the student time? Valid N (leastwise)

335 327

Mean 2.58 2.71

Std. Deviation .892 .920

161

2.73

.922

323 325 300 302 297 311 343 140

2.80 2.87 2.88 2.93 2.94 3.01 3.22

.927 .964 .921 .872 .834 .912 1.028

Table 29 Wasting time –UAE Academic problems and SN uses (UAE) How far you agree that the other social networking sources are waste the student time? How far you agree that Facebook is waste the student time? How far you agree that snapchat is waste the student time? How far you agree that WhatsApp is waste the student time? How far you agree that Instagram is waste the student time? How far you agree that BBM is waste the student time? How far you agree that Twitter is waste the student time? How far you agree that Skype is waste the student time? How far you agree that YouTube is waste the student time? How far you agree that Google is waste the student time? Valid N (leastwise)

N

Mean

Std. Deviation

595

1.16

.604

595 595 595 595 595 595 595 595 595 595

2.02 2.06 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.13 2.20 2.36 2.79

1.039 1.129 1.117 1.098 1.170 1.091 1.202 1.230 1.419

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Digital Media Platforms and Education: The Uses of Social Networking in the UAE and China

Kind of harmful sources Kind of harmful sources is measured by fine-Likert scale ranged as: (1) Strongly Agree, (2) Agree, (3) Neutral (4) Disagree, (5) Strongly Disagree. The majority of Chinese students agree that YouTube is a harmful source (Mean: 3.15). The majority of UAE student agree that Facebook is a harmful source of information for students (Mean: 2.31) Table 30 Harmful sources Chinese Kind of harmful sources (chines) How far you agree that the other social networking are harmful sources of information to students? How far you agree that YouTube is harmful sources of information to students? How far you agree that Facebook is harmful sources of information to students? How far you agree that Twitter is harmful sources of information to students? How far you agree that snap chat is harmful sources of information to students? How far you agree that WhatsApp is harmful sources of information to students? How far you agree that BBM is harmful sources of information to students? How far you agree that Instagram is harmful sources of information to students? How far you agree that Skype is harmful sources of information to students? How far you agree that Google is harmful sources of information to students? Valid N (leastwise)

N

Std. Deviation

Mean

164

3.06

.925

324

3.15

.935

328

3.15

.885

322

3.18

.871

303

3.20

.888

306

3.24

.820

302

3.26

.807

321

3.26

.852

316

3.31

.860

342

3.35

1.038

146

Table 31 Harmful sources UAE

UAE How far you agree that the other social networking are harmful sources of information to students? How far you agree that Facebook is harmful sources of information to students? How far you agree that Twitter is harmful sources of information to students? How far you agree that snap chat is harmful sources of information to students? How far you agree that Instagram is harmful sources of information to students? How far you agree that BBM is harmful sources of information to students? How far you agree that Skype is harmful sources of information to students? How far you agree that YouTube is harmful sources of information to students? How far you agree that WhatsApp is harmful sources of information to students? How far you agree that Google is harmful sources of information to students? Valid N (leastwise)

N

Mean

Std. Deviation

595

1.25

.751

595

2.31

1.059

595

2.39

1.072

595

2.43

1.125

595

2.46

1.081

595

2.53

1.152

595

2.53

1.179

595

2.58

1.147

595

2.62

1.151

595

2.90

1.367

595

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Negative behavioral effects Negative behavioral effects of SN is measured by fine-Likert scale ranged as: (1) Always, (2) Often, (3) Sometimes, (4) Rarely, (5) Never. The majority of Chinese (mean; 1.98) and UAE (mean: 1.79) students believe that using SN has negative impacts such as wasting time Table 32 Negative effects-Chinese Negative behavioral effects of SN (chines) Do you agree that using SN have negative waste of students’ time? Do you agree that using SN have negative Internet addiction? Do you agree that using SN have negative increasing the low academic level? Do you agree that using SN have negative Do you agree that using SN have negative increasing social isolation? Do you agree that using SN have negative Intervention in politics and incitement? Do you agree that using SN have negative Buried talents and activities and hobbies? Valid N (leastwise)

N impacts such as impacts such as impacts such as impacts in general? impacts such as impacts such as impacts such as

Mean

Std. Deviation

401

1.98

.879

399

2.48

.995

399

2.77

.977

96

2.79

.994

399

2.82

.980

397

2.93

.897

398

2.94

1.062

94

Table 33 Negative effects-UAE Negative behavioral effects of SN (UAE) Do you agree that using SN have negative general? Do you agree that using SN have negative waste of students’ time? Do you agree that using SN have negative Internet addiction? Do you agree that using SN have negative increasing social isolation? Do you agree that using SN have negative Buried talents and activities and hobbies? Do you agree that using SN have negative increasing the low academic level? Do you agree that using SN have negative Intervention in politics and incitement? Valid N (leastwise)

N impacts in impacts such as impacts such as impacts such as impacts such as impacts such as impacts such as

Mean

Std. Deviation

595

1.26

.899

595

1.79

.933

595

1.82

.988

595

1.95

1.023

595

2.33

1.213

595

2.37

1.113

595

2.60

1.344

595

Positive impacts Positive behavioral effects of SN (is measured by fine-Likert scale ranged as: (1) Always, (2) Often, (3) Sometimes, (4) Rarely, (5) Never. The majority of Chinese students agree that SN has positive impacts in entertaining people (Mean: 1.78). The majority of UAE students agree that other SN have positive impacts in community (mean: 1.19)

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Digital Media Platforms and Education: The Uses of Social Networking in the UAE and China

Table 34 positive impacts (Chinese) positive impacts (Chinese) Do you agree that SN have positive impacts in entertaining people? Do you agree that SN have positive impacts in strength communication between people? Do you agree that SN have positive impacts in spread news between people? Do you agree that SN have positive impacts in exchange cultures between people Do you agree that SN have positive impacts in broadcasting advertisements between people? How far you agree that social networks have a positive impact on the behavior of a college student? How far you agree that social networks have a positive impact on the study of a college student? Do you agree that SN have positive impacts in strength education between people? Do you agree that other SN have positive impacts in community? Valid N (leastwise)

N

Mean

Std. Deviation

401

1.78

.856

398

1.84

.811

401

2.00

.812

401

2.29

.854

400

2.35

1.030

399

2.38

.684

399

2.40

.708

400

2.44

.841

83

2.77

.888

81

Table 35 positive impacts (UAE) UAE Do you agree that other SN have positive impacts in community? Do you agree that SN have positive impacts in strength communication between people? Do you agree that SN have positive impacts in spread news between people? Do you agree that SN have positive impacts in entertaining people? Do you agree that SN have positive impacts in strength education between people? Do you agree that SN have positive impacts in exchange cultures between people? Do you agree that SN have positive impacts in broadcasting advertisements between people? How far you agree that social networks have a positive impact on the behavior of a college student? How far you agree that social networks have a positive impact on the study of a college student? Valid N (leastwise)

N

Mean

Std. Deviation

595

1.19

.801

595

1.57

.806

595

1.70

.838

595

1.72

.988

595

1.80

.882

595

1.88

.981

595

1.97

1.159

595

2.22

.926

595

2.25

.956

595

Social networking addicted In response to a question asking whether you consider yourself addicted to the use of social networking, 48% of Chinese and 56.5% of UAE answered yes and 51% of Chinese and 43.5% of UAE answered no.

Journal of Media Critiques [JMC] – Vol.1 No.1 June 2015 Table 36 Addiction Chines

Do you consider yourself addicted to the use of social networking Frequency yes 194 no 205 Missing 4 Total 403

Percent 48.1 50.9 1 100.0

UAE yes no Total

336 259 595

How far you trust people who I've met through social networks? Chines Frequency trust them so much 19 trust them sometimes 290 i don't trust them at all 92 6 2 Total 403 UAE Frequency I trust them so much 47 I trust them sometimes 332 I never trust them 216 Total 595

Problem faced caused by social networking

56.5 43.5 100.0

Percent 4.7 72.0 22.8 .5 100.0 Percent 7.9 55.8 36.3 100.0

Have you had a family problems / or social problems as a result of the use of social networking ? Chines Frequency Percent yes 181 30.4 no 414 69.6 Total 595 100.0 UAE yes 226 38.0 no 369 62.0 Total 595 100.0 Have you had problems with lecturers as a result of the use of social networking within the classroom? Chinese Frequency Percent yes 80 19.9 no 313 77.7 Missing 10 2.5 Total 403 100.0 UAE yes 226 38.0 no 369 62.0 Total 595 100.0

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Summary In terms of digital devices, the majority of Chinese students have 1-2 computers (53.3%) and SN smartphones (71.7%), while the majority of UAE students have 3-4 computers (41.7%) and 1-2 smartphones (46.1%). Time students spend online is 1-3 hours (Chinese 51.6%, UAE 31.4%) and 4-5 hours (Chinese 25.3% and UAE 28.7%). Chinese students primarily use laptops and smartphones to connect to SN UAE students primarily use Blackberry and Galaxy respectively. The majority of Chinese students think Chinese language is the most used language in AM communication, similar to the Arabic finding in the UAE sample. Nearly half (48%) of Chinese students and over half (56.5%) of UAE students consider themselves addicted to the use of social networking. The top five media choice for Chinese are: (1) Friend, (2) Mobile, (3) T.V, (4) Magazine, and (5) Radio, while the UAE sample responded with: (1) Other sources, (2) Friend, (3) Magazine, (4) Mobile, (5) T.V. Results show that the majority of students in both samples mostly use SN in their house. Chinese students use Google and Instagram most frequently, while UAE students use Google and YouTube. Google and Facebook are easy for Chinese students to use, while Google and Instagram are easy for UAE student to use. The majority of both Chinese and UAE students believed that Google is a trusted source of information. The most trusted sources of information for Chinese students are Google, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. The most trusted sources for UAE students are: Google, Skype, Snap chat, and Facebook. The majority of Chinese and UAE student use social networks to communicate with colleagues in the classroom. The majority of Chinese students and UAE students use SN for information in the classroom. Results show that there is not a statistically significant difference between males and females in patterns of use of communication networks in China. However, it was found that male and female students in the UAE have different ideas about purpose of using communication networks. The results show there is a statistically different idea about purpose of using communication networks such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter between males and females in the UAE. Males in the UAE are less likely to use these modern SN platforms compared females. As this study revealed there is not statistically different between male and female towards use of communication networks as documented sources of information in China except for Google and BBM. However, Chinese males are less likely to use Google as an information source compared to females. DISCUSSION Based on this survey of literature, media literacy in education is not being promoted enough in curricula, which neglects the literacy needs of today’s students. As the results demonstrate, the more students in both samples use networking in the classroom, the greater positive effects they gain in terms of ‘strength communication’ and ‘spread news.’ So, students use SN to satisfy their needs such as communicating with each other's and selecting their favorite SN tools. Gratification theory suggests that receivers are responsible in selecting media that satisfies their needs, which is relevant in the UAE but less so in China where the government created and selected the media for students. UAE students believed that using networking in classroom has positive effects on ‘strength education’ and ‘broadcasting advertisements.’ Using social networking in the classroom for Chinese students has positive effects on entertaining,

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which supports the gratification theory in reference to the receiver's need of SN for communication, psychological reasons, (Grant, et al., 1998) and social circumstances. In answering the research questions: Does SN strengthen the bond between professors and students? What are UAE and Chinese's students' attitudes and perceptions toward using SN for educational purposes? There is a significant difference between time Chinese and UAE students spend using S.N and the number of computers they have. The relationship between numbers of Smartphone and time Chinese students spend using S.N was not significant, but was significant for UAE students. Those who have 1-4 devices, spend more time using S.N. The majority of Chinese students and UAE students agree that Facebook wastes time. Meanwhile, the majority of Chinese and UAE students agree that YouTube and Facebook are harmful sources. Wasting students’ time is one of the most negative effects of using SN according to both student samples. Meanwhile, Chinese students agree that SN has positive impacts in entertaining people and UAE students see positive impacts in community. Further, the study finds that there is a relationship between the use of social networking in the classroom and ‘strength communication’ as well as ‘spread news’ among both Chinese and UAE students. The relationship between use of social networking in classroom and ‘strength education’ as well as ‘broadcasting advertisements’ was found to be significant for UAE students. The relationship between use of social networking in classroom and entertaining was significant for Chinese students. The more Chinese students use social networking in the classroom, the greater the benefits they received in terms of ‘strength education’ as well as ‘broadcasting advertisements.’ Most researchers such as Lundby (2009) and Abreu (2010) recognize the profound changes that digital platforms have presented in terms of the distribution and transmission of powerful messages that pervade the social environments of our modern world, yet many scholars like Swartz (2009) and Charles (2012) have also argued that students have resisted or been reluctant to address literacy needs so they can navigate their digitalized world. Perhaps this is a generational issue, since current university students did not grow up with the global SN because of the country restrictions and regulations such as not allowing other SN to enter the Chinese community. However, other nations and young people have the freedom to use the SN. Many Chinese students do not participate in the same way as other people out of China did, because of the government media restrictions, so they are not comfortable in this new and unfamiliar territory from a pedagogical perspective. It is exactly what the research finds that Chinese students are not satisfied about blocking and creating special social networks for Chinese. As suggested by a few scholars, like McLoughlin & Lee (2010) in order to guide others in media literacy requires expertise in the constantly evolving and shifting mass media content. Perhaps students need more guidance and training in this area in order for true changes to be realized in today’s classrooms. In spite of its imposing number of online students' users in the classrooms, the Chinese government makes it

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too difficult for foreign corporations to enter its social networks, making it an excessive obstacle for many non-Chinese speaking marketers. The Chinese government uses hard control over social networks, blocking international giants like Facebook and Twitter, and censoring heavily. While students are not satisfied about SN censorship, some of them are satisfied with some chat tools like We Chat. UAE students have the same concerns about censorship but they are satisfied with the global SN networks they use and their roles for academic purposes but some concerns are slow internet and limited freedom. Students seem aware the importance of SN and its potential benefits for doing research, communicating, and accessing information. Limitations of Study This research will have implications for professors in UAE schools who will be able to make informed decisions about their educational tools. It will also be of interest to scholars researching similar topics and to students who actively use these technologies in classrooms. Furthermore, this study will provide essential quantitative and qualitative data to aid in public policy decisions concerning teaching and educational initiatives. Of course, there could be studies overlooked or omitted from this article. The survey covered a broad area of disciplines, however, including mass media and communication studies, educational studies, along with social sciences studies. Future research should address the practical and best-practice methods of teaching media literacy. Also, the researcher suggests that future research should be conducted on how future educators are being prepared to address media literacy in their future classrooms.

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Journal of Media Critiques [JMC] doi: 10.17349/jmc115204 P-ISSN: 2056-9785 E-ISSN: 2056 9793 http://www.mediacritiques.net [email protected]

ARE YOU CUP OF JOKING? : THE “LATTE SALUTE”, AMERICAN PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA’S VISUAL RHETORIC JENNIFER ANNE GEHRISCH ∗ ABSTRACT The “latte salute” as it has been coined is a highly publicized image taken in 2014 made popular by media outlets ranging from big news stations to online social media blogs. Depicting United States President Barack Obama exiting Air Force One, the presidential plane, the “latte salute” entered media channels and quickly became a social media phenomenon. It has been mentioned on television by Sarah Palin, Hannity and Colmes, Bill O'Reilly and Rosie O’Donnell. The incident has been popularized again and again by political cartoonists, activists, and artists. Backlash has ranged from social media outrage to creation of websites petitioning for public support to rise against the President’s actions in the photo. This research seeks to address the visual rhetoric of the latte salute photograph. The rhetorical implications of the presidency's visual spectacle deserve elucidation. Keywords: Presidential, Rhetoric, Visual Rhetoric, television media, pictorial turn, nonverbal, mass media.

INTRODUCTION Photographic images of the President of the United States I argue are not a reliable source for developing an organic, honest, and true understanding of the president. Their success is too rooted in the visual spectacle to be merely fortuitous recollections of past events. As rhetorical devices presidential photographs are employed and beget to influence public opinion. Although images can be used to inform audiences, political images have an agenda rooted in argumentation and persuasion. By visually displaying their interests and activities leaders reveal the screen upon which they communicate (Finnegan & Mixon, 2014, p.244) In this article I will describe and outline the role of the visible in politics. I will also describe the denotative aspects of the image, as well as the connotative meaning that ∗

Graduate Student in the School of Communication at San Diego State University. [email protected]

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has stirred controversy created by the image will be explained, then I will delimit some major arguments that circulated in mainstream media. In this paper my artifact will be engaged in several ways. The theory of the pictorial turn will seek to inform a better understanding of the image in a broader political context. Further, the performance of past president Ronald Reagan will be evaluated as a basis for comparison. Iconic imagery, captioning, fragmentation, politics, and motivated viewership will all be addressed as they apply to the visual rhetoric of the presidency. In this paper I argue that it is imperative to evaluate the rhetorical implications of the theory of the presidential pictorial turn. Connecting our actions to the role the visual plays in popular culture means acknowledging the image as a center of influential power. When analyzing presidential behaviors through images, behavioral norms and their impact for the performative role of presidency are valuable to consider. Presidential performance fragments are embodied in photo opportunities and have been working for generations to inform a collective understanding of the leader of the free world (Erickson, 2000). This process has become increasingly utilized to manage presidential image. Erickson (2000) shares that “Images of Nixon toasting Chairman Mao, Ford celebrating the nation's 200th birthday in New York Harbor, and Carter shuttling peace offerings between Israel and Egypt likewise captured the attention of witnesses worldwide” (p.139). This process of image campaigning is increasingly steeped in presidential tradition. In a democracy in which our judgements guide decision making, the visual is a powerful rhetorical device capable of evoking emotion. “There is little doubt that mediated images can enhance state craft” (Erickson, 2000, p.138). The use of a rhetorical principle of emotional mirroring is evidence of an intrinsic connection between rhetoric and the visual. Messaris and Hawhee (2009) posit that images in journalism evoke emotion. These emotions are a part of what guides our decision making in regards to whom we wish to lead our country and how we feel about those who do so. The finest example of a president who evoked good emotions in many he met, a man who was a master showman, is that of President Reagan who is rumored to be the first president to set a standard norm for the salute. Reagan understood the need for this ritualistic military practice of a formal salute. As a one-time service member, he upheld protocol which is time honored to service members nationwide. Reagan understood that the salute is an important part of nonverbal behaviors for those who protect our nation. This understanding along with his experience with acting made Reagan the perfect courtesan of media. He raised the bar and set a standard for presidents who followed. He executed his performative role as first an actor and then a politician. Reagan’s initial dealings with the public were part of a larger public relations campaign put on by Hollywood (Ritter, 1999). Ronald Reagan was not only an actor but a master of ceremonies, extensive public speaker, and a man who succeeded under the camera’s watchful eye. His winning personality made him affable and

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unintimidating to voters. His platform relied upon his reputation as a well-known actor and grew to one in which he became “a defender of ordinary citizens pitted against an unsympathetic elite class” (Ritter, 1999, p.137). The anti-community rhetoric which Reagan espoused clashed at times with his sunny disposition, this was something Reagan himself monitored, aware that image is everything. Staged photo opportunities are part of strategic message development tactics, which seek to woo captive audiences and assume dominance over their sensibilities. Reagan was famous as an actor prior to becoming president he was a man of the stage. A performer first and then a leader, his role in the spectacle of the political process was award winning. Iconic Images Photographs with a superior ability to speak to audiences are deemed iconic as they are ideals which gain widespread popularity and are easily recognized. According to Hariman and Lucaites (2007) an iconic image functions in ritual response and is copied and reproduced much in part because it invokes the collective experience. They speak to the hearts and minds of generations. They are a product of an increasingly pictorial turn in public life. Iconic photographs unlike other images fail to disappear into obscurity. They live on creating social awareness and defining the times. According to Hariman and Lucaites (2007) images are art, the voice of democracy, pieces of systems of social relationships, and representations of dominant narratives. The “latte salute” possesses a few markers of the iconic image. One of these markers is its frequent use in political satire. Many political cartoons have repeatedly used the “latte salute” controversy to put into perspective political situations in which the president is involved. One cartoon depicts a character wearing a t-shirt with “right wing nut jobs” on the front while holding holding a newspaper headlined “latte salute”. The character has flames coming from his head and Obama stands next to him using his fire hot flames to ignite his coffee pot. The cartoon is meant to depict President Obama as calm and cool, deflecting the heat or fire, ie. the anger felt by his critics, with an heir of solemn confidence. The cartoon retorts popular criticism by poking fun at those who took the image with less than a grain of salt. Yet another political cartoon that employs the latte salute as is one in which the President Obama is criticized for his military strategy. In the cartoon the president accompanied by a military official in uniform and what appears to be a cabinet member, looks over a battle plan map that is covered with coffee. The president is holding an upside down emptied mug in his hand and the military official’s bubble thoughts read “Well it was a great battle plan”, thereby insinuating that the president had “ruined” battle plans. This adds further skepticism to an already under fire leader. It I believe means to say that the president is inconsiderate of not only his soldiers but of also his military strategy. The cartoon highlights or brings to mind Obama’s lack of military service in a way that others and marginalizes him from leadership of that helm.

