On the radio