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Politics An image of the president by its very nature is a political text. The image could be both aestheticized or politicized, addressed or ignored. The objective stance requires that instead of denigrating this image it be viewed as content which is political in nature. This is true not just because of the actors it contains but also because of the actions the photograph seeks to highlight. Those who view the image as purely political understand that it is filled with affect. Given the audience for the latte salute image and history of argumentation among divided political parties, the image is in line to become a catalyst for further division among political party supporters or opponents of President Obama. The image was used as adverse propaganda. Images are credited with playing a valuable role in argument and at times playing an even bigger role in rhetoric than text does as they can be “accurate, concise, and relevant” (Birdsell & Groark, 1996, p.103). Azoulay (2012) evaluates the word political in relation to discourse in the arts. Political art is that which contains subjects whom are identified as political. Political art is sought out, judged, and differs from the aesthetic. The image can be credited with usefulness for orienting individuals to shared group identity as well as being largely representative of history. Typically in the name of competition “presidents enhance their political attributes by posing as bigger than life, simultaneously casting themselves as strong, active, decisive, and compassionate (Erickson, 2000, p.143). Motivated Viewership The president is a necessary resource for information for citizens of the United States (Demir, 2011). Hariman and Lucaites (2007) posit that “we (society) are dedicated to the critical study of public discourse and public arts on the assumption that they are crucial to the success of the democracy” (p.4). Through voyeur ship we seek guidance and influence. According to Keisner (2009) looks at movies, one type of mass medium direct thought processes and emotions, and play a powerful role in shaping reality. We watch and listen to the television to see the president and to gain information from him, understand him, and gain trust in him. According to Demir (2011) it is important that when evaluating a political leaders we do more than listen to their verbal rhetoric alone. Some research posits that nonverbal qualities are superior as they are more easily remembered, clearer, and more convincing (Demir, 2011). The relationship between image events and the televisual public sphere is one in which events are a central mode of public discourse powerfully inspiring thoughts in their onlookers (Deluca, 1999). The events of the image are stuck in time but the future recourse they inspire does not have to be. In essence image events work as vehicles for social change. Stirring people to question long held beliefs, in a contemporary era, image events are weapons for social change. Due to a higher frequency of use of images in such a way onlookers become accustomed to images functioning as rhetorical devices.

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Captions The meaning audiences take from an image is subjective. The process by which an individual derives meaning of a photograph is based in part upon individual interpretation. The perceptual lens, beliefs, and life experiences viewers bring to the visual experience are all determinants of their development of understanding the image as it applies to their personal and social reality. The latte salute is still relatively new and has not been a part of discourse on the visual rhetoric of the American presidency. Its meaning may change over time as subjective reality shifts and its new meaning becomes shaped by standpoints that look into the past at the event that is part of a collective America at that given time. To label an image or create a caption for it, the picture must be viewed objectively. The caption is a piece of what Barthes calls a “complexity of concurrent messages with the photograph at the center” (Barthes, 1997, p.15). The image and caption exist separately from one another. The weight the caption and photograph bear alone is different than their combined effect. An image which is captioned for us is a terministic screen. This screen acts to cover the individuals own interpretation with an opinion. The discursive transition from view to thought forced by televisual frames of spoken and written language. Commentators bold declarations based upon pre-conceptualized understanding of definitions of terms for objects. We become tethered to boisterous declarations of meaning. The terminology stands to influence how we conceive of what we see, words a prison holding our feelings captive. To feel the image alone requires deep contemplation, attention, and concentration. When evaluating the weight of the social totality of an images meaning we may look to other factors such as how the image is framed by the sources which disperse it to the public. Big news media possess narrative authority. Distance stands between the public and access to knowledge of events, media closes this gap. According to Mitchell (1994) pictures much like language are rising as a discussion topic, an unsolved mystery or problem, as well as a potential science of its own. Made public, images assist audiences in narratively constructing reality and are a growing topic for research. The study of pictures is lesser understood in the field of communication and as a discipline among scholars than is research into the written and spoken word. Communication has been predominantly interested in words but the study of visual rhetoric is increasingly of interest to communication scholars. Viewers may travel innocently to television for information and news, but are often greeted by biased commentators framing the events of the day using their own twist. Media’s power enables strategic use of information to sway public opinion (Mitchell, 1994). Mulvey (2012) further explains that changes in the content of film takes place when the sources of the film change. Hidden political agendas are very present in media outlets.

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Fragmentation The oversimplification of complex political issues is one ramification of reliance upon shattered visuals. Photo opportunities of presidents are fragmented performances (Erickson, 2009). Erickson (1998) argues that fragmentation under privileges the gestalt or whole collective understanding. The influx of momentary glimpses of the presidency lead the public away from speech and facts towards the false sense of understanding that exists in political illusionism (Erickson, 1998). Imprudent photo opportunities call into question a president’s “image, agenda, credibility, and authority” (Erickson, 2000, p.138). This small window of opportunity to impress leads to manipulation. To get the desired message across politicians mask intentionality and opt for crowd pleasing performances. Tagg proposes that “existence of a photograph is no guarantee of a corresponding pre photographic existence” (1993). The photograph is not telling of behavioral norms or predispositions. A photograph could quite in fact, be a once in a lifetime moment which should not be used to generalize to a situation. Latte Talk What has been deemed the “latte salute” by media conglomerates is just that a recording of the President of the United States ducking as he exits then standing erect as he steps off of his official plane. The event was recorded by and then presented by the media in both video and pictorial form. The image is of President Barack Obama stepping off Air Force Once with a latte cup in his right hand. Still wearing his sunglasses the president's head remains upright as he seems to be assessing his visual surroundings while multitasking his way down the decline. The video of the entire series of events is less than thirty seconds. Following the presidential exit shortly thereafter is the First Lady Michelle Obama in a red dress and black sweater who is also captured in the photograph. Her face unseen and curtained by her dark mane which hangs as she seems to be concentrating on walking in a black kitten heel so intently that she fails to look out past the stairs. In uniform at the bottom of the stairs standing on either side of the stairs next to the plane are two uniformed marines standing at attention, their white cloves perched close to the bill of the black bill of their white caps. They stand still, firm and unwavering, one with his back facing the lens the other poised with a stern facial expression. Just as the president’s right foot (first) hits dry land his salute is at its apex. All the while he retains the firm grip on his cup as he almost hunches to make his hand reach his brown in lieu of the repository clutched. The images sky rocket to infamy really rests in the artifact occupying President Obama’s right hand, the white paper coffee cup. The president is a busy many as the picture reveals, he is unfastening his sport coat jacket with his right hand. Within hours of the event, much in part because of the globalization of social media giving rise to the dissemination of images rapidly, an event of monumental proportions evoking argumentation from many factors became the talk of the town. Captured at a time when the pressures of the presidency were insurmountably immense, a time of war, and a time of global unrest and sickness, the image is one frame of a leader carrying the burden of running the country in the midst of a busy day.

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The “latte salute” was born in an era of social media. An era in which every person has the power to author their own media and disperse it. Also an era in which public discourse plays a vital role in the consumption of media. No longer passive participants in the once spectator sport of mass media, social media is making discussion at the help of the process of participation in civic life. The image sparked waves of discussion through various social media channels like twitter, inciting those who saw the image on the news or through online sources to share their feelings and beliefs about the nature of the behavior espoused by President Obama, the meaning behind this behavior, and opinions about how his actions should or are received. Method The theory of the pictorial turn will frame some of the understanding this research hopes to bring to the “latte salute” image. Using what has been learned about political imagery this paper will attempt to frame the image in the space in which analysis can be made possible through Pictorial Turn The history of rhetoric has been predominantly concerned with things, idea, and words. Words hold a familiarity to us that pictures sometimes do not. Images possess an inherent ability to be completely foreign to the eye. According to Mitchell, 1994, p.12) a paradigm shift has taken place called the pictorial turn, “this complexly related transformation occurring in other social sciences” is a turn in public culture. The visual is a newer and lesser understood medium for research which communication researchers and a growing number of disciplines are interested in. The pictorial turn “is a post linguistic, post semiotic, rediscovery of the picture as a complex interplay between visuality, apparatus, institutions, discourse, bodies, and frugality” (Mitchell, 1994, p.16). In American public culture, daily life is in part constituted by mediated representations of the state of life. Media works to sustain the process of engagement that constitutes citizenship. Erickson (1999) explains that mediated images of American presidents work to legitimate their claims. Hundreds of photo opportunities, staged sessions, in which presidents attempt to outdo or live up to past standards of other presidents have been conducted in order to enhance public opinion. The picture has given leaders an outlet for influencing political interest, creating awareness, and molding an image for themselves. Analysis Whether this image is considered prudent or imprudent, the latte salute is not a “Kodak” moment for the president. Captured at a time in which the pressures of the presidency were immense, a time of enduring war, a time of emergency in public health on a global level as Ebola began its rise, and a time when the first African American president has taken the helm, the latte salute is the product of tumultuous and rapidly changing times. The president’s responsibilities are insurmountable, what we see in his images is quite possibly a reflection of the tremendous mental and emotional burden the president is under. He is a burdened man both literally and metaphorically in this image. He is weighted by his impending responsibilities, as

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represented by the full cup that he lifts to his brow in honor of a presidential tradition of salutation. “Those who understand the rhetorical messages at play become empowered citizens” (McCabe, 2012, p.35). What makes this so difficult is the myriad of meanings that can be taken from different messages. Reading emotions and underlying thoughts and beliefs of a person via their nonverbal communication can be difficult because as Demir (2011) points out “nonverbal communication is vague” (p.2). To rely solely on a fragmented image of nonverbal behavior may be a foolish way to attempt gaining understanding. Doubts exist about the role which pictures play in philosophical and other discourses (Mitchell, 1994). This era stirs questions about the photos ability to remain under control (Mitchell, 1994). Mitchell (1994) explains iconophobia or the fear that exists as a result of pictures and their powers to move rhetorical as powerful forces. Presidential rhetoric’s visual turn privileges dominant ideology (Erickson, 2000). One of the many devices, presidential travel, is used to gain favorable attention and popularity by many constituents (Darcy, 1998). Scholars rely however on cues such as the “economy, tides of war, and political socialization as presidential support”, instead of visual rhetorical means (Darcy, 1998, p.7). Presidential travel for the sake of improving public opinion however would not be effective. Decades of research has revealed contrary to what is assumed that popularity is not directly related to presidential travel spectacles. Further, the public's presidential approval ratings are numb to facts whose staying power has not been seen (Darcy, 1998). Considerations must be made for the pictorial turn and for mass media. Keller (2001) states as he discusses the implications for the transition rhetoric has taken from literary to visual form “Abraham Lincoln could still afford to wear crumple suits and sweat soaked shirts without detriment to his career” (p.2). This really puts into perspective how we judge the president. According to Mullen (1997) campaign impact and political news comprehension are influenced by the visual. An effective leader today requires leaders to be active participants in the complex relationships remaining mindful of all aspects of communication (Oliverio, 2008). CONCLUSION The “latte salute” has an important place in the study of visual rhetoric. Scholarly research reveals as supported by this article time and again that political imagery is powerful and enduring in the minds of the public. Further, photographs seek to affect evaluations of presidents’ credibility, image, agenda, and authority (Erickson, 2009). This paper has discussed the implications of the “latte salute”. It also argues for greater understanding of the nature of political images. Given what we know about the nature of political imagery, and more specifically presidential photos, it can be said that political images are not untouched reliable sources for images that are unorchestrated. I encourage you to remember this as you consume mediated images. I also encourage you to view them analytically with concern for the nature of the political photo. Is the image purely created or used for

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propaganda? Too often political scenes are engineered to further political agenda alone. The game of the visual spectacle is crafted to manipulate the public into beliefs that may not reflect truths that are hidden behind a veil of visibility. The president himself could have staged this rendering in order to make deep and meaningful connections between his presidency and that of past presidents for his audience of constituents. In yet another revealing political cartoon Obama is drawn facing a cartoon President George W. Bush. Both president in this cartoon are holding an item respectively, one a dog, and the other a coffee mug as they salute one another. The cartoon highlight a shared moment in which both presidents lack the proper form in their wave. Time seems us to continue to bring us these images coincidentally. Speculating that the presidency would strategize in such a way may seem beyond what the general public might assume, however as we have come to understand the presidency is a performative role where there are winners and loser, and creating a desired image may make or break a candidate requiring that they manipulate their appearance to create a socially constructed self out of desired elements. The visual is so very important to our construction of our social realities. The importance that we place on it however can be manipulated. This must be acknowledged when acting as consumers of media through which our daily lives are regularly influenced. The “latte salute” is a reminder to continue to question what we see and where and by whom its meaning is derived and framed.

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REFERENCES Azoulay, A. (2012). Selection from civil imagination: A political ontology of photography. London: Verso. Ben-Porath, E. (2007). Rhetoric of atrocities: The place of horrific human rights abuses in presidential persuasion efforts. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 37, 181-202. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/215683018?accountid=13758. Birdsell, D.S. & Groarke, L. (1996). Toward a theory of visual argument. Argumentation & Advocacy, 33, 1-10. Darcy, R. & Richman, A. (1988). Presidential travel and public opinion. The Presidency in a Bicentennial and Quadrennial Election Year, 14, 85-90. Deluca, K.M. (1999). Image politics: The new rhetoric of environmental activism. New York: The Guilford Press. Demir, M. (2011). Using nonverbal communication in politics. Canadian Social Sciences, (7), 1-14. Erickson, K. V. (1998). Presidential spectacles: Political illusionism and the rhetoric of travel. Communication Monographs, 65(2), 141-153. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/214242390?accountid=13758. Erickson, K. V. (2000). Presidential rhetoric's visual turn: Performance fragments and the politics of illusionism. Communication Monographs, 67(2), 138. Finnegan, C. A., & Mixson, A. J. (2014). Art controversy in the Obama White House: Performing tensions of race in the visual politics of the presidency. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 44(2), 244-266. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1540786352?accountid=13758. Hariman, R. & Lucaites, J. L. (2007). No caption needed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Hawhee, D. & Messaris, P. (2009). Review essay: What’s visual about “Visual Rhetoric?”. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 95, 210-223. Keller, Ulrich, (March 28,2001). Power visuals: The rhetoric of the U.S. presidency. Mellon Lecture. Lecture conducted from the Canadian Centre for Architecture. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Mayer, J. (2004). The public presidency. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 34, 620631.

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McCabe, K. (2012). Climate-change rhetoric: A study of the persuasive techniques of President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Australian Journal of Communication, 39, 35-58. Mitchell, W.J.T. (1994). The pictorial turn. Picture theory: Essays on verbal and visual representation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Mullen, L. (1997). The President’s visual image from 1945-1974: An analysis of spatial configuration in news magazine photographs. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 27, 819-834. Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual pleasure and narrative cinema. Screen, 16(3), 6-18. Oliverio, K. “The rhetoric of leadership: A look at leadership through the rhetorical triangle.” MA thesis. University of Arkansas. 2008. Print. Ritter, K. (1999). Ronald Reagan's 1960’s southern rhetoric: Courting conservatives for the GOP. The Southern Communication Journal, 64(4), 333-345. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/226930841?accountid=13758. Tagg, J. (1993). Evidence, truth, and order. Photographic records and the growth of the state. The burden of representation: Essays on photographies and histories. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Whicker, M. & Kovaleff, T. (1997). Rules of the game: How to play the presidency. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 27, 637-645. Zelizer, B. (2010). About to die: How news images move the public. New York: Oxford Press. “Journalism, Memory, and the Voice of the Visual”; “How New Images Move the Public”

Journal of Media Critiques [JMC] doi: 10.17349/jmc115205 P-ISSN: 2056-9785 E-ISSN: 2056 9793 http://www.mediacritiques.net [email protected]

ADVERTISING IN VIRTUAL WORLDS: THE EXAMPLE OF SECOND LIFE DİNÇER ATLI ∗ TUNCER CAN ∗∗

ABSTRACT As consumers become decreasingly responsive towards traditional forms of advertising, advertisers are turning towards more innovative methods. Virtual worlds provide an extraordinary potential for new and enhanced modes of advertising. This study examines the opportunities of the virtual world, Second Life, as a new platform for businesses’ advertisement and promotional activities. First, we briefly introduce the concept of virtual worlds and virtual advertising. Then, we go on to explain the development of advertising, with special emphasis on its evolution alongside technological developments. Furthermore, we discuss how virtual worlds developed and how the features of these worlds lent themselves to advertising. Second Life, the most popular virtual world application, is given a special emphasis, and we shall explore opportunities and practices for virtual advertising in this virtual world application. Keywords: Virtual Advertising, Second Life, Virtual Worlds, Advertising

INTRODUCTION From Facebook to YouTube, Flickr, Wikipedia, Blogger, Digg, Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter, we have seen an increase in the diversification of social media applications. Among the various social media platforms, social virtual worlds that emulate the real world have received attention as growing virtual spaces. Today virtual world applications like “Second Life, Multiverse, Dreamworld, Microsoft Virtual Earth, Active World, There, Meet Me” are widely used today. We can explain how a social virtual as a three-dimensional (3D), Internet-based, immersive, massive multi-user virtual environment wherein participants interact with their virtual representatives for various purposes, including educational endeavors and business (Duncan, Miller, & Jiang, 2012; Jin & Bolebruch, 2009).

∗

Assistant Professor, The Pennsylvania State University, USA / Uskudar University, Turkey. [email protected] ∗∗ Assistant Professor, Istanbul University, Turkey. [email protected]

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Social virtual worlds resemble the real world, and an extensive number of participants engage, via their avatars, in various social activities and business transactions. Three-dimensional, virtual environments like Second Life, which is the most popular and fastest-growing example of such environments, offer a promising corporate communication channel for brand marketing, advergaming (Advertising in video games), and interactive advertising (Duncan, Miller, & Jiang, 2012; Jin & Bolebruch, 2009). In this regard, virtual worlds are not only designed to entertain users, but also to attract them into an experience. Advertising is much more effective when it appeals to multiple senses, and this effect is further heightened in emotional, novel, or unstructured, stimulating environments, such as the kind seen in many virtual worlds (Barnes, 2007). Lee (2004, p. 32) states that availability is “a psychological state in which virtual objects are experienced as actual objects.” This definition offers prominence for research on interactive advertising in immersive 3D virtual worlds. The possibilities that are available within virtual worlds heighten customers’ responsiveness to advertiser presence; therefore, we could benefit greatly from studying the consumer’s point of view and experience inside such worlds (Jin & Bolebruch, 2009). As advertisers try to find ways to reach more consumers, virtual worlds have become more attractive as a medium, like massively multiplayer online computer applications. Recently, the number of participants in massively multiplayer online computer applications has steadily increased, and this trend shows little if any signs of reversing (Marketing Weekly News, 2013). Furthermore, there is a limited but growing literature examining the use of online avatars in marketing and advertising. Evidence suggests that avatars and virtual representations have the possibility of positively influencing trust and online purchasing intention (Barnes, 2007). In this study, we will examine the advertising practices pursued by businesses in the platform of Second Life. Primarily, we will focus on what kind of opportunities the social virtual world Second Life holds as a new platform for businesses’ advertisement and promotional activities. THE VIRTUAL WORLDS In terms of virtual worlds, humans have always been virtual: “virtuality” has followed human culture from its origination. Symbols trigger imaginary worlds that inclined to be virtual worlds by containing traits that emulate real social worlds (Fornäs et al. 2002). Naturally, some have seen as the first virtual reality spaces the “subterranean cyberspaces” developed by prehistoric cave paintings (Rheingold 1991; Heim 1995; Cited in Boelstorff, 2008). From another perspective “Virtual reality is older than sin. It is the illusion of heaven, the peyote vision, the Dionysiac confusion. It is the play, the distinctive, the opera, any system envisioned for losing ourselves in another world (Schwartz 1996). Imagination, dreams, rituals, language and etc., could all be deliberated virtual (Boelstorff, 2008).

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Antiquity aside, general agreement can be found in the literature that virtual worlds as we conceive of them today arose during the 1970s. The exact date depends on whom you ask. The following narrative highlights prominent contributors to the three generations of virtual worlds and how their milestone contributions affected future worlds (Downey, 2014). Early stages of virtual worlds’ virtual environments were largely based upon the gaming community (Hodge, Collins, & Giordano, 2009). Thus virtual worlds’ origin began in the first implementations of text-based role playing games. The first multiuser dungeon (MUD) was programmed and with the spread of the Internet, these computer games became available beyond the boundaries of the university networks in 1979 (Pannicke & Zarnekow, 2009). In today's world Virtual worlds are part of a larger group of Internet-based applications called social media or web 2.0 which build on the ideological and technological foundations and allow the creation and interact of user-generated content. Other social media related applications consist of blogs, social networking sites (e.g., Facebook); collaborative projects (e.g., Wikipedia), content communities (e.g., YouTube) (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2009). “Virtual” here is an adjective describing “an object, a service, or an activity that is situated or is performed in a cyberspace, that is, on the Internet” (Buha, V., Janičić, R., Filipović, V., & Gligorijević, 2011, p.51). From a different viewpoint the term of “virtual world” describes an electronic ecosystem that visually mimics physical spaces where people can meet and communicate with virtual players and virtual objects and things (Bainbridge, 2007). In other words, in three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds, users are represented by their virtual faces and identities with animated characters called “avatars” that interact with other actors by texting or through voice communication (Jin & Bolebruch, 2010; Fiedler, 2009). Virtual worlds are often developed to apply online entertainment and social networking for users through a kind of alternative world (Barnes, 2007). Furthermore, virtual reality enables various activities in an artificial environment through simulation (Buha, V., Janičić, R., Filipović, V., & Gligorijević, 2011). In this respect, virtual worlds are delineated with regards to startlingly futurist capitalist hype. Firstly, all they seem new, and this clear novelty is primarily to their being shed light on as heralds of a forthcoming utopia of unexpected chances hint of a looming dystopia of alienation, or trinkets of a passing fad (Boelstorff, 2008). Nowadays millions of people on a regular basis get involved in virtual worlds, adapting to them with varying degrees of ease, demonstrating that something is staying the same; something is acting as a cultural environment upon which these resolute new virtual worlds are figured (Boelstorff, 2008). Further investments and the development of new virtual worlds consist of four key element: the enormous growth of internet connections, decreasing prices for these

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connections, the large progress of computer technology and graphical user interfaces, and the development of business models which assured secure revenue streams (Pannicke & Zarnekow, 2009). Present debates in Virtual Worlds literature have not definitively emphasized the media’s beneficialness for allocated work. Besides that the concept of Virtual Worlds’ capacity to get their users engaged to many kinds of activities over geographical boundaries is intelligible embedded in much of the reasoning in Virtual Worlds literature yet (Hakonen & Bosch-sijtsema, 2014). As it can be seen in Figure 1: virtual worlds from the first generation were principally text and fantasy based, small in scale (250 users or less), (e.g., Dungeons & Dragons and Middle Earth). Second generation worlds were larger scale systems (1,000 or more users) and witnessed the growing use of graphical worlds, the introduction of social-oriented worlds, and the development of worlds in which users could generate objects and shape their world in real time. Besides that the third (current) generation notes that the age of massive systems (10,000+ simultaneous users), visually striking 3D worlds, and a growing range of genres and types of virtual worlds (e.g., Massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs), multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs), and Massively Multiple On-Line Educations (MMOLEs) demonstrate an affinity for fantasy, science fiction, pseudo-reality (Downey, 2014).

Figure 1. Generational Traits of Virtual Worlds. Source: (Downey, 2014, p.57).

These hundreds of virtual worlds that players have to choose from each target a distinct class of people. There are virtual worlds for children such as Disney’s Toontown, Club Penguin, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Some virtual worlds for teens include Whyville, Habbo Hotel and Second Life for Teens. There are also virtual worlds targeting adults such as The Sims Online, World of Warcraft, and Second Life. Hence, every virtual world shares the attributes outlined above while targeting a distinct set of people (Papp, 2010). As these environments become more pervasive, research examining this phenomenon will be needed to better understand these 3D spaces (Mennecke, Mcneill, Ganis, & Townsend, 2008).

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Some other important features of virtual worlds identified by (Book, 2004) are listed below: 1. Shared Space: the world permits users to get involved the same ambiance. 2. Graphical User Interface: the world represents space visually, ranging between in style from 2D “cartoon” to more immersive 3D settings. 3. Immediacy: the world allows real-time interaction 4. Interactivity: users may modify, develop, and generate personal content. 5. Persistence: the world’s existence does not correlate to users logging in. 6. Socialization/Community: the world allows the formation of real life social groups such as clubs, cliques, housemates, neighborhoods, guilds, etc. Lately, virtual worlds have become open to new forms of interaction and commerce. Therefore, virtual worlds have the capacity to become new channels for marketing content and products, amalgamating virtual e-commerce (“V-Commerce”) (Barnes, 2007). There are more than one hundred virtual worlds, and even more are under development. Increasingly, online virtual worlds are becoming a technology of substantial importance for marketers and advertisers (Barnes, 2007). Moreover, companies realize the importance of advertising on the web (Barnes & Mattsson, 2011). ADVERTISING IN VIRTUAL WORLDS It is traditional to contend that pre-modern advertising developed to sell goods in a distinct form of an economic system. Word of mouth and pictorial signs were the main methods of advertising during the middle ages. Modern advertising came to light from a systemic situation in capitalism. Advertising generates a crucial field of continuity between the end of Fordist growth in the years 1970s and the transition to flexible specialization and post-Fordism (Odih, 2007). The global reach of companies has grown to surround the world during the last two decades (Hakonen & Bosch-sijtsema, 2014). While the Internet was originally seen as a hazard to brands, the essential attributes of e-commerce have had quite the opposite effect. The Internet has rendered the successful establishment of brands on the Web more pivotal instead of reducing the value of these brands (Jin & Bolebruch, 2010). Postmodern advertising in the hyper-real world, where each thing evolves into everything else, is based upon the intersections between image, appearance and simulation. Clear understanding of these alterations in the deciduousness of advertising esthetics is the ‘convergence’ of advertising mediums and their enhancement into the diaphanous streams of new electronic media (Odih, 2007). From this aspect primary attribute of advertising media, the advertisements can be separated into two groups: the physical advertisement and the virtual advertisement (Chang, Hsieh, Chiang, & Wu, 2010).

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The decreasing success of known forms of advertising due to an increasing resistance of audiences induces advertisers to act towards newer and more innovative forms of advertising (Sander & Altobelli, 2010). Thus, advertising in virtual worlds is a newer form of reaching recipients. Organizations and brands in all areas of business have utilized the existence of virtual reality to reach their recipients; a cheap form of advertising, many more are trying the phenomenon of virtual world advertising. Virtual advertising is also a new way regarding customization and flexibility. Besides that virtual worlds allow sponsorship events, selling virtual products, establishing opportunities for virtual commerce and broadcast advertisement through virtual malls, radio stations and billboards (http://emerging-advertisingmedia.wikispaces.com/Advertising+in+3D+or+Virtual+Worlds). Practices of virtual advertising first came to light in the Europe regarding sport properties, broadcast companies and event managers was a premium alternative application to advertising in the soccer games because the lack of commercial breaks within these broadcasts (Boddy, 2004; Cited in Tsuji, 2007). Virtual worlds’ exceptional flexibility and potential for new and enhanced modes of advertising facilitate people to utilize it as all in one channel. These features of Virtual Worlds include the product placement of 3-D objects on real world billboards and radio analogs, advergames and cross-promotion coupons (Vedrashko, 2006; Barnes, 2007). Virtual advertising has some benefits over traditional advertising media. One of the advantages of virtual advertising is that placing advertising within the game does not permit players to change it even if they stop following the program. A further advantage is that virtual advertising allows people to embed companies’ emblems on any surface of the broadcast, which then boosts brand advertising exposure. This means that virtual advertising enables companies to repeatedly expose their products and brands to their target audience. One last crucial advantage is that a virtual advertising platforms allow for the animation of brand signs (Tsuji, 2007). But still, regarding virtual advertising, the Return on Investment (ROI) for many of the companies is not sufficiently high. The reason for this is that many of the companies are advertising through a new medium and they want to benefit from it while remaining low priced. In this respect, in second life platform, players can hire a virtual billboard that has 200,000 impressions (measured a single impression as 15 seconds of cumulative exposure) is only costs at $30 which would mean a CPM (Cost Per Thousand) of a really low amount at $.15. (http://emergingadvertisingmedia.wikispaces.com/Advertising+in+3D+or+Virtual+Worlds). ADVERTISING IN SECOND LIFE Second Life is an Internet-based virtual world developed by Philip Rosedale and the team at San Francisco-based Linden Lab and launched on June 23, 2003. It had, in 2014, about 1 million regular users (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life; Hodge et al., 2009). Second Life is the most popular and fastest growing virtual world on the Internet (Jin & Bolebruch, 2009). According to statistics as of the date of March 15, 2015, there are currently close to 41 million avatars in Second Life, with a daily New Signups: 8000 to 11000 (https://danielvoyager.wordpress.com/sl-metrics/). Therefore, in 2015 Second Life is the leading 3D virtual world. As a unique space where you can

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be whoever you'd like, build and sell whatever you can imagine, and have fun with others from all over the globe while you explore this interesting virtual world, listen to live music concerts, play games, shop in the world's largest user-generated virtual goods economy, and much more (http://www.lindenlab.com/products/second-life ). Second Life is rapidly being realized as a significant new medium for brand building. Hence, nowadays some companies are located in the Second Life platform as can be seen below from Table 1. Alphabetical List of Prominent Real Life Brands in Second Life 1-800flowers.com ABN AMRO Adidas AJAX football club Aloft Hotel Suites Amazon AMD American Apparel American Cancer Society Australian Info Ind Assoc (AIIA) Autodesk Bain & Company Bantam Dell Books Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) BBC Radio 1

Crayon

Logica CMG

Crossguard IP Attorneys Daily Telegraph Dell

Make Magazine

Edelman

Marketing Magazine Mazda Europe

Endemol Europ Assistance Exploratorium Museum Faasen & Partners Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW) Fox Atomic Gabetti Property Solutions Greenberg and Lieberman H&R Block Harvard Law School

Best Buy Co. Inc. Bigpond

Hipcast Expo Center IBM

BMW

Infinite Mind

Major League Baseball Manpower Inc.

Random House/Bantam Reebok Regina Spektor Renault (Formula 1 Team) Reuters

Text 100 Thompson Thompson NETg TMP Worldwide Toyota

Mercedes Benz

Sapphire Technologies Save the Children Charity Saxo Bank

Microsoft

Scion

MovieTickets.com

Sears

MTV

Semper International SirsiDynix

Visa Europe

NASA

Sky News

Nat. Basketball Assn (NBA) Nat. Oceanic & Atmosp. Adm (NOAA) NBC

Softlab Group

Warner Bros Music Weather Channel Wells Fargo

Meme Science

Munchester Castle

New Business Horizons NicoBloc

Sony Sony-Ericsson Springer Verlag Sprint

UGS Unitrin Direct Universal Motown Records Uitvaart.co m Vauxhall

Vodafone

WindUp Records Wired Magazine Xerox

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Advertising in Virtual Worlds: The Example of Second Life

Calvin Klein

ING

Nissan

Channel 4 Radio

Intel

Channel 10 (Microsoft) Choquette & Co Accounting Church & Crawford Circuit City

iVillage

Northsound Radio Scotland NPR

Sun Microsystems

Iwantoneoftho se.com JK Travel

PA Consulting

Sundance Channel

Penguin

KAWG&F

Philips

SuperMarketGuru. com Suzanne Vega

Cisco

Kelly Services

CNET

Kraft Food

Coca-Cola

Kweli's Brownstone Lacoste

Phoenix Film & TV Plachta Law Office Playboy

Coldwell Banker Coldwell Banker Legacy Comcast

STA (Student Travel Assoc) Starwood Hotels

Yahoo Yankee Stadium

TAM Airline Talis TechSoup

Pontiac/GM

Telus

Leo Burnett

Press Association

Telstra

Life Heart Beat

Press Dispensary

Tecnisa

Table 1 Alphabetical List of Prominent Real Life Brands in Second Life Source: http://www.nbhorizons.com/list.htm 2015 (as of April 19, 2015) For instance, in Second Life, application consumers navigate their customized avatars in the three-dimensional (3D) environment. Such avatar-based 3D virtual environments offer promise as a corporate communication medium for brands and interactive advertising, in the sense that companies can create spokes and sales avatars that personate their brand and product (Jin & Bolebruch, 2009).

Figure 1. Snapshot: Example of advertising in Second Life

Apart from getting publicity as mentioned on blogs or the web, the Second Life platform has the potential to allow for brand marketing advertisement for companies

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and businesses. Some companies, for example, have created a presence in Second Life that drives people to their own land by organizing engaging events like lectures, talks, competitions, or concerts. Through these events, new people and new buyers can be introduced to a business or a company or even to the services provided by them. Companies such as Apple, Coca-Cola, Dell, MTV, BBC, Amazon, Sony, Mercedens-Benz, Kraft Food, Intel etc. have presence on Second Life and are engaged in publicity activities and advertising on their own land. To Jin and Bolebruch (2012, p. 3) “the ability to offer vivid and engrossing social interactions with spokes-avatars within 3D environments is the key advantage of interactive marketing in Second Life.” Another option for businesses and companies is that, instead of renting their own land, to use the services of agencies who are organizing publicity events on 3D Virtual Worlds. For example, DBC is an interactive cross media content maker, broadcasting on the web, in virtual worlds and social networks, filming and photographing live events, producing content and bringing it to the audience (http://www.dbc-tv.com/). These agencies create their own presence and land for such events and provide advertising activities and content for the advertisers. Furthermore, being present within SL can be assumed to improve brand awareness and brand image, which subsequently contributes to improvements in brand knowledge and customer-based brand equity (Keller, 1993; Cited in Kaplan & Haenlein, 2009). Companies and businesses who have a presence on the Second Life Grid should also keep the people on their sim and engage the visitors with different techniques such as advergames. Advergames could range from allowing visitors to hunt for gold or fish, to manipulate a virtual product to earning discounts or coupons for real products in real life while spending time playing advergames on Second Life land of the business. There are other agencies and networks providing brand marketing advertisement; Metabizlist lists 67 advertising and marketing companies in Second Life (http://www.metabizlist.com/). These agencies help with distributed advertising in Second Life by putting up posters or kiosks that can distribute information, links, objects, or provide teleports to the sponsoring location for a small fee on many popular venues in Second Life, from malls to clubs to gathering points (http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Advertising_in_Second_Life). Also, some companies could pay per click for those adverts of pay per impression. For instance, SecondAds charges 15 L$ per click on the advertisement or 50 L$ (0.05 L$ per ad view) per 1000 impressions in the form of an ad board located in a busy sim (www.secondads.com). They also pay people with land on Second Life who are willing to host such an advertisement board. Companies and businesses could also engage in active and interactive advertising of their products in the form of wearables such as T-shirts and caps on which they could put their logo or write scripts around their virtual products so that potential buyers engage in interaction with those virtual products. Companies could also provide

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a hat with their logo which people could give to others, creating viral distribution for their brand. The hat could be scripted so that giving it to someone could open a website or a Second Life notecard with more information about the product or a coupon for a discount on the product.

Figure 2 Snapshot: Another Example of advertising in Second Life

Many businesses and companies could also use avatars as a promotional vehicle. The use of recommendation avatars and immersive, realistic interactions with them increase favorable brand attitudes and brand-self connection among consumers. In avatar-based 3D virtual environments, corporations can establish locations as information databases for their companies (Jin and Bolerbruch, 2012, p. 5). Avatars could engage people in conversation and offer links to websites, coupons, or other direct followup actions. These avatars could be either real people or scripted bots to engage in conversation and each time another avatar clicks on them or talks to them they give away a notecard of a product. “An expanded form of person-to-person advertising can take the form of brand personification, whereas brand icons or personalities are realized in Second Life for engagement with Residents. An example of this would be “Nestle Nesquik”, where the Nesquik Bunny Avatar entered Second Life and attended a variety of events.” (http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Advertising_in_Second_Life). However, Jin and Bolerbruch (2009) in their study found out that human avatars generate better results with the customers than with the bots although they “confirm that avatar-based advertising in Second Life can contribute to increase product involvement and positive attitudes toward a product and regarding regard to modality effects, these results also offer empirical support for the importance of multiple modalities in advertising; advertising messages conveyed through multimodal 3D spokes-avatars are more effective in terms of improving product involvement and attitude toward the product than is mere exposure to unimodal audio messages.” (p. 56).

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Second Life platform allows for the incorporation of diverse media, including Shared Media audio and video streams. In addition, there are radio and TV stations in Second Life which provide streaming broadcasts. These streams can incorporate advertising, as radio and TV do in real life.

Figure 3. (Snapshot) Another Example of advertising in Second Life

CONCLUSION Virtual worlds are involved in a bigger group of Internet-based platform called “social media,” which create the technological and ideological foundations of Web 2.0 and allow for the creation and exchange of user-generated content (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). From this standpoint, virtual advertising is a unique and innovative type of advertising. The Second life platform, certainly the most popular and fastest growing one amongst the virtual worlds, is a three-dimensional virtual environment. Second Life is rapidly becoming recognized as an important new channel for advertising. Eventually, the Second Life platform has the great potential to allow for the advertisement of companies and businesses. This young platform of advertising is still in its early and experimental stage, but in our current world it is too important an opportunity to take advantage of the new generation target audiences. Besides that, many of the companies prefer this new platform for their advertising practices due to its low pricing policy. Our study was conceived as an exploratory analysis and can only be seen as a first step toward a better understanding of advertising on Second Life, and there are several areas of future research that merit deeper investigation. Moreover, future research could measure the impact of virtual advertising compared with other types of advertising such as TV spots or sponsoring, in order to evaluate the effects of integrated communication and cross-media advertising and the effectiveness of different kinds of virtual advertising.

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REFERENCES Advertising in 3D or Virtual Worlds (Second Life), http://emergingadvertisingmedia.wikispaces.com/Advertising+in+3D+or+Virtual+Worlds “2015 April 22” Bainbridge, W. S. (2007). The Scientific Research Potential of Virtual Worlds. Science, New Series, 317(5837), 472–476. Barnes, S. (2007). Virtual worlds as a medium for advertising. ACM SIGMIS Database, 38(4), 45. http://doi.org/10.1145/1314234.1314244 Barnes, S. J., & Mattsson, J. (2011). Virtual World. Journal of Marketing Management, 27(August), 934–958. http://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2011.565686 Boelstorff, T. (2008). Coming of Age in Second Life. Princeton, NJ (USA): Princeton University (1. ed.). New Jersey USA: Princeton University Press. Retrieved from http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&btnG=Search&q=intitle:Coming+of+Age+in +Second+Life#2 Book, B. (2004). Moving beyond the game: social virtual worlds. State of Play, (October 2004). Buha, V., Janičić, R., Filipović, V., & Gligorijević, M. (2011). Virtual Reality in Distance Education and Marketing Communications. International Journal Management-Management-Časopis Za Teoriju I Praksu Menadžmenta, 16(60), 50–59. Chang, C. H., Hsieh, K. Y., Chiang, M. C., & Wu, J. L. (2010). Virtual spotlighted advertising for tennis videos. Journal of Visual Communication and Image Representation, 21(7), 595–612. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvcir.2010.03.006 Downey, B. S. (2014). History of the (Virtual) Worlds. The Journal of Technology Studies, 40(2), 54–67. Duncan, I., Miller, A., & Jiang, S. (2012). A taxonomy of virtual worlds usage in education. British Journal of Educational Technology, 43(6), 949–964. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2011.01263.x Fiedler, M. (2009). Cooperation in Virtual Worlds, (April), 173–195. Fornäs, Johan, Kajsa Klein, Martina Ladendorf, Jenny Sundén, and Malin Sveningsson. (2002). “Into Digital Borderlands.” In Digital Borderlands: Cultural Studies of Identity and Interactivity on the Internet, ed. Johan Fornäs, Kajsa Klein, Martina Ladendorf, Jenny Sundén, and Malin Sveningsson, 1–47. New York: Peter Lang. Goldman, R., & Papson, S. (1994). Advertising hypersignification.Theory, Culture & Society, 11(3), 23-53.

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Hakonen, M., & Bosch-sijtsema, P. M. (2014). Virtual Worlds Enabling Distributed Collaboration, 7(3), 1–20. Hodge, E., Collins, S., & Giordano, T. (2009). The Virtual Worlds Handbook How to Use Second Life and Other 3D Virtual Environments (1. ed.). Boston USA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC All. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=QMDl_h5e1HUC&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq= The+Virtual+Worlds+Handbook+How+to+Use+Second+Life+and+Other+3D+Virtual +Environments&ots=RIXMA57AFS&sig=-VcZLFTc3YRftmSgs_8_8_raD9o Jin, S., & Bolebruch, J. (2012). Virtual Commerce (V-Commerce) in Second Life: The Roles of Physical Presence and Brand-Self Connection. Journal For Virtual Worlds Research, 2(4). doi:10.4101/jvwr.v2i4.760 Jin, S. A., & Bolebruch, J. (2010). Virtual Commerce (V-Commerce) in Second Life: The Roles of Physical Presence and Brand-Self Connection. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, 2, 1–12. http://doi.org/10.4101/jvwr.v2i4.867 Jin, S.-A. A., & Bolebruch, J. (2009). Avatar-Based Advertising in Second Life. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 10(May 2014), 51–60. http://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2009.10722162 Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2009). Consumer Use and Business Potential of Virtual Worlds: The Case of “Second Life.” International Journal on Media Management, 11(3-4), 93–101. http://doi.org/10.1080/14241270903047008 Kaplan, Andreas M., and Michael Haenlein (2010), “Users of the World, Unite! The Challenges and Opportunities of Social Media,” Business Horizons, 53 (1), 59–68 Mennecke, B. E., Mcneill, D., Ganis, M., & Townsend, A. M. (2008). Second Life and Other Virtual Worlds : A Roadmap for Research Second Life and Other Virtual Worlds : A Roadmap for Research. CAIS - Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 22(March 2008), 371–388. Messinger, P. R., Stroulia, E., Lyons, K., Bone, M., Niu, R. H., Smirnov, K., & Perelgut, S. (2009). Virtual worlds - past, present, and future: New directions in social computing. Decision Support Systems, 47(3), 204–228. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2009.02.014 Odih, P. (2007). Advertising in Modern and Postmodern Times. London,California,New Delhi: SAGE Publications Ltd. Retrieved from http://eprints.gold.ac.uk/6352/ Pannicke, D., & Zarnekow, R. (2009). Virtual Worlds. Business & Information Systems Engineering, 1(2), 185–188. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-008-0016-1

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Papp, R. (2011). Virtual worlds and social networking: Reaching the millennials. Journal of Technology Research, 2, 1 Patent issued for providing advertising in a virtual world. (2013). Marketing Weekly News,, 494. Sander, M., & Altobelli, C. F. (2010). Impact of Virtual Advertising in Sports Events. In Proceedings of the 9th International Marketing Trends Conference 2010, Venice, January 21-23 (pp. 1–19). Retrieved from http://www.marketing-trends congress.com/archives/2010/Materiali/Paper/Fr/Sander_Fantapie.pdf Second Life Grid Stats 2015, https://danielvoyager.wordpress.com/sl-metrics/, “2015 April 20” Tsuji, Y. (2007). Brand awareness of virtual advertising in sport. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/304731551? accountid=10003\nhttp://sfx.fcla.edu/ucf?url_ver=Z39.882004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/f mt:kev:mtx:dissertation&genre=dissertations+&+theses&sid=ProQ:ProQuest+Disserta tions+&+The Vedrashko, I. (2006). “Advertising in Computer Games” Comparative Media Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Unpublished Master Thesis, USA www.dbc-tv.com/, “2015 March 22” www.nbhorizons.com/list.htm “2015 March 22” www.metabizlist.com/ “2015 March 22” www.secondads.com, “2015 March 22” www.wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Advertising_in_Second_Life,“2015 March 22”

Journal of Media Critiques [JMC] doi: 10.17349/jmc115206 P-ISSN: 2056-9785 E-ISSN: 2056 9793 http://www.mediacritiques.net [email protected]

SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF E-NEWSPAPERS INTERFACE VIEWS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF ADVERTISEMENTS1 BAHAR DİNÇAKMAN ∗ ABSTRACT Interface of a website is a designed and composed space and it is like a paper to be filled with visual and inscriptive data. Advertisements on newspapers can reach to readers both by physical and virtual space. As district from traditional techniques, online advertisements realize presentation functions by the fee for taking place on web pages without any paper or print cost. However, with today's revised advertising policy laws, due to enhance of advertising spaces, the main information and images are almost stuck between the advertisements on webpage of enewspapers. On the web interfaces of e-newspapers, almost half of the page is covered with advertisements without attention of design principles. In this context, with the purpose of arranging web pages more appropriately to the design principles and transferring actual information to the readers with more simple design approach the selected newspapers’ web interfaces will be discussed with semiotics. Keywords: E-newspaper, Interface, Advertisement, Design Principles, Semiotics

INTRODUCTION In the past, advertisements were limited only in printed media such as magazines, newspapers. Today, the advertisements taking place on e-newspapers and emagazines that are seen on computer screens have crossed the line much more than the ads in printed media. Once an e-newspapers interface is opened, an advertisement video can be seen on the screen. It depends on the reader to watch or not to watch this video. As the icon for closing the video, advertisement image is clicked, the advertisement disappears from the screen. However, the advertisement is not limited with addition video or image. As any web page is opened on internet, it can be seen the banner advertisements are located on all over the space of the web page. In the same way, when the interfaces of e-newspapers are opened, varied advertisements located on the web page with different techniques may be seen.

1

(This article has been presented in Portugal, International Conference on Media Business Landscapes) ∗ Dr., Fine Arts Faculty, Communication Design and Graphics Department, Afyon Kocatepe University, Turkey, [email protected]

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Semiotic Analysis of E-Newspapers Interface Views within the Scope of Advertisements

In this study it is aimed to analyze the interface views of e-newspapers within the scope of advertisements and to evaluate the designs of these pages taking into account elements such as advertisement space and the information space. This study is mostly important to indicate the space using on first page of e-newspapers that carries the main function of giving information. In this context, web interfaces of enewspapers are analyzed by the table below by comparing the first seen screen as the website is opened. Actual e-newspapers interface views have been obtained from internet. The newspapers that are chosen for this study are from Turkey and Portugal: Birgun (One day), Cumhuriyet (Republic), Gazete Vatan (Newspapers Homeland), Haberturk (News Turc), Hurriyet (Liberty), Milliyet (Nationality), Radikal (Radical), Sabah (Morning), Star are from Turkish media. Correio da Manhã (Morning Post), Destak, Diário de Notícias (Daily News), Expresso (Express), I (abbreviation for information), Jornal de Notícias (Journal News), Oje, Público (Public) and Sol (Sun) are from Portuguese media. LITERATURE REVIEW Information carries the meanings of “advice, introduction, getting news, newsmaking, and communication” (Yuksel, 2010: 11). Information is “data that is accurate and timely, specific and organized for a purpose, presented within a context that gives it meaning and relevance, and can lead to an increase in understanding and decrease in uncertainty (www.businessdictionary.com). Communication can be described as information sharing process in its simplest form (Coskun, 2011: 131). Especially news making and communication concerning media, advertising and informing about a product, an institution, a task or a service carries importance for this research. Media, the plural of “medium” in Greek (http://tr.wikipedia.org/), refers to communication channels through which news, entertainment, education, data, or promotional messages are disseminated. Media includes every broadcasting and narrowcasting medium such as newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, billboards, direct mail, telephone, fax, and internet (www.businessdictionary.com). The internet is at the heart of the digital age; it has facilitated the creation of a global network of computer networks, which create the infrastructure for all online activity (Chadwick, 2012: 673). Enewspapers is the online version of printed newspapers. An interface of e-newspapers is the space to arrange the writings and images of the news, the links of e-newspapers content, and the items of the newspapers’ corporate identity. “Briefly an advertising purposes to inform, to persuade, to make comparisons and to remind” (Taskin, 2012: 207). E-advertisement is an online advertisement that is realized on internet. The online advertisements on e-newspapers are considered in the scope of this study. Whether online or off, the main objective of advertising is to increase sales. Advertising also aims to increase brand awareness. Advertising is based on the simple economics of supply and demand. Advertisers aim to stimulate a consumer need and then satisfy that need (http://www.saylor.org/books). Increasing integration movements and technological developments have shortened the distance between advertisements and customers. The advertisements carried on the internet, are regarded as a new advertising channels and modern advertising methods. “Today, the brand issue has spread to many areas such as the branding of products, individuals, destinations even branding of countries” (Yilmaz, 2011: 1). Kotler (2012: 37), in his book “Foundations of Marketing Today”, as on the current

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situation of marketing today, indicates: "there are trends from mass marketing to marketing for qualities, instead of operating only in traditional markets, entering on the internet, from a single-channel marketing to multi-channel marketing". Companies consider web sites as an additional power to develop basically their products separately or to develop their brands totally. A guest that has entered to the web site can get an idea about the company or brand within the view and ambiance of the web site (Kotler, 2012: 97). In electronic commerce, sellers has the opportunity to introduce and sell their products and services to the World, buyers can choose freely among many products and services (Mankan, 2011: 87). As Mankan and Kotler indicates, the electronic communication brings opportunities to the companies to reach to consumers easily. When it comes to newspapers, e-newspapers publishing can be more actual. As a breaking news takes place on internet website, on e-newspapers page, the next day the news can take place on printed newspapers. The priting costs are eliminated on e-newspapers publishing. When it comes to readers, they can read all newspapers on virtual sphere easily. It is hard to buy all printed newspapers, but on virtual sphere by clicking the e-newspapers addresses the e-newspapers can be read easily. Online media advertising is a wide range related to the connection to the internet users surfing through pages on virtual sphere (newspapers, magazine, blog, social media, etc). According to Sozeri and Guney, “When "media" is said, various activities such as news, advertisement, film, music, discussion program, arts, sport- come to minds. If it is thought that all these activities are related to a society’s cultural and intellectual world, the importance of media industry for modern society reveals (2011: 13). And Kotler cites about the importance of media choosing to reach to the audience; “The media must be chosen for their ability to reach the target market costeffectively. Besides the classic media of newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and billboards, there is a flurry of new media, including e-mail, faxes, telemarketers, digital magazines, in-store advertising, and advertising now popping up in skyscraper elevators and bathrooms. Media selection is becoming a major challenge” (2003: 4). When it comes to advertising online, it becomes crucial to choose the right space for advertising and the right kind of advertising for taking attention of the audience. Internet is a huge empty sphere to build an structure of written and visual data. For an aesthetic and accurate communication way, design principles carry importance on designs on virtual sphere, too. Advertising is an important issue for e-newspapers. As being a virtual sphere for advertisements, e-newspapers are the media for advertising the trades that aim to stay memorable, to remind their existence on markets to the customers and to strengthen their relations with customers. “It is hard to collect in a single title of the effects electronic commerce brought to economic life. Electronic commerce, affects almost all areas of economic life and leads to big changes. However, some units of business life are more affected by this change” (Mankan, 2011: 109). According to Er and Ozden international advertising has dimensions including the entire environment of a global company: The issues such as political environment, the media system, culture, language, and ethics come into question (2011: 107). On this scale, enewspapers is an advertising media, but it has some difficulties for advertising. As a general situation, perception process is very limited on virtual sphere that the internet

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users spends a few seconds on pages to find the right data on e-newspapers. Aytemur indicates that communication can be established only when a cooperation can be done with the receiver (2000: 16). During the reading e-newspapers process, readers see the advertisements located on the website. As much as the website design guide, an advertisement or advertising area, location, size and other circumstances are so crucial for being understood, perceived. For example some advertisements are located in banners with images and slogans. But there are also video advertisements in some newspapers. In this case, the sound comes into the advertisement ambiance. It is tried to take readers’ attention by expanding their perception dimensions. “Advertising, has no coercion of personal selling. Because advertising audience has supervisory powers over advertising" (Coroglu, 2002: 23, 24). If the reader does not want to see the advertising video, he can close it directly and go on reading the news. But the advertisements oriented on perception by multiple senses strengthens the advertising message and can make the brand remarkable by creating awareness. SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS of E-NEWSPAPERS INTERFACES The interfaces of newspapers have been captured for semiotic analysis in the scope of this research. With this analysis it is aimed to see the first opening side of the newspaper not the whole page but what is seen as soon as the page is opened. The newspapers that have been chosen fort his study are Birgun (One day), Cumhuriyet (Republic), Gazete Vatan (Newspapers Homeland), Haberturk (News Turc), Hurriyet (Liberty), Milliyet (Nationality), Radikal (Radical), Sabah (Morning), Star from Turkish media and Correio da Manhã (Morning Post), Destak, Diário de Notícias (Daily News), Expresso (Express), Jornal de Notícias (Journal News), Oje, Público (Public) and Sol (Sun) from Portuguese media.

Name of E-newspapers Birgun (One day) Cumhuriyet (Republic)

Journal of Media Critiques [JMC] – Vol.1 No.1 June 2015 Advertisements located in the web interface

-

Qualifications of the advertisement

121

-

City by city activity guide

Banner advertisement with one image and slogan Gazete Vatan (Newspapers Markafoni, Trendyol, Marjin Banner advertisements of Homeland) shopping websites Haberturk (News Turc) Paraf, Kalekent Banner advertisement of credit card (Halkbank, Paraf), video (Kalekent) Hurriyet (Liberty) Tchibo, Vestel Banner advertisement and video advertisement Milliyet (Nationality) 1V1Y.com, Casper, Unnado, Banner advertisement, video, MNG cargo Radikal (Radical) Trendyol Banner advertisement Sabah (Morning)

Bedel (soap opera), Ziraat Turkey Cup (sports) Star MT Oto Center, Akbank, Finspor, Zekeriyaköy Correio da Manhã (Morning Geziko, Cetelem (Credit), Correio Mail) da Manhã (Discount accessible see store) Destak Grammarly

Banner advertisement

Diário de Notícias News) Expresso (Express)

Banner advertisement

(Daily Babil Siemens

I (abbreviation for The Sims 4 Information) Jornal de Notícias (Journal Jackpot, Barclays, 1V1Y.com News) Oje -

Banner advertisement Banner Vidas)

advertisement

(Flash

Banner advertisement

Advertisement video Advertisement video & banners Advertisement advertisement -

video,

Público (Public)

Jumping Talent, The Homesman Banner advertisement

Sol (Sun)

Dhoze

Video advertisement

Table 1 Analysis of Turkish and Portuegese e-newspapers

Banner

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Figure 1 Interfaces of Turkish E-Newspapers Birgun e-newspaper does not include an advertisement. The images are located in a grid system. The newspapers name is on a White background and it can easily been read. The latest news image is bigger than the images on top because of hierarchical system in the website design. The writers of articles, portrait photographs, names and article names are written in a grid system, too. Birgun is a clear, easily perceptible enewspapers design. Cumhuriyet (Republic) e-newspaper has only one advertisement, City by city activity guide. This advertisement banner has taken a little place on top of the enewspaper. The logotype of Cumhuriyet is located on left side of the web page. The titles of the e-newspapers contents are written with white on grey banner. There is a slide for news and the image of the passing news takes place from left to right side of the page. There are smaller images down of the page, too. As a general view, this website is a clean and easily understood design. The images and writings, titles slogans are not placed so closely. There is a hierarchical structure on this e-newspaper web interface. Gazete Vatan (Newspapers Homeland), has advertisement banners on right and top side of the web page. These advertisements are arranged with google advertising. The logo Vatan is smaller than the advertising logotypes. The slide is tight vertically and there are three parts for news titles and images and these news are so closed to each other with slogans, images and titles. The spacing element is not used carefully. The news and advertising areas are so near to each other.

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The interface of Haberturk (News Turc), has two advertisements (Paraf, Kalekent) on top and on the right side. The daily, important news cannot be seen as the webpage is first opened. The interface view is filled with titles, a few news images and big areas for advertising. All links, images and advertising areas are so near to each other. The space element is not sufficient for an easy reading. Hurriyet (Liberty) has Tchibo, Vestel advertisements. Hurriyet logotype is located on left top of the newspapers page with titles of newspapers contents. As the webpage of Hurriyet is opened a daily crucial or important news title cannot be seen. The advertisements are remarkable mostly. The magazine news banner takes attention after the advertisements. Milliyet (Nationality), includes 4 advertisements: 1V1Y.com, Casper, Unnado, MNG cargo. The only news title can be seen is under the interface and the image cannot be seen exactly. The advertisements take a large part of the interface. The logo is big enough to be seen easily but on the first opening of the e-newspapers any news can be seen. The advertisements are not related to each other. Thus, a disunited view is seen on Milliyet e-newspapers page. Radikal (Radical) has only Trendyol advertisement. The daily news are grouped on a slide and can be chosen easily to be read. There are titles for the e-newspapers content on top and on right side of the page. For the advertisement, only a small part is given and this does not affect the e-newspapers composition. According to the interests of news, a reader can easily find what to read. Sabah (Morning) is like a TV webpage design due to the big part of the soap opera advertisement. Sabah has two advertisements: Bedel (soap opera), Ziraat Turkey Cup (sports). The soap opera advertisement has replaced instead of space element. No matter what advertising takes place in a big area of an e-newspapers, the hierarchical power of advertisement effects reading, finding the news, titles and images easily. The page does not seem as a good composition. ıt is filled with different groups of data and it is hard to read the news. Star e-newspaper interface has 4 advertisements: MT Oto Center, Akbank, Finspor, Zekeriyakoy. The e-newspapers interface of Star has different parts for both advertising and news, too. The news images and slogans are located with a slide. But the advertisements surround this part and there is no space between data. It is hard to find the news, articles and other news data.

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Figure 2 Interfaces of Portuguese E-Newspapers

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Correio da Manhã (Morning Mail) has 3 advertisements on right side: Geziko, Cetelem (Credit), Correio da Manhã (Discount accessible see store). This e-newspaper has four lines on top colored differently but appropriate to each other and the logotype of e-newspaper is place on red line. The advertisement is located by Google, according to that the Turkish webpages can be seen. The other two advertising areas are located by Portuguese advertisings. The daily news are shared by slides and it is on left side of advertisements. As being on bottom of e-newspapers interface, the news can be easily found and read. Destak has advertisement (Grammarly) based on Google search, too. The advertising is located on the right side of e-newspapers interface. The logo is placed on a red line on top of the interface. The news articles titles and writers’ names, images and other datas are placed on a white background and there is a space between them. The e-newspapers can be read easily due to the well-composed elements. Diário de Notícias (Daily News) has only one advertisement on right side. This advertising area is a small part of the e-newspaper and does not affect reading or finding the news on website. The e-newspapers has three columns for organizing news. The composition is done by considering design principles. There is a hierarchy to find to read the news is easy. The data are separated by white space areas. Expresso (Express) has a big area for video advertising (Siemens). The big banner area includes video, writings and images. The logotype of the newspaper can be seen blue easily on a blue line. Due to the big advertising area, the news cannot be seen as soon as the e-newspaper page is opened. The data, titles, the images are located by considering design principles. They are separated and are not so near to each other. Jornal I (abbreviation for Information) is opened with a full screen advertisement of The Sims 4. As the advertising window is closed the e-newspaper page is opened. The Sims 4 advertising is located on a banner on right side of the newspaper. This enewspaper includes white, black, yellow and dark grey backgrounds. The yellow background is effective for taking attention and the news are located hierarchically. Jornal de Notícias (Journal News) e-newspapers interface is opened with Jackpot advertisement window. When it is closed two more advertisements are located on the website (Barclays, 1V1Y.com). The advertising on top takes more place, but it does not affect the logotype of the newspapers, because it is located on top on a blue line. The writings, titles and images are located with grid system and this is a positive way for readability. Oje does not have any advertisements and the e-newspapers web page design is appropriate to graphic design principles. The data, titles are located by grid system and they can be read easily. The space element is used effectively. The news are given by large slides.

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Publico (Public) logotype is placed on top, left side of the webpage on a dark red line. There is two small advertising areas (Jumping Talent TV program, The Homesman movie). Three columns are used to separate news data and all the writings are readable due to the appropriate design standard. Sol (Sun) has a video advertisement of Dhoze. The logotype of the newspapers is located small sized on left top of the webpage. The background is black and between news windows there is a few space and the webpage is not easily understood. The lately news are given on a window and the writings are written on a white background to be read easily. The windows are located in a grid system but this is not sufficient to be understood for the news data. CONCLUSION With the purpose of exploring the relation between e-newspapers and the advertisements on the interfaces of e-newspapers, the samples are analysed with semiotic analyse. The e-newspapers Birgun has no advertisement on web interface, Cumhuriyet from Turkish media, Oje and Publico from Portuguese media have the least advertisement on web interface. In the study, considering design principles, inspite of advertisement including, it is seen that Portuguese e-newspapers have more legible and easily understood than Turkish E-newspapers web page designs in general. On Turkish e-newspapers more images have been used than Portuguese enewspapers. Turkish e-newspapers interfaces has less space between images and writings and this directly influences visual perception in a bad way. As a consequence for Turkish newspapers, a newspapers interface is generally filled with advertisements except a few e-newspapers. The website design for newspapers is not organised completely with design principles. Advertisements are the most effective parts of enewspapers interfaces. It is hard to find an article, a detailed news area. The space element is not considered. Some newspapers logotypes are smaller than advertising logotypes. It is clear that Jurnal I has advertisements almost all over the web interface like Sabah with advertisement of soap opera. As Jurnal de Noticias and Expresso are opened, the video advertisement taking half of the web page starts to play. Sol enewspaper web design has a complex design because of having no space on the web page. It is a fact that virtual media such as e-newspapers have spaces on the web pages for advertising companies and the incomes from advertising are crucial for media institutions. However, it is a necessity that the web page designs requires to be organized for the benefits of readers. A reader can exit from advertising video by decision and clicking. However it becomes hard to find the news that is needed to be read. A clear and easily perceptible website carries functions to be read easily and for an e-newspaper the initial function is to be read easily. Even though international websites are opened, national advertising banners in accordance with the scanning data can take place on the page. In a foreign country’s web page, the advertisements of a different country’s local company can be seen. This is because of the newspaper’s using Google advertising system. When a person has clicked some internet addresses, they are used as advertisements on the pages of enewspapers.

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Honest, consistent, reliable advertising can easily use on web interfaces as the sample of Turkish e-newspapers Cumhuriyet (Republic). The activity advertisement take a small banner place and this situation of the advertisement does not affect the news space, writings and images. In the scope of this study, the interface views of e-newspapers on computers are analyzed. In the next step, the investigation can be framed with the interface views of e-newspapers on smart phones. By this way, the advertising on virtual media and enewspapers can be investigated more profoundly. Social and cultural dynamics are significant factors for the advertising types in any space. Especially in new media, the variables of readers (age, gender, education, browsing locations), the advertisement clicks (number, the people chosen to see more information about the advertisement), the duration of monitoring the advertisement video need to be analyzed deeply for understanding the advertising issue on virtual sphere.

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REFERENCES Aytemur, S. (2000). Faşizm ve Reklam (Fascism and Advertising). Mediacat yazarlarindan her yonuyle pazarlama iletisimi (Marketing communication with every aspect from Mediacat writers). Ankara: Kapital Media. Chadwick, F. E. (2012). Digital marketing and social media. Chapter 18. 668-704. Coroglu, C. (2002). Modern isletmelerde pazarlama ve satis yonetimi (Marketing and sales managemenet in modern business). Istanbul: Alfa. Coskun, G. (2011). Uluslararasi Isletmelerde Kurum Kulturu ve Insan Kaynagi (Foundation culture and human resource in international firms). Ankara: Detay. 113137. Er, E. & Ozden, Z. (2011). Kuresellesme ve reklam: Uluslararası reklamin kulturel boyutu (Globalization and advertisement: the cultural dimension of ınternational advertisement). International Enterprises in the context of Globalization, Studies in the perspective of Communication. pp. 89-109. Kotler, F. (2012). Soru ve cevaplarla gunumuzde pazarlamanin temelleri (Philip Kotler’s FAQs on marketing). Umit Sensoy (Trans.). Istanbul: Optimist. Kotler, F. (2003). Marketing insights from A to Z. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. http://www.col.org/sitecollectiondocuments/countryinformation/marketinginsightsfroma-z.pdf (13 March 2015). Mankan, E. (2011). E-ticaret (E-trade). Izmir: Ilya. Taskin, E. (2012). Uluslararası pazarlama (International marketing). Istanbul: Turkmen. Yilmaz, E. (2011). Marka imajı (Brand image). İstanbul: Türkmen. Yuksel, E. (2010). Medya ve habercilik (Media and journalism). Konya: Cizgi. Information, March 2015).

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Journal of Media Critiques [JMC] – Vol.1 No.1 June 2015 http://www.dn.pt/inicio/default.aspx http://www.destak.pt/ http://oje.pt/ http://sol.pt/ http://www.publico.pt/ http://www.jn.pt/paginainicial/ http://www.oprimeirodejaneiro.pt/opj/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_Portugal http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/ http://www.gazetevatan.com/ http://www.milliyet.com.tr/ http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/anasayfa/ http://www.radikal.com.tr/ http://www.birgun.net/ http://www.haberturk.com/ http://www.sabah.com.tr/ http://www.star.com.tr/

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Journal of Media Critiques [JMC] doi: 10.17349/jmc115207 P-ISSN: 2056-9785 E-ISSN: 2056 9793 http://www.mediacritiques.net [email protected]

INTERACTIVITY AND POLITICAL COMMUNICATION: NEW MEDIA TOOLS AND THEIR IMPACT ON PUBLIC POLITICAL COMMUNICATION BURTON SPEAKMAN ∗ ABSTRACT Based on the interactivity theory, this study examines relationships between people’s political media commentary online and through traditional methods. Data from Pew Research Center (N= 2,253) shows that those who were actively participated in political discourse using traditional methods were more likely to make statements on newspaper websites and using social media about politics. Higher level of education also predicted participation in political communication in the new media environment. Keywords: Interactivity, Motivation, New Media, Traditional Media, Social Media

INTRODUCTION Methods for news reporting and reception are changing with the audience no longer are limited to consuming news (Carr, Barnidge, Lee, & Tsang, 2014; Scott, Millard, & Leonard, 2014). There are more information sources and new means to interact with information. Political communication online is an interesting niche market because of its devotees. Enhanced connectivity and information availability have transformed what people know and how they know it, because more information is available now than any time in history (Flanagin & Metzger, 2008). The web has altered the production and distribution of news content. Staffs at media companies communicate in real-time with their audiences using social media, email, or online commenting. Media companies have numerous opportunities to interact with their audience. It is important to consider interactive tools are being both used by consumers and diffused by the news industry. The use of interactive features online has increased political involvement (Kruikemeier, van Noort, Vliegenthart, & de Vreese, 2013). The question is are those increases are among people already involved in politics or these interactive features are attracting new involvement (Gibson & Cantijoch, 2013). Increased political interaction online is particularly true for the younger audience; who are considered ∗

Graduate Student in the School of Communication at San Diego State University. [email protected]

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politically apathetic (Vitak et al., 2011). Media companies can enhance interactivity with measures such as providing opportunities for the public to communicate with journalists, allowing the audience more control over comment forums, and making participation as simple as possible to encourage interaction. LITERATURE REVIEW New communication technologies have redefined many concepts in mass communication (Kiousis, 2002). The Internet shifted communication from traditional one-way to multimodal model (Hoffman & Novak, 1996; Schultz, 2000). This leads to interactivity theory, which is important because most online communication tools are designed around interaction. Interactivity is often used synonymously with communication on the web (McMillan & Hwang, 2002). Interactivity theory examines people’s captivation with communication possibilities inherent in computer-mediated groups, which could include sharing media content or social media posting (McMillan & Hwang, 2002; Rafaeli & Sudweeks, 1997). Interactivity theory argues that increased interaction between the audience and the media outlet leads to a more engaged audience (Ha & James, 1998; Rafaeli & Sudweeks, 1998). The theory surmises that frequent and positive interaction between journalists and their audience will benefit coverage and increase audience participation and time spent on websites. It is further assumed that the audience wants to interact with the communicator (Ha & James, 1998). Interactive communication methods offered online led to the development of interactivity theory to discuss forms of computer-mediated communication (Hoffman & Novak, 1996). Interactivity has dramatically increased due to new web-based communication channels (Kiousis, 2002). For example, Facebook, Twitter, and comment boards on newspaper websites are new media channels through which people argue and discuss political issues. Among these, Mitchell, Gottfried, Kiley, & Matsa (2014) found Facebook to be the most significant social media to receive political news. Additionally, 75% of respondents to a Pew questionnaire of more than 2,000 adults used Facebook for political commentary, compared to about 25% each for Twitter, Google Plus, and LinkedIn (Mitchell, Gottfried, Kiley, & Matsa, 2014). Social media helps diffuse news online and focuses on interaction. Increased interaction on social media increases political engagement (Kushin & Yamamoto, 2010). In the same vein, Chan and Guo (2013) found online media consumption and use of Facebook were significant factors in determining political activity among American youth. Facebook and Twitter offer a place for young people to meet, discuss, or plan political actions (Chan & Guo, 2013). Many politically active groups of young people use social media to distribute political information (Jenkins & Carpentier, 2013). Youth engage in political interactions online because these platforms offers greater equality online because they find these platforms liberal and more open to their comments compared to traditional offline organizations (Jenkins & Carpentier, 2013). While not as popular, Twitter offers a way to receive, interact, and disseminate news to other users while at the same time it creates a community among participants

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(Hull & Lewis, 2014). Social media represents a technical advancement in interactivity. The form has changed the way people receive and interact with media content. People have no issue with seeing a news story on Facebook or Twitter, adding their own comment, and retweeting or sharing the news with friends or followers. This is because the structure of online interactions. Social media does not have the traditional relationship of sender and receiver; everyone is one equal footing with the ability to do both (Becker, Clement, & Schaedel, 2010). This is in opposition to most commercial media sites where the audience is mostly a passive news recipient. In spite of the development of interactive media tools online, questions remain about their use. Online interactivity remains low, but those who use interactive measures represent a growing minority (Chung & Nah, 2009; Larsson, 2011). Users want interactive options available, they appreciate online interactivity more than they use it, (Chung & Nah, 2009; Larsson, 2011). These interactions could include posting on Facebook, tweeting stories, commenting on news articles, sharing articles, or a variety of other options. Research has shown electronic participation in politics is multidimensional, which indicates those who interact tend to do so in multiple ways (Gibson & Cantijoch, 2013). In contrast, communicating through traditional means includes phone calls, letters to the editor, or even mail correspondence. Internet access is a necessity for political interaction online. Digital divide, caused due to factors such as income, education, age, accessibility in some areas, and excessive cost in other locations (Guillen & Suarez, 2006), restricts potential Internet users from participating in political communication. Increased Internet use nationally has helped to bridge the divide (Lilleker & Koc-Michalska, 2013). However, a segment of the older population avoids the Internet for gratification reasons and remain separated by choice (Lilleker & Koc-Michalska, 2013). When it comes to Generation Y nearly everyone uses social media (Bolton, et al., 2014). Overall, social media are increasing people’s ability to comment on news, and politics more specifically online. Hypotheses H1: Age will be positively related to political communication using traditional methods such as letters to the editor or phone conversations that are not Internetbased. Individuals who pay attention to politics and integrate information via the media tend to know more about political issues and be more politically active (Kwak, Williams, Wang, & Lee, 2005). Those who are politically active tend to consume more media overall (Scheufele, 2002). Therefore I expect that those who are politically active will be more likely to interact with the media. Interactivity theory argues that identification with something, like a political cause or candidate, would be highly tied to someone’s motivation to participate (Rafaeli & Ariel, 2008). Therefore based on the theory those who comment on politics would so using the more interactive forms offered by digital media. H2: Higher levels of income will be positively related to commenting on online stories or on social media.

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H3: Higher levels of education will be positively related to commenting on online stories or on social media. These hypotheses relate to interactivity theory using the concept of the digital divide. Digital literacy skills are one of the most important factors in bridging the digital divide at all levels of education (Peña-López, 2010). The younger population is digital natives and therefore those who do not learn digital literacy skills fall further behind (Smith, 2012). Technology alone does not turn students into digital natives, and education is important (Smith, 2012). Income is also a factor. Those with lower incomes are less likely to use online technology and therefore online interaction with others is limited (Choi & DiNitto, 2013; Zhang, 2013). Countries that are more developed have faster Internet diffusion and shorter lag times in the populace developing Web skills (Zhang, 2013). Those with higher incomes have more interest and efficacy in all types of online communication. In both cases these groups are more likely to interact online simply because they are more likely to have access and use the Internet to communicate with others. Those with higher incomes and education levels tend to use the Internet in ways that help to protect their place in society (van Deursen, van Dijk, & Peter, 2015). Their study showed an increasing number of people using the web for interaction. It further found that both education and income levels were statistically significant (van Deursen, van Dijk, & Peter, 2015). H4: Those who comment about news stories online will also be the respondents most likely to respond using traditional means. People who are into political news tend to communicate their views making sure that others know what they think (Ellis, 2014). The Internet is a key source for political information (Kushin & Yamamoto, 2010). The emergences of interactive web sites have facilitated, at least in part, the growth of online political behavior (Kushin & Yamamoto, 2010). H5: Age is negatively related to interacting with political news stories published on the Internet. The younger population best receives web-based political communication (Xenos & Foot, 2008). For youth the least common methods of political participation were writing a letter to a newspaper or writing an article for a magazine or newspaper (Vitak et al., 2011). The most common were posting to a Facebook wall or a politically oriented status message (Vitak et al., 2011). Overall activity that took less work was most popular (Vitak et al., 2011). Online expression is simply easier for certain types of tasks and discussions (Walther, 1996). The effects of online communication tools on the political activity of the younger population were visible in the 2008 presidential election (Bakker & de Vreese, 2011). In a study of college students, Kushin and Yamamoto (2010) showed that online expression was significantly related to situational political involvement. Since younger people are moving much of their communication to online means interactivity theory would argue that they will comment using the means with which they are most comfortable.

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METHODS This study uses a survey from the Pew Research Center as the primary source of data. The instrument is part of a phone questionnaire conducted by the Princeton Survey Research Associates International for Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project (Pew Research Center, 2013). There were 2,253 adults who participated, including 900 who responded via cell phones; landline telephones were used to contact the remaining respondents (Pew Research Center, 2013). Princeton Survey Research Associates International conducted interviews between July 16, 2012 and Aug. 7, 2012; there was a 95% confidence interval (Pew Research Center, 2013). Most questions had a sampling margin of error of 2%, Internet and social media questions had a 3% error rate (Pew Research Center, 2013). Random dialing was used to reach respondents (Pew Research Center, 2013). This study included questions about age and commenting on politics using traditional or new media methods. The first independent variable for this study is age, which is an interval variable. The mean age is 52.62, the range was 79, and the standard deviation is 19.52 (Pew Research Center, 2013). When looking at issues involving the digital divide, it is also important to look at the variables of income and education. Low income keeps a number of people from using the Internet with 34% of those under 60, and 17% of those over 60 using the web (Choi & DiNitto, 2013). Income as a variable helps to define the digital divide and is the most influential factor that determines access to the Internet (Hilbert, 2010). Education is a significant factor to someone’s use of the Internet for all people regardless of their skill level with the web (van Deursen & van Dijk, 2010). Globally education is the most consistent predictor of someone’s Internet use (van Deursen & van Dijk, 2010). Lower education levels were significantly different in both the ability to complete online tasks and time spent online (van Deursen & van Dijk, 2010). The second independent variable traditional communication was operationally defined as the answer represented Question 14 of the survey, “How often do you discuss politics and public affairs with others in person, by phone call, or by letter?” (Pew Research Center, 2013). The potential answers were every day, at least once a week, at least once a month, never, don’t know, and refused, resulting in an ordinal level scale (Pew Research Center, 2013). This question design showed how often someone commented in person, by phone, or through a letter to another person about politics and public affairs. There were 369 (16.4%) respondents who discuss politics daily, 626 (27.8%) weekly, 416 (18.5%) monthly, 325 (14.4%) less than monthly, and 499 (%) never discuss politics (see table 1). There were 14 respondents who refused to answer and 4 who stated they did not know. The dependent variable operationally defined by Question 15, “How often do you discuss politics and public affairs with others ONLINE – such as by e-mail, on a social networking site or by text message? Would you say every day, at least once a week, at least once a month, less than once a month, or never?” (Pew Research Center, 2013). This is also an ordinal variable (Pew Research Center, 2013). The frequency table showed that 110 respondents representing 5.7% used online techniques to comment about politics and a combined 19% comment online at least one a week. There were

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56.3% of respondents, which represented 1090 people, who never comment about politics online (see table 2). The figures must be viewed in relation to Pew studies over time, which does show adoption of online commenting (Pew Research Center, 2013). There were 5.7% of people who commented online daily with the remainder commenting weekly or less frequently. The operational definition independent variable of political activity was a combined interval variable derived from combining the following questions about respondent activities from the Pew dataset: attended a political rally or speech; attended an organized protest of any kind; attended a political meeting on local, town or school affairs; worked or volunteered for a political party or candidate; been an active member of any group that tries to influence public policy or government, not including a political party; worked with fellow citizens to solve a problem in your community. This variable was created to indicate who was truly active in politics amongst the Pew respondents. FINDINGS Spearman’s Rho correlations were used to determine relationships because the variables are at the interval and ordinal levels. The correlation tests showed significant results between several variables. In terms of demographic data both income and education indicated moderate correlations between income and education and if respondents commented on political issues using traditional means. There were weak and very week correlations between those who comment about political issues online and both income and education (see table 3). This relationship seems to predict that individuals who discuss politics with others will do so regardless of how the communication occurs. There was not a significant relationship between age and either of the commenting variables, meaning that H1, Age will be positively related to interpersonal communication and communication by mail or telephone, and H5, Age is negatively related to interacting with political news stories published on the Internet were not supported because the null cannot be rejected. This study seems to indicate that age is not a factor. The two hypothesis related to demographics are being considered together. H2, which higher levels of income will be positively related to commenting on online stories or on social media, was supported. The regression showed statistical significant however it was a low level. H3 was supported both correlations and regressions however both were also a low levels of support. When considering both H2 and H3 it can be ascertained that while there is some effect of demographic variables that effect is not large. Age and income combined represent just over 3% of the total variance found. These five factors predicted 32.3% of the variance related to a person’s willingness to comment using new media tools (see table 4). The two behavior variables, traditional political communication (β=.366, p<.05) and political interaction (β=.340, p<.05). These findings show support for H4, which stated that those who comment

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about news stories online are the respondents most likely to respond using traditional communication tools. Based on the results of the various statistical tests it is not possible to identify a consistent relationship between all three of the variables. However, the adoption of interactive media tools may simply be a matter of time, with more people participating as time passes. Garrison noted “Adoption of new ideas, technologies, and practices requires time in any social system even a small and highly focused professional system such as journalism,” (2001, p. 221). Information technology reaches critical mass representing widespread use much quicker in the interactive technologies associated with the Internet compared to traditional ones (Garrison, 2001). The digital divide factors were investigated using a linear regression analysis. To avoid multicollinearity age, income, and education were separated from the behavioral variables and examined separately. The concern was that as Weaver and Drew (2001) showed behavioral factors such as political interaction and communication could create a sizable influence suppressing the potential significance of digital divide variables (see table 5). Removing this variable did not impact the results of age or income. The overall regression predicted 4.2% of the variance. However education did become significant (β.197, p<.001). The digital divide must also be considered with certain segments of the population not having the skills to participate in online interaction. While the van Deursen and Dijk (2013) stated that those with lower incomes who have web access use the Internet more often they do so in a more superficial manner. However, the most prominent issue remains age in determining Internet use (van Deursen & Van Dijk, 2013). The older population may eventually be forced to adopt new technologies as even government entities transfer services online (Choudrie, Ghinea, & Songonuga, 2013). The most important barrier at this point to older people using the web is a lack of knowledge and/or skills (Choudrie, Ghinea, & Songonuga, 2013). This lack of knowledge and skills does not appear to be a long-term concern as digital technology becomes pervasive in society (Olphert & Damodaran, 2013). The results from this study indicated that amongst the three demographic variables age was the least related to someone’s willingness to comment online. Therefore while age might have been a barrier at one time it now appears other factors such as income and education are better correlated to divisions in online access studied by the concept of the digital divide. The results of this study appear to show that convergence is not limited to media companies. The public is also practicing convergence. Those who comment using one method seem willing or want to express their opinions in a number of different types of forums. There apparently is little consideration if that interaction occurs in person or online. Those who want to comment about politics seem to do so wherever they interact with others. Interactivity theory would appear to state that because the Internet is a superior method of communication for feedback and response more people should comment online (Rafaeli & Sudweeks, 1998). However, the results of this study indicate at this point that is not the case (Rafaeli & Sudweeks, 1998).

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DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION After running the analysis of the data, there are a few relationships that appear to exist between the three variables. The first those who are willing to comment on politics seem to interact with people regardless of the form based upon the regression finding. Therefore people are more willing to comment through face-to-face, mail, or letters about political issues will also be willing to comment on news stories or on social media about politics. This means that even with new technology that makes interaction simpler there is a significant portion of the population that remains silent. One issue that must be addressed is the more than 1,000 respondents do not interact online at all with political communication. There are a number of potential motivations that appear to be necessary for people to participate in online commentary. These include building relationships, group attachment and expressing their identity (Wang & Fesenmaier, 2003). Social connection is also a factor in if and how often people interact online (Ledbetter et al., 2010). The fact that people cannot control everything posted, i.e. the wall comments of others or other story comments, prevents some people from participating online (Ledbetter et al., 2010). There is also the issue of offline relationships influencing online ones because in solely online communities there are more people who will not participate, while in the more active communities it appears those involved have a traditional relationship as well (Matzat, 2010). Digital literacy also plays a role, because even if someone is online their willingness to become involved is impacted by his or her perceived level of digital literacy (Matzat, 2010). Trends indicate more people are commenting online be through social media or commenting on news stories on media websites. Between 2009 and 2012 there were 6% more people who used the Internet and Internet usage has risen by 37% since 2000 (Pew Research Center, 2013). In terms of using the Internet to get news there are 43% more people accessing news online (Pew Research Center, 2013). Similarly there are 29%more people who use the Internet to get political news since 2000 (Pew Research Center, 2013). Finally the number of people who never use new media tools to discuss politics online has fallen by 9% between 2008 and 2012 (Pew Research Center, 2013). However, there is still more research needed in this area as the public transition to new media technology. Internet usage and social media appear likely to continue to increase in adoption rates. Table 1. Use of traditional communication methods for political comments such as face-to-face, phone, or mail. N= 2,253 Frequency Percentage

Daily

Weekly

Monthly

369 16.4

626 27.8

416 18.5

Less than monthly 325 14.4

Never 499 22.1

Table 2. Use Online techniques to comment on politics N= 1,937 Daily Weekly Monthly Less Never than monthly Frequency 110 258 235 242 1090 Percentage 5.7 13.3 12.1 12.5 56.3

Don’t Know 4 .2

Refused

Don’t Know

Refused

0 0

2 .1

14 .6

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Table 3. Spearman’s Rho correlations for age, traditional communication, online communication, income, education, and political interactivity Age Traditional Online Income Education Political Activity Age

1

Traditional

.018

1

Online Income Education Political Interactivity

.039 .47** 1 .09** .206** .094** 1 .005 .328** .200** .356** 1 .114* .288** .424** .117** .035 1 * Note: N = 2,253 for age and traditional, N = 1,937 for online Potential responses for traditional and online were 1 = Every day, 2 = At least once a week, 3 = At least once a month, 4 = Less than once a month, 5 = never, 8 = don’t know, 9 = refused. Potential income answers were 1 = Less than $10,000, 2 = $10,000 to under $20,000, 3 = $20,000 to under $30,000, 4 = $30,000 to under $40,000, 5 = $40,000 to under $50,000, 6 = $50,000 to under $60,000, 7 = $60,000 to under $75,000, 8 = $75,000 to under $100,000, 9 = $100,000 to under $150,000, 10 = $150,000 to under $250,000, 11 = $250,000 to under $500,000, 12 = $500,000 or more, 13 = don’t know or refused. Education responses were 1 = None, or grades 1-8, 2 = High school incomplete (grades 9-11), 3 = High school graduate (grade 12 or GED certificate), 4 = Technical, trade or vocational school AFTER high school, 5 = Some college, no 4-year degree (includes associate degree), 6= College graduate (B.S., B.A., or other 4-year degree), 7 = Post-graduate training/professional school after college (toward a Masters/Ph.D., Law or Medical school), 8 = Don’t know, 9 = Refused. * p < .05 * * p < .01 Other results are not significant Table 4. Regression comparing five variables to how likely someone is to comment on politics using new media tools. The independent variables were age, traditional communication tools and political interaction. Unstandardized B SE Beta Age .001 .002 .02 Income -.003 .011 -.007 Education -.022 .019 -.027 Traditional Political .354 .022 .419 Communication ** Political Interaction .523 .033 .340 ** R = .57, Adjusted R Square = .32, F = 154.40, d.f. 5, p < 01**

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Table 5. Regression comparing 3 variables to how likely someone is to comment on politics using new media tools. The independent variables were digital divide variables of age, income and education. Unstandardized B SE Beta Age 003 .002 .040 Income -.043 .013 -.093 Education -.122 .022 -.150** R = .208, Adjusted R Square = .042, F = 25.125, d.f. 3, p < .001**

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Journal of Media Critiques [JMC] doi: 10.17349/jmc115208 P-ISSN: 2056-9785 E-ISSN: 2056 9793 http://www.mediacritiques.net [email protected]

USES AND EFFECTS OF MYSPACE AMONG CHRISTIAN TEENS AND YOUNG ADULT MICHAEL S. JEFFRESS ∗ ABSTRACT In 2008, MySpace was one of the world’s top Internet destinations. Behind only Google and Yahoo in Internet traffic in America, it was the most popular social networking site (SNS) with some 300,000 profiles being added daily. Although MySpace would soon be supplanted in the SNS world by the likes of Facebook and Twitter, it still has over 50 million unique users each month and over 300,000 video views monthly. Research performed during the period of its height in popularity is still valuable not only for historical perspective, but also for what it teaches about the habits of SNS users today. This study of the uses and effects of MySpace among Christian teens and young adults (n = 242), computes four composite variables: a Positive Effects Variable (PEV), a Negative Effects Variable (NEV), an Expressing Faith Variable (EFV), and a Friends and Family Variable (FFV), in order to consider interaction effects among various categories such as, age, gender, church attendance frequency, MySpace use experience and frequency, number of MySpace friends, etc. The results provide important insights for those who wish to maintain and promote a group identity through SNS platforms. Keywords: MySpace, SNS, Social Networking Site, Computer Mediated Communication, Religion, Group Identity

INTRODUCTION According to Pew Internet survey findings (Lenhart & Madden, 2007b) over half of all American adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 had created a personal profile on a social networking site (SNS) by 2007. Nearly half who had done so, visited an SNS one or more times daily, and the one they chose to visit 85% of the time was MySpace, before Facebook supplanted MySpace in global visitors in April 2008 and in U.S. Internet traffic in May 2009 (Albanesius, 2009). The SNS for which Rupert Murdoch paid $580 million in 2005, was the king of SNS’s until it reached its peak in December 2008 (Gillette, 2011). Although, MySpace’s popularity has waned, it is poised for a comeback. As of November 2014, MySpace boasted 50.6 million monthly users, which amounts to a 575 percent increase since 2013, and it ranked 16th in

∗

Assistant Professor, Department of Mass Communication, Nicholls State University. [email protected]

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comScore’s Video Metrix by garnering 300 million video views during the same month (Morrison, 2015). At its height, MySpace received an estimated 110 million users each month (Stone, 2007) and accounted for “12 percent of all Internet minutes” (Levy, 2007). A check of the Internet ranking site Alexa.com on December 10, 2007, revealed MySpace behind only Google and Yahoo in traffic for the day in the United States and in sixth place globally. While Facebook would soon leapfrog past MySpace, the latter was still adding “an average of 320,000 new profiles every day” (Noguchi, 2006). The rise of MySpace left religious organizations scrambling for how to react. It became critical for churches, and in particular youth ministers, lay leaders and parents, to understand how Christian teens and young adults use MySpace and its effects on them. In her practical outline for using MySpace in youth ministry Peggy Kendall, associate professor of communication at Bethel University, states it plainly, Gaining a better understanding of MySpace and other social networking technology is critical if we want both to understand young people and to protect them. Whether you decide to use online social networking as part of your ministry or [not], it is important to understand why and how kids use it. This is essential, because kids like it, use and misuse it, think and dream about it, demonstrate great anguish when they can’t get on, and probably aren’t going to tell you about it unless you ask. If you want to find out how your students are feeling, who their friends are, what they do in their free time, what they like, what they don’t like, and what hurts them deeply, I challenge you to sign on (Kendall, 2007; pp. 23-24).

The current study on the uses and effects of MySpace on Christian teens and young adults seeks to inform readers how they view and use MySpace in relation to their faith. It provides descriptive data to show how Christian teens and young adults are using MySpace and the effects they perceive it to be having on their faith. It engages other general population studies on SNS’s in order to raise hypotheses about expected comparisons or contrasts. It also discusses the opportunities MySpace presents for religious organizations to promote their group identity and how well the results indicate these prospects are being seized. LITERATURE REVIEW Much is publicized about the dangers floating around in cyberspace. One needs only to recall MySpace’s highly publicized removal from its network of some 7,000 convicted sex offender profiles (Gordon, 2006) or the popular series of sting operations to catch sexual predators showcased on NBC-TV’s Dateline. No one denies the concerns for trust and privacy among SNS’s (Dwyer, Hiltz, & Passerini, 2007), especially as it pertains to youth (Tynes, 2007), but youth are not the only vulnerable ones. In a meticulously planned experiment researchers at Indiana University (Jagatic et al., 2007) successfully phished a school SNS for personal data and then contacted 487 members of the network and got 72% of them to click on a harmless, bogus link, which could just as easily have been a virus or worse. Others have done parallel tests with similar alarming results (Ferguson, 2005). In addition to the threats to personal security, a few studies on online communication at the dawn of the new millennium argue that it displaces face-to-face

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communication, even among friends and family, resulting in negative social and psychological effects (Kraut et al., 1998; Nie, 2001; Morgan & Cotten, 2003). Kraut et al.’s (2002) 3-year follow-up study, however, shows a dissipation of negative effects and adds weight to the growing preponderance of research suggesting that, while the dangers are no less hazardous, the benefits of SNS’s outweigh the risks. Research indicates people are attracted to virtual communities, like MySpace, for their potential to provide information, social support, friendship, and recreation (Ridings & Gefen, 2004). Findings also suggest SNS’s offer positive effects for young people’s well-being and social self-esteem (Bryant, Sanders-Jackson, & Smallwood, 2006; Valkenburg, Peter, Schouten, 2006). These findings prompt our first hypothesis: H1: Christian teens and young adults will perceive that MySpace offers more positive than negative effects on their faith. As well as research that argues online interaction creates bonds as strong and important to people as offline interaction with many of the same attributes (Haythornthwaite et al., 2000; Haythornthwaite, 2005) and helps families and friends stay connected and support each other from a distance (LaRose et al., 2001, Howard, Rainie, & Jones, 2001), a strong case has been made that online communication does not detract from but actually strengthens and enhances offline relationships (Kendall, 2002; Kavanaugh & Patterson, 2001; Bargh & McKenna, 2004; Kavanaugh et al., 2005, Wellman, et. al., 2001). Studies show online communication often stimulates face-toface connectivity in everyday life (Wellman & Haythornthwaite, 2002). Valkenburg & Peter (2007) put the stimulation versus displacement hypothesis to the test in a sample of over 1,000 Dutch youth between 10 and 17 years of age who use multiple forms of online communication and found the stimulation hypothesis substantiated. In fact, people who first experience trouble forming relationships faceto-face are likely to form relationships online and bring them into their “real” world (McKenna, Green, & Gleason, 2002). Examples abound of people who first meet online and later develop intimate relationships (Wildermuth & Vogl-Bauer, 2007). 1 Furthermore, research suggests that for many people it is easier to express their “true selves” online versus face-to-face, thus the physical relationship is strengthened through the cyber sharing (Bargh, McKenna, & Fitzsimons, 2002). SNS’s, such as MySpace, with their high user control features and multiplicity of communication tools, e. g., e-mail, IM, photos, video, and music, offer many avenues for people who already share an offline environment to extend and strengthen it, as well as create new ones. The following hypotheses are thus proposed: 1

This researcher is also a pastor, who, for example, has been involved with two weddings in the past two years stemming from relationships first formed online.

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H2: As an extension of their everyday lives, Christian teens and young adults will express their Christian faith on MySpace. H3: Christian teens and young adults will use MySpace to stay connected with existing friends and family, and to a lesser extent to make new friends. H4: Christian teens and young adults will say they use MySpace to flirt and explore dating options. H5: Christian teens and young adults will say they use MySpace because it is easier for them to communicate there and share who they really are. Research has only just begun to explore the worlds of the newest and increasingly popular SNS’s: MySpace and Facebook. Ellison, Steinfield and Lampe (2007) examined the benefits of Facebook for creating and boosting social capital among Michigan State University students. Dwyer (2007) presented the findings of her small qualitative study on MySpace and its usefulness for impression management to the 40th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Two studies funded by the Pew Internet & American Life Project (PIALP) (Lenhart & Madden, 2007a, 2007b) provide the best data on teens’ use of SNS’s to ascertain general population habits for comparison with the present study. According to these extensive studies, older teens, and particularly girls, are more likely to use SNS’s. About two-thirds (66%) of teens restrict access to their profiles and 59% limit access to friends they know. Almost half (48%) visit an SNS daily. Nine out of 10 (91%) use SNS’s to communicate with people they see on a regular basis. Just under half (49%) use SNS’s to make new friends. Only 17% say they use SNS’s to flirt, while 46% admit to posting false information on their profiles. In light of these figures, an additional hypothesis comes into view: H6: Among Christian teens and young adults, females will visit MySpace more frequently and for longer periods of time. METHODOLOGY During a doctoral seminar in the 2007 spring semester titled, “Media and the Church,” a group decision was made to focus on the uses and effects MySpace on Christian teens and young adults. Over the course of three weeks, the class met to discuss possible approaches and developed questions for an online survey. The outcome is 123 questions that measure general media uses (n = 2), general MySpace uses and effects (n = 70), Christian MySpace uses and effects (n = 44), plus demographics (n = 8). Participants were given the chance to provide their e-mail address at the end of the survey for a chance to win a $50 iTunes gift card as a thank you for their survey completion. The researcher and another colleague created the survey using the online resource Survey Monkey. Class members were encouraged to e-mail survey links to their contacts, and a link was posted on a university listserv to invite subscribers to participate. One colleague offered extra credit to her college students to take the survey resulting in some 25 submissions. Permission was also granted by the principal of a local Christian school to give middle school and high

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school students the opportunity to take the survey during an upcoming computer class. In addition to these efforts, MySpace itself was used to solicit responses. A colleague created a MySpace profile for the class project titled, “Christians and MySpace” (www.myspace.com/christians andmyspace) to generate interest in the research by publicizing the question, “Please let us know about your experience with MySpace,” and the survey link. Finally, a search of Christian groups within MySpace was made and uncovered a large network called, “Christian Teens of MySpace.” The MySpace group profile has over 90,000 friends on its list. The group was joined in order to gain access to its discussion board, where a bulletin was posted announcing the survey and providing the link. Colleagues divided up the first 500 members and the last 500 members on the group list and contacted them through their MySpace emails with a short note about the survey and the link. FINDINGS & DISCUSSION These approaches resulted in a total of 452 survey submissions with 444 (98%) completed. Two colleagues assisted with coding the open-ended questions. These coded responses were inserted into the survey results’ spreadsheet, which was then loaded into SPSS 15.0 for analysis. Since this study focuses on Christian teens and young adults, the results of those who either did not respond to (n = 126) or answered “no” when asked if they considered themselves to be Christian believers (n = 27) as well as those who did not provide their age (n = 29) or were older than 30 years of age (n = 28) were eliminated. This results in a total sample of N = 242 Christian teens and young adults. This sample represents a broad demographic of people who are heavy consumers of digital media and MySpace in particular. Tables 1 thru 3 illustrate that sample of Christian teens and young adults consists of over twothirds females, and 70% of the sample are ages 17 to 25. This is consistent with the PIALP findings that older girls better represented in the MySpace world. This sample has representatives from most major denominations, and one out of five says he or she belongs to a non-denominational church, with 72% attending church one or more times weekly. More than 9 out of 10 say they frequently or more than frequently use the Internet. Over half spend 3 to 6 hours daily on the Internet, with nearly half spending less than 1 hour on MySpace daily and most of the other half spending between 1 and 4 hours. The vast majority spend less than 1 hour per visit to MySpace. Over 80% have a personal profile on MySpace with a slight preference toward keeping their profiles open to the public. Almost a third of the sample with profiles report having over 200 MySpace friends, while about one-fourth has less than 50. Table 1. Christian Teen & Young Adult Demographics (N = 242) Gender Male Female

31% 69%

Ethnicity: Asian/ Asian American African/Caribbean Black/

4% 2%

Denomination Assembly of God Methodist Catholic Church of Christ/

7% 6% 5%

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Table 1 (continued) Age 11 to 13 12% 14 to 16 16% 17 to 19 26% 20 to 25 34% 26 to 30 12% School Public 16% Private 22% Home 3% Missing 60%

African American Hispanic/Latino Caucasian Other Missing Education In middle school In high school High school grad. Some college College grad. Graduate school

6% 6% 72% 7% 2

Christian Church Non-denom. Baptist Others Missing Attendance More than 1x/wk. 1x/wk. Few times/mo. 1x/mo. or less Christian holidays Never Missing

14% 24% 5% 34% 10% 13%

14% 20% 26% 20% 2% 40% 32% 12% 9% 4% 4% 0.4%

Table 2. Christian Teen & Young Adult Media Use (n) Never

(n) Seldom

(n) Occasionally

(n) Frequently

(n) More than frequently

(%) Frequently or more

Television

5

35

65

101

36

57%

Radio

13

47

66

76

40

48%

Magazines

38

89

73

36

5

17%

Newspapers

58

102

50

27

1

12%

Video/PC games

64

66

51

35

26

25%

Laptop/Notebook

59

33

26

38

86

51%

Personal Computer

28

21

31

61

100

67%

I-Pod/Mp3 Player

68

29

37

62

46

45%

Cell Phone

18

8

23

79

113

79%

Internet

2

3

15

62

158

91%

Media type

Table 3. Christian Teen & Young Adults Internet & MySpace Use Descriptives Time daily daily on Internet < 1 Hr. 1 to 2 hrs.

Time spent

Time spent per

Personal

daily on MySpace

visit to MySpace

9%

47%

72%

Yes

81%

22%

35%

21%

No

18%

3 to 4 hrs.

31%

14%

4%

5 to 6 hrs.

21%

1%

2%

7 to 8 hrs.

8%

1%

0.4%

profile?

(n) = 240 Type of profile

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Table 3. Continued. > 8 hrs.

7%

1%

0.4%

Private

37%

(n) = 238

(n) = 240

(n) = 239

Public

44%

Have both

3%

Time of day MySpace

# of

most often accessed

(n) = 207

MySpace friends 0-25 15% 26-50 9% 51-100 8%

6am-10am

5%

10am-2pm

10%

2pm-6pm

23%

6pm-10pm

45%

101-200

12%

10pm-2am

9%

201-300

24%

2am-6am

0.4%

(n) = 222

301+ (n) = 200

8%

Use frequency for other SNS sites Never 42% Seldom 14% Occasionally 22% Frequently 22% (n) = 240

Time had personal profile < 6 mos. 19% 6 mos to 1yr.

22%

1 to 2 yrs. 31% 2 to 4 yrs. 14% (n) = 208

The amount of time users have had a MySpace profile is fairly evenly distributed which indicates this sample includes people in various stages of development in the MySpace world. Another interesting observation is that 44% of the sample report they occasionally or frequently use other SNS’s in addition to MySpace. Among those SNS multi-users, 82% (n = 92) mention Facebook when asked what other sites they use. In light of these findings on demographics and MySpace use descriptives and frequencies, a final hypothesis and one research question come into focus: H7: Young Christian teens will be more likely to have a private MySpace profile and those with public profiles will have higher numbers of MySpace friends. RQ: In light of the diversity of the sample and the broad scope of the survey questions, which survey items will load highest in terms of M and mode? TESTING THE HYPOTHESES This study asks Christian teens and young adults to respond to the statement in Q78, “My experiences at MySpace have little to do with my Christian faith.” The majority is either neutral (24%, n = 59), disagree (19%, n = 45) or strongly disagree (26% n = 64). This indicates that, while some are not sure, more believe than do not, some relationship exists between MySpace and faith. In order to test H1 to see whether or not they perceive MySpace has more positive than negative effects on their faith, two composite variables are created. A Positive Effects Variable (PEV) is computed using 12 Likert scale (1 to 5) items measuring perceived positive effects.

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PEV (n = 221) scores a strong reliability coefficient, a = .95. A composite Negative Effects Variable (NEV) was also computed using 5 Likert scale (1-5) survey questions addressing negative effects. NEV (n = 226) also scores high on reliability, a = .81. Table 4 lists the questions comprising PEV and NEV together with individual M and SD scores. Table 4. Positive & Negative Effects Variables Individual Questions with M & SD Positive Effects Variable (PEV) Q96. My use of MySpace has caused me to become more involved with a local church, 1.9(1.1) Q98. Because of my experiences at MySpace I read the Bible more often, 1.9(1.1) Q99. My experiences at MySpace have made my Christian faith more real to me, 2.1(1.3) Q100. Because of my use of MySpace I volunteer more at my church other Christian Organizations, 1.8(1.0) Q101. Because of my use of MySpace I now pray more often, 1.93(1.1) Q102. My experiences at MySpace have strengthened my relationship with God, 2.1(1.2) Q103. I have a greater understanding of the Bible because of my experiences at MySpace, 1.9(1.1) Q104. Because of my experiences at MySpace I am a better person, 2.1(1.2) Q105. I have a stronger relationship with my Christian friends because of MySpace, 2.5(1.4) Q110. I contribute more to charitable causes because of my MySpace experiences, 1.7(0.9) Q112. I better understand other religions because of my experiences at MySpace, 2.0(1.7) Q114. My lifestyle is more Christ-like because of my MySpace experiences, 2.0(1.1) Negative Effects Variable (NEV) Q97. Sometimes I am ashamed of what I have done at MySpace, 1.7(1.1) Q106. MySpace has weakened my Christian faith, 1.6(0.9) Q108. I think my morals/values have declined because of my experiences at MySpace, 1.6(0.9) Q113. MySpace has been more harmful to me than beneficial, 1.7(0.9) Q116. My experiences at MySpace have made it harder for me to resist things I believe that are wrong, 1.7(1.0)

For PEV, M = 23.9 SD = 11.2, min./max. = 12/58, and mode = 12. For NEV, M =8.2, SD = 3.5, min./max. = 5/19, and mode = 5. On the surface these figures lead one to suspect Christian teens and young adults perceive MySpace only minimally affects their faith for good or bad. As noted above, Q78 indicates youth believe their faith should be engaged at MySpace. So why do they not believe their faith is being affected, especially in a positive direction? Could this be due to the fact that church youth groups are not utilizing what MySpace has to offer them? This seems likely due to the fact that a 55% (n = 133) either disagree or strongly disagree with Q76: “I am part of a local church group that uses MySpace.” While M and mode for both PEV and NEV are low, Statistical analysis uncovers some interesting and highly significant relationships among them. Independentsamples T-Tests reveals ns variance between genders in terms of PEV, but for NEV, F(2, 224) = 5.8, p < .01, with M = 9.21(3.9) for males and M = 7.73(3.2) for females This indicates that, although both groups perceive low negative effects from MySpace, females are more confident this is true. An ANOVA test reveals that age creates

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significant variance both for PEV, F(4, 216) = 2.8, p < .05, and NEV, F(4, 221) = 3.84, p < .01. Age is also negatively correlated to both PEV, r = -.18, p < .01, and NEV, r = -.21, p = .001. An interesting pattern, which Table 5 illustrates, emerges here; a parallel inverse relationship between M for PEV and NEV by Age develops through the first four age intervals. Table 5. M (SD, Min./Max.) of MySpace Effects Variables by Age* ______________________________________________________________________________ Age PEV NEV PEV NEV 11-13 29.5 (15.3, 12/58) 9.7 (4.1, 5/17) n = 19 22 14-16 26.9 (10.9, 12/54) 9.3 (4.0, 5/19) 37 37 17-19 23.2 (11.0, 12/54) 8.3 (3.7, 5/18) 60 59 20-25 21.6 (10.2, 12/56) 7.2 (2.8, 5/17) 77 78 26-30 23.7 (9.4, 12/43) 8.1 (3.0, 5/14) 28 30

This pattern raises interesting questions for further study to be discussed later. Church attendance also impacts PEV and NEV. The results of ANOVA for PEV*Attendance are, F(6, 213) = 2.9, p < . 01. Whereas NEV*Attendance reveals no significance through ANOVA, it does in correlation analysis together with PEV. Two slight but significant negative correlations exist: PEV*Attendance, r = -25, p < .001, and NEV*Attendance, r = -.13, p < .05. This suggests that as frequency of church attendance increases not only do perceived positive effects from MySpace decrease, but also the perceived negative effects decrease. Furthermore, the amount of time spent daily on MySpace predictably affects perceptions. ANOVA shows PEV*Time, F(5, 214) = 4.9, p < .001, and NEV*Time, F(5, 219) = 2.3, p = .05. Correlation analysis reveals that, unlike church attendance’s negative consequences, the amount of time spent on MySpace has a mild positive correlation, PEV*Time, r = .23, p < .001, NEV*Time, r = .19, p <.01. This indicates that the more time Christian teens and young adults spend on MySpace the more likely they are to believe it positively affects their faith, and the perception of negative effects goes down as well. H1 is, therefore, supported. H2 predicts Christian teens and young adults will express their Christian faith on MySpace. To test this, Q20 asks, “Do you express your Christian faith at your personal MySpace site?” By a margin of 87% (n = 175) to 13% (n = 27), Christian teens and young adults testify to sharing their faith on the MySpace profile. They are divided, however, when it comes to sharing their faith on MySpace with people they do not know (M = 3.0, SD = 1.4, n = 233) and are fairly sure they are not interested in accepting friend invites from strangers in order to share faith with them (M = 2.62, SD =1.3, n = 234). In order to determine if, in fact, the 87% who claim in Q20 to express the faith actually do, a composite Expressing Faith Variable (EFV) is formed using 10 Lickert scale (1-5) items that test respondents on practical ways faith might be expressed at MySpace. Table 6 presents the individual components of EFV.

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Table 6. Expressing Faith Variable (EFV) with (M, SD) ______________________________________________________________________________ Q74. I like to share my Christian faith in MySpace with people I do not know, 3.0(1.4) Q75. When I communicate with my friends in MySpace we often talk about the Christian faith, 2.7(1.3) Q79. When I share music with others at MySpace it is usually Christian Music, 2.6(1.5) Q82. I use MySpace to discuss the Bible with others, 2.4(1.4) Q84. I use MySpace to pray with others, 2.2(1.3) Q85. I use MySpace to organize Christian events and activities, 2.2(1.2) Q87. I like to use MySpace to express my Christian faith through music, 2.7(1.5) Q89. When I share videos at MySpace they usually have a Christian message, 2.1(1.2) Q93. I sometimes accept invitations at MySpace from strangers to be a “friend” so I can share my Christian faith with them, 1.9(1.2) Q95. I use MySpace to express my Christian faith through art, 2.0(1.2)

For EFV, M = 23.9, SD = 10.1, min./max. = 10/49, n = 222, and on reliability, a = .92. While the mode is lamentably 8.0, 44% (n = 103) of the sample score, M ≥ 20. 2 Neither gender nor age creates any significant difference in M for EFV. However, significance does occur when tested against the number of MySpace friends participants have, F(7, 181) = 3.0, p < .05. Those in the two lowest range of friend number intervals, 0-25 and 26-50, score the highest average means, M = 22.3, SD = 7.7 , n = 35, and M = 23.5, SD = 6.8 n = 20, respectively. This may suggest those with modest amounts of MySpace friends take their friends more seriously or else feel they have a closer connection to express their faith with them. When it comes to the likelihood that Christian teens and young adults will express their faith on MySpace, church attendance plays an interesting role. ANOVA uncovers that church attendance creates significant variance in EFV, F(6, 214) = 6.6, p <.001. A bivariate analysis shows a modest and highly significant negative correlation (r = .39, p < .001) exists between EFV and attendance. Why does church attendance have a negative effect on EFV? Is it possible that those who attend church more frequently are being warned more about the dangers and so a negative association between faith and MySpace develops? Or is it that as they spend more time with friends at church, they go to MySpace as a means of escapism from church-like activities? This deserves further study. While the numbers are somewhat lackluster, H2 is supported by virtue of the fact that 87% of the sample claims to express their faith. The M of EFV, however, is not 2

A higher M might have resulted if Q74 and Q93 had been better worded, “I like to share my faith with non-Christians on MySpace” and “I sometimes accept friend invites from nonChristians so that I can share my faith with them.” Because the former statement reads “…with people I do not know,” and the latter, “…invites from strangers,” non-Christian family, friends, and acquaintances are not factored.

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impressive. If such a majority says they express their faith on MySpace, why are the scores for average means not higher on the variables that are conducive to expressing faith on Myspace? This likely indicates that Christian teens and young adults are either hot or cold about sharing their faith and this results in a lower M, or they consider themselves to be expressing their Christian faith merely by selecting “Christian” in their personal profile for the religious category. Either way, it seems churches need to do more to encourage teens and young adults to make the most of MySpace’s opportunities to express their faith. H3 predicts that Christian teens and young adults will use MySpace to stay connected to existing friends and family and to a lesser extent to make new friends. To put this hypothesis to the test, six variables were transformed into a composite Friends & Family Variable (FFV), M = 18.9, SD = 5.5, min./max. = 6/30, and mode = 21. Table 7 provides the list of the FFV items. Table 7. Friends & Family Variable (FFV) with (M, SD) ______________________________________________________________________________ Q22. I use MySpace to talk to my closest friends, 3.8(1.2) Q25. I use MySpace to feel connected with others, 3.1(1.4) Q47. I use MySpace because friends comfort me there when I go through difficult times, 2.0(1.2) Q54. I use MySpace to look for friends with whom I’ve lost touch, 3.7(1.3) Q66. I use MySpace to keep in touch with family members, 2.24(1.5) Q81. I use MySpace to stay connected with my Christian friends, 3.4(1.4)

In the aforementioned PIALP studies of teens’ SNS’s use, findings show that girls are more likely to use SNS’s “to reinforce pre-existing friendships, while for the boys…, the networks provide opportunities for flirting and making new friends” (p. 1). This study indicates that for Christian teens and young adults, females do score a significantly higher mean on FFV, M = 19.6, SD = 5.1, versus males, M = 17.4, SD = 5.8; with F(2, 222) = 2.5, p < .01. In addition, age plays an even greater role, F(4, 219) = 4.0, p < .01. Teens ages 14 to 16 score highest, M = 25.3, SD = 3.9, min./max. = 11/30. Neither Church attendance nor number of friends creates any significant interaction effects. The amount of time that users spend daily on MySpace, however, does, F(5, 217) = 7.4, p < .001. Correlation analysis brings to light a mild and substantial positive relationship between daily use of MySpace and FFV, r = .28, p < .001, especially through the first three time intervals. Table 8 demonstrates this positive association. Table 8. Daily MySpace Use and FFV Correlation Hrs/daily M SD <1 16.8 6.1 1 to 2 20.7 4.0 3-4 21.5 3.9

Min./Max 6/27 9/30 13/30

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The first half of the H3 is supported. Christian teens and young adults, particularly females and younger teens, use MySpace to connect with existing friends and family. The second half suggests that they will also use MySpace make new friends, which PIALP finds males more predisposed. In order to test this part of H3, the responses to Q43, “I use MySpace to make new friends,” are examined. For Q43, n = 235, M = 2.6, SD = 1.4, and the mode is 1. This indicates that Christian teens and young adults are not eager to see MySpace as a place to make new friends. An independent-samples T-test shows gender to play no role here. ANOVA tests for Q43 with age, number of friends, and church attendance variables confirms no significance either. Suspecting that those who are newer to MySpace might be more likely to want to make new friends to populate their friend’s list, an ANOVA was performed on this variable. This suspicion proves correct, as those with a personal MySpace profile less than 6 months score a higher M (3.2) and lower SD (1.3), F(3, 201) = 2.8, p < .05. Unlike the general population sample findings of PIALP, where 49% use MySpace to make new friends, this sample of Christian teens and young adults indicates that both males and females equally have minimal desire to make new friends through MySpace. Less than 30% agree or strongly agree that they use MySpace to make new friends, and these are more likely to be in their first few months of MySpace use. This perhaps indicates their parents and church leaders, together with the amount of press devoted to online predators, have reinforced the old adage, “Don’t talk to strangers,” to them for the virtual world. It also supports other studies that indicate people use SNS’s primarily to interact with existing friends and family. H3 is, therefore, validated. H4 suggests that if behaviors in SNS tend to mirror and reinforce those in offline communities, then it stands to reason that even Christian teens and young adults will flirt and explore dating opportunities within their MySpace network. Table 8 displays the two straightforward questions in this study and their results, which provide data for an answer. Table 9. Flirting and Dating on MySpace Q38. I use MySpace to find people I might date M Gender: Male (n = 73) 2.0 Female (n = 161) 1.3 Age: ns Q68. I use MySpace to flirt. Gender: Male (n = 70) 1.9 Female (n = 163) Age: 11-13 (n = 25) 14-16 (n = 37) 17-19 (n = 60) 20-25(n = 81)

SD

Min./Max n/a n/a

1.2 0.7

1.1 1.5 2.2 2.2 1.3 1.3

n/a 1.0 1.5 1.4 .78 .69

n/a 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/5

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While the means are surprisingly low, the PIALP conclusion that boys are more likely to use SNS’s for flirting finds support among this Christian sample. T-tests show significant interaction for gender both at Q38, F(1, 232) = 4.2, p < .05 and especially Q68, F(1, 232) = 41.6, p < .001. In addition Q38 has strong variance when an ANOVA is performed against age, F(4, 228) = 8.3, p < .001. A univariate ANOVA, furthermore brings significant interaction effects when gender and age are combined in a 2 x 5 factorial model with Q68. In this design, the main effect of age is significant, F(4, 223) = 7.6, p < .001. The main effect of gender is borderline significant (p = .06) and F (1, 223) = 3.5, and age*gender yields F(4, 223) = 4.3p < .01. The same design setup with Q38 brings significance only at the main effect of gender, F (1, 224) = 23.2, p < .001. These findings do not reveal Christian teens and young adults are gung ho to use MySpace to find dates and to flirt. It is clear that young boys are far more likely to be tempted to use MySpace to flirt, and males in general are more open to finding a date on MySpace. As it stands, however, with over 80% either disagreeing or strongly disagreeing with Q38 and Q68, H4 must be rejected. 3 H5 hypothesizes that Christian teens and young adults will say they use MySpace because it is easier for them to communicate there and share who they really are. To check the first part of H5, Q50 gauges agreement level with the statement, “I use MySpace because it is easier for me to communicate there.” 4 For the second part of H5, Q45 sets forth, “I use MySpace to let people know who I really am.” The fact that both questions score a mode of 1 casts serious doubt on H5. For Q50, n = 233, M = 2.6, and SD = 1.3. For Q45, n = 234, M = 2.5, and SD = 1.3. In each case about half either disagree or strongly disagree with the statements (Q50, n = 110, Q45, n = 117) and 25% are neutral (Q50, n = 59, Q45, n = 59). While these figures seem to dismiss H5, further examination uncovers a few noteworthy points. ANOVA reveals age bears influence on Q50, F(4, 228) = 2.5, p < .05, and Q 45, F(4, 229) = 2.6, p < .05. Teens ages 14 to 16 score the highest means between groups with M = 3.0, SD = 1.3, for Q50, and M = 2.8, SD = 1.2, on Q45. Furthermore, the amount of daily MySpace use creates significant variance for both Q50, F(5, 226) = 9.4, p < .001, and Q45, F(5, 227) = 5.9, p < .001. Time spent daily on MySpace is mildly correlated positively to the belief that it is easier to communicate there, r = .20, p < .01 and the propensity to share who one really is, r = .27, p < .001.

3

Poor wording at Q38 and Q68 likely contribute to the low scores. Had Q38 better stated, “I use MySpace to increase my chances for dates,” or “I use MySpace to communicate with people I might date,” and had Q68 better stated, “I use MySpace to flirt with my friends,” then scores and perhaps even some of the interaction effects would possibly be different. 4 The question arises, easier for them to communicate there than where or how else? Some respondents might be thinking here about face-to-face while others of different digital media devices and platforms. Because other questions contrasted online actions with offline, the assumption is they had in mind the latter, but this is uncertain.

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This suggests that while Christian teens and young adults typically do not believe it is easier for them to communicate on MySpace or to be open about who they really are, teens 14 to 16 share this conviction not quite as strongly as others, and for all age groups time spent each day using MySpace is a mitigating factor. For now, however, based on this sample and results, H5 is rejected. H6 suggests that among Christian teens and young adults, females visit MySpace more frequently and for longer periods of time. To test this hypothesis, a Chi-square was performed to look for interdependence between gender and Q3, “Approximately how many hours each day do you use MySpace?” and Q6, “Approximately how many hours do you use MySpace each time you go there?” The results were unimpressive. For Q3, Chi-square (5) = 4.5, p = .47 (2-sided), and for Q6, Chi-square (5) = 2.8, p = .73 (2-sided). Gender clearly plays no role in terms of how often and long MySpace is accessed among Christian teens and young adults. H6 does not find support. Although the amount of time spent on MySpace among Christian teens and young adults does not vary significantly between genders, it does between age groups. For Q3*Age, Chi-square (20) = 29.8, p < .05 (1-sided), and for Q6*Age, Chi-square (20) = 32.5, p < .05 (2-sided). Table 10 presents these results and shows the frequencies of MySpace use for the top two categories distributed by age. Table 10. MySpace Use by Age 11-13yrs 14-16yrs

17-19yrs

20-25yrs

26-30yrs

Use/per day < 1 hr/day 1-2 hrs/day

59% 22%

26% 47%

40% 44%

54% 33%

60% 20%

n=27

n=38

n=62

n=83

n=30

81% 15%

53% 39%

66% 28%

82% 12%

77% 17%

n=27

n=38

n=61

n=83

n=30

Time/per use < 1 hr/use 1-2 hrs/use

These results indicate that the youngest Christian MySpace users are primarily logging on for less than an hour and most likely that is consumed in just one use. The middle and late teens are far more likely to use MySpace for up to 2 hours daily and since the majority say each time they use MySpace it is for less than an hour, this indicates they are more frequently logging on to MySpace. Older young adults reflect the adolescent’s patterns of use with their daily use matching their daily time per use. H7 postulates that out of concern for protecting their private information and guarding against morally objectionable communications, young Christian teens will be more likely to have a private MySpace profile and those with public profiles will have higher numbers of MySpace friends. As noted in Table 1, 38% (n = 91) of Christian teens and young adults have a private profiles and 44% (n = 107) have public profiles. Six percent (n = 6) claim to have both a public and private profile. Chi-square tests produce significant findings for Q13*Age, Chi-Square (8) = 13.5, p = .05 (1-sided), and for Q13*Number of Friends, Chi-square (14) = 38.7, p < .001 (2-sided). Table 10

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shows the impact of age on profile type, which as predicted, shows that as age increases, the likelihood that the profile setting becomes public increases. Table 11. Profile Setting by Age Setting 11-13yrs 14-16yrs Private 71% 60% Public 29% 40% n = 17 n = 37

17-19yrs 41% 59% n = 56

20-25yrs 26-30yrs 37% 33% 63% 67% n = 67 n = 27

An unexpected development, however, transpires upon closer examination of Q13*Number of Friends. One expects to find those with public profiles having the highest friend counts due to the fact that their profiles can be freely accessed. As Table 12 sets forth, the Chi-square results indicate that this is true up to a point, but the gap closes once the friends’ list passes 200. Among Christian teens and young adults with 300 or more friends at MySpace, the probability that their profiles are private is greater. Table 12. Profile Setting by Number of Friends 5 Setting 0-25 26-50 51-75 76-100 101-200 201-300 301+ Private 36% 38% 47% 43% 47% 50% 59% Public 64% 62% 53% 57% 53% 50% 41% (n = 36) (n = 21) (n = 19) (n = 28) (n = 58) (n = 20) (n = 17)

These results seem to support H7 generally, but further research should examine the relationship between public and private profile settings with uncommonly large friends’ lists. A final research question comes to focus now, in light of the fact that the survey instrument is so large, measuring up to 143 inputs from respondents on 125 questions that span multiple facets of MySpace uses and effects, which survey items will score the highest means and modes? Table 12 gives a snapshot of the highest loading factors.

5

The total sample for this test is n = 200. Each interval except for the fourth and sixth has one response for both profile settings. These responses were factored in with the public setting totals, since they do not reflect a strong preference for private only. One response in the both category was unclassifiable and excluded.

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Table 13. Highest Loading Survey Items in terms of M, SD & Mode Survey item Q22. I use MySpace to talk with my closest friends Q54. I use MySpace to look for friends with whom I’ve lost touch Q24. I use MySpace to feel connected with others Q27. I use MySpace to share information with others Q58. I use MySpace to share photographs with others Q60. I use MySpace because I enjoy interacting through e-mail or IM Q81. I use MySpace to stay connected to my Christian friends Q74. I like to share my faith in MySpace with people I do no know Q90. I often interact with others at MySpace whose religious beliefs are different than mine

M 3.8 3.7 3.1 3.1 3.0 3.1 3.4 3.0

SD 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.4

Mode 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 3

2.7

1.4

3

Interestingly the modes for every question beyond the nine reported in Table 13 score the lowest possible mode (n = 1). This only exacerbates the significance of these nine items. All but Q74 and Q90 point to a preference of using MySpace to connect, communicate, and share information and pictures with existing friends. The fact that Q74 scores high is surprising since the general results related to EFV were weak, and Q90 suggests church leaders and parents need to make every effort to prepare their children for the diverse and sometimes confusing voices calling out to them in MySpace. This need only grows stronger when one factors in Gross, Juvonen, & Gable’s (2002) study of 7th graders IM use, which reveals that whom adolescents engage in online communication determines the effect it has on them and those with “social discomfort or detachment” are more likely to turn to online communication for comfort (p. 87). CONCLUSION Christian teens and young adults claim they express their faith on MySpace. The majority believes their MySpace involvement should be related to their faith, but they do not see MySpace impacting their faith strongly in any way. Despite this fact, a positive relationship exists between how often they use MySpace and PEV. Age proves to be negatively related both to PEV and NEV. This is good on the latter, because as Christian MySpace users age and mature one hopes they will perceive, and actually experience, less negative effects. However, the former is disappointing. One prefers to think with age and development more positive effects would be perceived and experienced. The fact that this is not the case and that the frequency of church attendance shows to be negatively correlated to EFV indicates that church leaders and parents are behind the curve on MySpace. They need to educate themselves not only on the dangers, but also on the many possibilities MySpace affords for expressing and strengthening faith. Absolutely, the number of those who say they are not involved in a church group on MySpace needs to drop sharply from the current level of 55%. On a positive note, Christian teens and young adults strongly believe that MySpace helps them connect with others and strengthens their existing relationships with family and friends. This is especially true for girls and those ages 14 to 16. While they seem less likely than the general population to desire to use MySpace to establish new

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friendships, they do express that they are open to share their faith in MySpace with people they do not know and to interact with those who have different religious beliefs. Church leaders and parents need to explore how they can safely equip and encourage their teens and young adults to use MySpace as an evangelistic platform. This study reveals, surprisingly, that Christian teens and young adults do not care much to engage in flirting or seeking out dates through MySpace. While it is suggested that these results might be skewed by wording that does not specify “friends” as the objects of their flirtations and dating explorations, they do clearly show a stronger predisposition among younger boys. With this in mind, church leaders and parents, would do wise to offer instruction and counsel for young boys on appropriate online propositions to the opposite sex and help their young ladies to know how to process them. Older Christian teens and young adults are less likely to say they use MySpace because it is easier for them to communicate there and share who they really are. Younger teens, ages 14 to 16, however, are more likely to say this is true, and the more time they spend on MySpace the more this belief is reinforced. This suggests that Church leaders and parents should focus resources to better equip and provide opportunities for this group to share face to face communication. Also, because this age group seems most enthusiastic about their MySpace use, extra caution must be stressed to protect their privacy and security, while at the same time highlighting the positive opportunities that exist when MySpace is viewed and used in a healthy way. The majority of young Christian teens keep their MySpace profiles private until they reach age 17. This is positive because it helps safeguard, though not completely, Christian MySpace users when they are at their most vulnerable state. Interestingly enough, among this study sample, the majority of those with the highest level of friends have private profiles. This mitigates against complaints that might arise from younger users that having to keep their profile private keeps them from having as many friends. One final observation that has been reserved for the conclusion that some observant readers may have realized is this: in order to have a MySpace profile users must testify that they are at least 14 years old. This sample of Christian teens and young adults, however, includes 11% (n = 27) between ages 11 and 13 who say they have a MySpace profile. What should the churches response be to this? Is this any worse than teens and young adults who over exaggerate their age in order to try to avoid niche-marketed advertising that for the age groups under consideration can contain images and products deemed objectionable? Due to the fact that MySpace is so popular and those within the 11 to 13 age groups feel much pressure and temptation to join, Christian groups could perhaps petition MySpace executives to create a related MySpace site for this age group that could carry the desirable MySpace brand and also allow for possible parent-approved networking to older family or friends on the already existing network.

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This research has provided helpful data that can be utilized by churches and parents to consider what they are or are not doing to help nurture their kids’ religious identity in SNS environments and encourage them to express it openly through their SNS use. It also showcases the need for more studies to build upon and expand these findings. For example, a survey of Christian parents and youth ministers would provide a treasure of information to compare with the current study. Furthermore, the items listed in Table 13 could each be developed into studies that could reveal why these are so valued and how they can be better utilized for nurturing and expressing Christian faith on MySpace.

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Journal of Media Critiques [JMC] doi: 10.17349/jmc115209 P-ISSN: 2056-9785 E-ISSN: 2056 9793 http://www.mediacritiques.net [email protected]

A NARRATIVE CRITICISM OF LIFESTYLE REALITY PROGRAMS TRAVIS LOOF ∗ ABSTRACT This article seeks to understand and explain the relationship between lifestyle reality television programs and consumers. Specifically, this article outlines this relationship from a critical narrative perspective by interrogating two common story structures within lifestyle reality programming. By analyzing these narratives, conclusions are drawn about the role of story in consumer behavior. Additionally, this article argues that through the combination of the rhetorical situation of the housing collapse and narrative storytelling, consumers are taught how to perceive and interact when considering the purchase of a house. Finally, this article synthesizes Social Cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986) in conjunction with Narrative theory (Fisher, 1984) to explore how rhetorical criticism can use social science to better understand lived, mediated, experience. Keywords: Lifestyle reality television, consumer, narrative, narrative theory, interdisciplinary, reality television, housing collapse

INTRODUCTION Television provides an insight for viewers into various worlds both imagined and real. These worlds are explained through stories that connect to the viewer. According to Fisher (1984), these stories are the most fundamental form of communication, which he calls narratives. The narrative paradigm simply describes ways that stories are used to construct ideological ideals and promote certain worldviews. This paradigm can be applied to a variety of media. In this essay I will apply the narrative paradigm to reality television, focusing on two lifestyle reality television programs, House Hunters and Love It or List It. The recent proliferation of reality television continues the narrative tradition of providing stories that humans use to make sense of the world around them. However, finding one definition of what constitutes reality television is a tedious task. Reality television as defined by Cavender and Fishman (1998) is distinguished by programs that “claim to present reality” (p. 3). This particular definition fits well into Fisher’s (1984) conception of narratives needing fidelity and probability. Potter et al. (1997) ∗

Texas Tech University. [email protected]

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offers a broader definition of reality television to include local and national news, broadcast news, magazines, talk and interview shows, and nonfiction narrative programs. These definitions, although inclusive, provide little by way of refining the definition for reality television. More recently a more refined definition of reality based television programs is offered by Nabi, Biely, Morgan, and Stitt (2003) by stating that reality based televisions programs are “Programs that film real people as they live out events (contrived or otherwise) in their lives, as these events occur” (p. 304). Further developing their definition, Nabi et al. (2003), also explain key elements of a reality based television program: (a) people portraying themselves (b) filmed at least in part in their living or working environment rather than on a set, (c) without a script, (d) with events placed in a narrative context, (e) for the primary purpose of viewer entertainment. However, having a clear definition of what reality television is only provides a definition of the genre without defining the subject of this essay, lifestyle reality programs. Everett (2004) offers the definition of the sub-genre “transformation TV” to categorize television shows that depict real people partaking in do-it yourself projects. This sub-genre will be the focus of this essay. Lifestyle reality television programs help shape the way we see the world around us by portraying the ideologies of consumption in a narrative form. ARTIFACTS This essay will attempt to understand how lifestyle reality television programs encourage audiences to perceive the experience of purchasing a house and the housing market, further reinforcing the ideals of consumption. Specifically this essay will analyze the television programs Love It or List It and House Hunters. Additionally, this article will take the unique perspective to understand these cultural artifacts by utilizing both a rhetorical narrative analysis and the application of a theoretical framework derived from social cognitive theory. The use of these two distinct frameworks allows for critical analysis of reality television from multiple perspectives, from the individual (social cognitive) to the societal (narrative). In order to accomplish this task, I will first provide a description of each program and its context. House Hunters is a 22-minute reality television show that first premiered in 1997. The program follows potential homebuyers in their struggle to find the perfect home. Each episode follows the homebuyers as they look at three different homes, one of which they will ultimately purchase. An omniscient narrator provides a detailed review and drums up speculation about each house. Each episode follows a strict formula by which a narrative is constructed. A standard episode will first introduce the potential homebuyers by providing detailed background information, helping the audience understand that these are “good and normal” people. The program will then introduces the realtor who will provide expert insight into the purchase of a home as well as giving the audience a short and to the point synopsis of the housing market in that particular area. The program then introduces a series of houses that will act as the antagonist in the narrative. The house hunters are then given a tour of the houses. During the tour the hunters will openly discuss the features they like and dislike. After each of the homes has been

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examined, the realtor and the house hunters will discuss the pros and cons of the home. In a final segment the potential homebuyers discuss which home they should purchase. After the selection has been made and the home is purchased, cameras are invited back to the location after a period of time to show how the house hunters have become acclimated to the property. Although simple, this effective method of storytelling allows audiences to experience the drama of purchasing a house while maintaining suspense in the mind of the audience by not revealing the outcome until the very end. Additionally, the program cultivates attitudes within the audience about what is desirable in a home and what is wrong/bad in a house. The second program that this essay will attempt to analyze is Love It or List It. Love It or List It is a popular Canadian reality television program that has recently been syndicated on HGTV (Home and Garden television). The program follows two hosts and a family (a new family is selected for each episode) as the family tries to determine if they should love their current home or purchase a new house with the help of the hosts. One of the hosts of the show is named Hillary. Hillary is an interior designer who tries to convince the episode’s family to love the current house they live in by completing extensive renovations. The second host is David. David is a realtor who attempts to persuade the family to list their current house in favor of a different property, which David has selected for them. In order to assist Hillary and David, the family provides a list of must haves. These lists are the criteria that the family will use to decide whether they should love their current home or list it. In order to understand how these programs shape and cultivate attitudes, I will first analyze the rhetorical situation in which the narrative functions within. RATIONALE Lifestyle shows such as House Hunters and Love It or List It occupy a valuable position in the minds of many of its viewers. In particular, lifestyle and transformation television provide more than mere entertainment but rather they provide a coaching or education for their audiences. One reason coaching is utilized within lifestyle programming could be that television content is geared to aggregate audiences to sell to advertisers. Indeed a preview of any of the programming discussed within this essay will surely find advertisements for various household improvement projects. Coaching the audiences to recognize the needs or perceived needs of the characters within the narrative are essential to the consumption behaviors of potential viewers. Although advertising has an embedded incentive for the coaching of attitudes, an examination of the rhetorical situation may provide a deeper understanding of how the narrative functions within the ideology of consumption at large. RHETORICAL SITUATION The reason I argue that lifestyle programs are so prevalent is because they act as a reaction to the rhetorical situation in which the housing bubble burst in 2006 that avalanched into what would become a global recession. Lim (2008) explains that in the lead up to housing bubble, bankers and middle class families saw a direct benefits from “unsustainable“ mortgage lending practices. Bankers made millions and low to middle class families benefitted from minimal down payments. In Lim’s (2008) analogy he declares that the “party” was harshly cut short, resulting in a loss of millions of

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dollars. For decades, home ownership was seen as part of achieving the American dream. When crafty and sometimes questionable mortgage policies came about, this opportunity or “party” was expanded to even more people. Lim (2008) explains how just prior to the housing bubble the American dream of owning a new home was advanced at nearly an unprecedented level: Many large housing developers aggressively pushed mortgages to borrowers in order to boost sales. For example, Pulte Home (the country’s largest developer by market capitalization) provided mortgages for 90% of the houses they built. These new players have neither the credit skills nor the interest to conduct proper due diligence of potential homebuyers. Their interest is in pushing out the houses as fast as they are built. (p. 3) The American dream, which was house ownership, only lasted as long as the money existed. As soon as the aggressive mortgage loan rates began to keep pace with the market, these exotic loans began to show a much darker side, ultimately resulting in detrimental outcomes such as “In 2006, 1.2 million household loans were foreclosed, up 42% from the previous year” (Lim, 2008). It is within this rhetorical situation that lifestyle programs were/are building an attitude towards a new type of relationships with homes. For instance, larger home improvement chains have seen a very specific attitude become prevalent, “When you can't sell, repair and maintain instead. That seems to be what's happening in the troubled housing market… Executives at home-improvement retailers are finding consumers continuing to take on smaller, discretionary projects” (Zmuda, 2011). The reaction by viewers to the housing market crash has created a new way in which we talk about housing, but in particular it has changed how we engage in home improvement and lifestyle reality entertainment. From a theoretical perspective, the prominence of House Hunters and Love It or List It can be explained by social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986). THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Social cognitive theory posits that people learn from one another. Recent work with media has shown that viewers can also learn from on-screen figures. Nabi (2009) corroborates this point, “That is, by observing others’ behaviors, including media figures, one may develop rules to guide subsequent actions and/or be prompted to engage in previously learned behavior” (p. 11). However, observational learning within television reality has only been studied within the context of body image, violence, and sex (Nabi, 2009). In the same way that other media has been shown to model behaviors, House Hunters and Love It or List It seek to teach, instruct, and inoculate obedience by showing audiences how and what to look for when buying a home. Furthermore, “people are subconsciously continuously comparing themselves to others, and in particular to those whom they like and admire” (Festinger, 1954; Jansson-Boyd, 2010; Wheeler, 1991). The dyads shown on House Hunters and Love It or List It provide instruction and comparison for the audience through the criticism and praise bestowed to each house shown in every episode. The way we communicate and tell stories provides the basis for this analysis and lends itself to narrative criticism. This essay will attempt to understand the basic narrative features of the two lifestyle

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reality television programs, House Hunters and Love It or List It, specifically; setting, character, events and narrative typology. SETTING The setting of House Hunters and Love it or List it is a central component of the narrative structure in both stories. In order to understand how each of these narratives complete the objective of teaching, instructing, and inoculating obedience, I will fully analyze the setting as a central feature. I will first look at House Hunters. House Hunters is an episodic reality television show, following a similar formula for each episode. The setting changes with each new episode, however, the micro setting of each episode, which is the individual house, plays a unique and important role in the structure of the narrative. Each house can functionally be used as an antagonist in the story of each episode. As such, the importance of each of the three houses looked at in an episode is paramount to the telling of the story. When the house hunters enter a new house for their ultimate consideration, the viewer is given a tour of the house narrated by the realtor and the perspective homebuyers. Within each new setting the house hunters comment and critique the various features of the home. For example, when entering a new kitchen it is quite common for a prospective buyer to comment on the materials used to build the countertop. Such distinctions by the house hunters allow for the viewer to be “educated” or “coached” on how and what to look for when purchasing a home or what is wrong about their current home. Although each new setting provides conflict within the story, it is the prospective buyer’s judgment and comments that favor or diminish each individual setting. The settings are thus highly developed, detailed, and reviewed for the viewer to complete the narratives objective of teaching, instructing, and inoculating obedience. House Hunters shares many of the same traits with Love It or List It specifically within the feature of setting. Love It or List It is also in episodic program that follows a formula. However, the participant’s current home is a prominent setting within the program. Thus, within any given episode a large amount of time is spent on describing the positive and negative features of the participants’ current home. For example, a participant on Love It or List It may explain that she absolutely needs a home office and if this were not possible she would need to move or in the verbiage of the program, List It. In the same hypothetical episode her significant other might explain to the viewer the reasons they should stay in their current home, or Love It. As the story progresses the participants are also shown other homes that meet their requirements. These other settings provide the basis for conflict, both among the participants and among the hosts or personalities. Although these houses provide some of the setting within the story, a far more noteworthy setting exists. The most prominent setting of Love It or List It, usually takes place within the current participants home. A common occurrence within the program occurs when major unexpected renovations are needed. Thus, the home shifts from merely a setting to an antagonist, which ignites conflict amongst the family. For example, when renovating a basement to accommodate a home office, the hosts of the show may find

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trouble with the home’s foundation. In every episode of Love It or List It this technique is used to show the prominence of the setting by creating a source of contention. With the help of setting, Love It or List It is able to teach, instruct, and inoculate obedience within the audience. Setting plays a role in almost every narrative. However, with these two programs under analysis, the role of setting is elevated and central to the narrative. House Hunters continually changes settings to inoculate viewers to ideas about how and what to look for when buying a home. The strategies are utilized by having the participants commentate on the good and bad qualities of each setting without a baseline comparison. In contrast, Love It or List It focuses much more on the current home. That is not to say that Love It or List It does not cultivate attitudes within the viewer, but rather it increases the fidelity of the story while at the same time providing a roadmap for changing, renovating, or purchasing a home. The rhetorical situation in which these programs are shown make almost no mention of the current housing market with the exception of the occasional statement of how good house prices are in that particular area. Furthermore, these programs only show the benefit and positives of renovating or buying a home without caution or a full evaluation of the consequences. It is through the evaluation of the setting that a full picture of the programs characters begins to emerge. CHARACTER The character within the programs are seemingly complex, however, with a deeper level of analysis across multiple episodes, it becomes clear that the characters are uniform and shallow. The characters within House Hunters are nearly all recycled each episode. For example, a typical episode will include: a two-person house hunting party, a realtor, a narrator, and most importantly the three houses that the dyad can choose from. The dyad is defined not by their character or good judgments but rather by each persons wants or must have for a new home. The realtor (a secondary character) often provides a dose of reality to that episodes couple with an explanation about what they can expect in that particular housing market. The narrator provides a review and exposition about the house hunt for the viewer in order to keep the characters judgment salient within the viewers mind. In this way the narrator ensures that the viewer is continuously reminded of why a house is “good” or “bad.” Each house that the participants view is framed in such a way to create a unique character for the house that is mediated through the exposition by the house hunters. In framing each house as a “good” or “bad” character, this gives the protagonist (the house hunters) an enemy or antagonist (the bad houses). These flat characters within House Hunters serve to teach, instruct, and inoculate audiences to the attitudes and beliefs about the housing market and homes in general from the perspective of the creators and producers of the program. Love It or List It has a very similar cast of characters, but with a few additions. A typical cast of characters within an episode of Love It or List It will include: a couple (usually representing a family), interior designer Hillary (who urges the family to love the home they currently reside in), expert realtor David (who urges the family to list their current home in favor of a new and different property), and finally the current home the family resides in. The dyad usually has one member who is

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vehemently against moving (Love It) and one who is strongly in favor of moving (List It). Hillary and David then personify these positions. David will search out properties for the couple to agree upon. In Love It or List It, the position of the realtor is a more central character than in House Hunters. Hillary, will renovate the house within the participants budget. An interior designer by trade, Hillary, must balance aesthetics versus the functionality of the home. This inner tension provides working space for arguably the most important character within the program, the current home. The current home is shown to be a broken place just short of satisfactory. When Hillary interacts with the current home the inevitable plot device of an “unplanned” renovation spurs the current home to become an antagonist within the narrative. The house is then actively exerting itself against another character. Although the dyad looks at other properties, the current home is only property to be personified within Love It or List It. Personifying the current home allows for audiences to understand in a narrative form how their current home may be less than the perceived ideal. Characters within a story are often portrayed in a way that suggests an audience should model their attitudes, beliefs, and actions based on the character shown. Indeed the characters of both House Hunters and Love It or List It provide a narrative rationale for how people should view and purchase homes. The setting and characters of the both of these programs provide sufficient elements for a narrative to exists, however, the necessary condition of the narrative’s events needs to be fully understood. EVENTS Typically narratives will utilize two types of events in a story construction. These two types of events, kernels and satellites, are different in their significance to the story but also in how they function within a narrative. The major events that occur within a narrative are called kernels. Kernels cannot be omitted from a story without destroying narrative coherence. In comparison to kernels, minor plots events are called satellites. Satellites are not central to a story like kernels are, but they help develop and elaborate on major events. Foss (2009) explains the importance of satellites “satellites are not crucial to the narrative and can be deleted without disturbing the basic story line of the narrative, although their omission would affect the form of the narrative and the form’s rhetorical effects,”(p. 337). Within lifestyle reality television how do events transpire and create meaning for the audience? In order answer this question I will focus on a typical episode of House Hunters and Love It or List it The typical House Hunters episode follows an undistinguished and mechanical story line. That is, every episode of House Hunters will follow a standard progression of events. In order to elaborate on an episode a chronological analysis will be completed. The first event that a viewer is shown is the introduction to the house hunters. This event is a satellite event because the reasons for the couples unhappiness and backstory are inconsequential for the first kernel event. The first kernel event occurs in the first few minutes of an episode where the dyad explains that they need to change their current living space. Within this kernel the audience is given numerous reasons for this event but also given an insight into the house hunter’s needs and wants. The

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audience is then introduced to a series of three houses, each of which is surveyed and critiqued for the audience by the house hunters. The introduction and the houses themselves represent satellite events. The reason why the houses are considered satellites is they are functionally deleted and replaced with each new episode. The kernel event that is shown in every episode is the house hunter’s judgments within a given house. For example, within an episode of House Hunters the couple will enter a house and comment and critique the various features of the house. These comments direct movement within the narrative. After surveying the complete house, which is supplemented by the satellite events of differences within features of the home i.e. cabinets, master bedroom size, and flooring, the couple will recap with the realtor and discuss for the audiences the various positives and negatives of the house. This recap and discussion represents a kernel as the narrative is based around reasons to prefer one material good and home over another. This process is repeated two more times within two different homes in every episode. The final kernel that occurs is the deliberation and selection of a home. The final kernel is supported by the previous kernel and satellite events, but is not actually the last event. The last event the audience is shown is actually a satellite event that shows the house hunters moving into their new home. The satellite epilogue provides a reason and elaborates on the final deliberation by the house hunters. These events and their sequence provide a greater understanding of the narrative structure, but in order to provide a broader criticism of lifestyle reality programming I will also analyze the events of Love It or List It. Love It or List It unsurprisingly utilizes a stock story line in each of its episodes that is similar to the format of House Hunters. The episode opens up with a satellite event of the introduction of a family who is currently having problems with their house. The family makes the decision to list their current house or renovate their existing home, which is the first kernel event. This kernel event is made up of two conflicting opinions by the couple. One person in the dyad wants to sell the house, while the other person wants to list the current house in favor of a new domicile. The couple then elicits the help of a realtor and interior designer to assist with their various positions. The duo provides a list of wants and must have for the hosts to accommodate into their next living space. These wants and must have scenes are a satellite events which supports the elaboration of a kernel event of selecting a house. However, the next event shows a completely different house then the dyad currently resides in. This event functions as a satellite to show that there are other options that can work for the couple. After seeing a house that has some of the features that the meets some of the needs and wants, the couple returns home to find a major kernel event. This kernel event, which happens nearly every episode, is that the interior designer finds a major problem with the current home. The problems range from the deterioration of the foundation or the presence of asbestos throughout the house. The dyad will than visit two more houses, both of which represent satellite events supplementing the kernel event of the eventual deliberation and debate over if these homes can compare to their current, renovated, home. Following the survey of three houses and overcoming the vast problems with the residence current homes, the final kernel event occurs. The final event is the showing of the current remodeled home and the couple’s decision to love their current home or list it in favor of one of the other homes. As in House Hunters

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this selection is not the final event but rather the penultimate event as the episode shows how happy the family is with their decision, in the concluding satellite event. The similarities of events within the episodes of both House Hunters and Love it or List it can help explain the objectives of the narrative. The research question that this essay attempts to understand is how lifestyle reality television programs teach, instruct, and inoculate audience obedience to the ideology of consumption. The first similarity that can easily be seen by dissecting the events within the narratives of the programs is the introduction satellite events. These events are predicated on another event that is presumed and only covertly shown. This presumed kernel is an event that had caused the residents to not like their current situation. In this way the characters enter the narrative already in a state of chaos, which is to be corrected by selecting the “right” house. House Hunters and Love It or List It then represent a divergence from the traditional narrative paradigm where characters enter a story to face a major kernel event which needs to be overcome. This may be one explanation, however, another explanation could be that the viewer and participants share the same rhetorical situation in that the kernel event that initiates action is the housing crisis or a material dissatisfaction that is inherent in a consumer material society. Regardless of which interpretation is selected the result is the same; House Hunters and Love It or List It instruct, teach, and inoculate obedience within a perceived audience. The rhetorical situations that occupies the presumed prologue within these programs are not the only evidence and criteria of measuring the narratives objective within events. Perhaps the most important kernel that exists within both programs is the deliberation over which house should be selected. The reason that the deliberation scene is the most important event is two-fold. The first reason is that that every episode of both programs has a variety of satellite events that surround the features of a house. For instance, a house might not have a granite countertop. This feature represents a conflict within the couples wants and must haves as a reason to prefer the house. However, because these features are interchangeable they represent minor details that only serve to compliment the kernel feature of deliberation. This creates a major event where audiences can get a close and detailed review of what features “should” be important or unimportant and why. The second reason that the deliberation event is important is because it highlights the focus of the narrative. The narrative accentuates the houses in each program as characters in their own right as mentioned earlier, however, it is through the analysis of the events that it can be clearly seen that the characters, both the couple and the houses, are secondary to the real objective of the narrative. The objective of House Hunters and Love It or List It is about training audiences to understand what is deemed as good and what should be sought after in a home. The events of House Hunters and Love It or List It clearly show a behavior that is intended to create a modeled behavior within the audience. The events all steer the narrative towards showing how to make changes based on a mass consumption paradigm. However, it is within this context that the question turns towards asking what kind of narrative is House Hunters and Love It or List It?

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NARRATIVE TYPOLOGY The type of narrative a story falls under can provide many interesting details about a program. Frey (2006) explains that a narrative can take four conventional forms. These forms are comedy, romance, tragedy, and irony. Each of these forms follows an archetypical pattern by which media consumers can expect a story to progress. Foss (2008) explains an example of this in a comedy’s basic plot will show a “protagonist [who] challenges an established authority and wins happiness and stability in the end (p. 314). To fully understand what type of narratives House Hunters and Love It or List It are, a definition of romantic narrative, provided by Foss (2009), seem to be the best fit, “A romance (which does not always involve love), the protagonist completes a quest against an enemy and emerges victorious and enlightened (p. 315). This definition of romance provides a great starting point to understanding how these programs operate under their given archetype. House Hunters follows the couple, or the protagonists, in their quest or hunt for a house. The enemy in this narrative is represented by the characterization of the houses, as well as the decision to select from these houses. In this way, the dyad must struggle to find its way through the house hunt overcoming their own insecurities and houses that do not satisfy their definition of good. Once a decision is made to move in, the program always includes a segment where the couple is shown to have moved into the selected house. This highlights the victorious and enlightened house hunters. The same type of archetypical storyline is also present in Love It or List it. In Love It or List it the family is the protagonist in this romantic narrative. However, in this program, compared to House Hunters, the protagonist is completing a quest against an intangible enemy as well as their current home. The intangible enemy is the decision to move or not. The enemy within their current home is the serious flaw that is discovered during the renovation process. After a tumultuous decision making process the family inevitability selects the “correct” house, and like House Hunters, the protagonist family is shown to be enlightened and victorious in their conquest. These narratives that depict the homeowners moving from a state of chaos and a state of dissatisfaction towards complete happiness and enlightenment, represent the very essence of what it means to be a romantic narrative. Comparing these television series to epics from times past can illuminate this point even more clearly. For instance, when looking at stories involving Arthur and the quest for Camelot it becomes clear that only through the quest do the protagonist become better through the trails and tribulations. For House Hunters and Love It or List It, it is clearly the quest that makes the protagonist better in the end. However, I argue that in these quests that the on-screen personalities are not the only people that go through such a transformation. Specifically, the audience, is shown through instruction and inoculation of obedience how they to can find their enlightenment and happiness through the quest for a perfect house. In this way, the narrative type of romanticism provides an ideal framework for completing both programs objectives of teaching, instructing, and inoculating obedience for the audience.

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CONCLUSION Television is a powerful medium that people continually turn to for entertainment. Contained within the entertainment television landscape are countless narratives that help individuals make sense of the world in which they occupy. It is with this knowledge in hand we can start to understand how programs can educate and influence our perceptions of the world around us. Within the rhetorical situation of the aftermath of a housing crash, the quest to overcome the odds, and seek to win out over the market is a perfect story. The setting of each house and the decisions that are made about the homes provide a great background for the character to flourish. The houses as characters in each program provide great narrative space as the antagonist, constantly trying to relegate the participants to their current, unsatisfactory, home without any growth. These interactions are acted out in a series of events. A full analysis of the series of events suggested that the decision event was the most important kernel in both series. The programs formulaic approach to reality television does not seem to inhibit the fidelity of the story. On the contrary, the scripted nature provides a perfect way to highlight how the protagonist moves from lowly unhappy people to happy and enlightened people. As this progression occurs, the audience also encounters the same transformation. It is in this this way that lifestyle reality television programs help the audience experience the romantic quest of purchasing a house by creating a frame of reference for their own lives. The programs that this essay discussed show how these types of programs teach, instruct, and inoculate obedience towards the housing industry.

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Journal of Media Critiques

P-ISSN: 2056 9785 E-ISSN: 2056 9793 doi: 10.17349/jmc11500

Vol.1 No.1 June 2015

Social, Cultural and Political Effects of Mass Media Industry’s Mode of Production and Operation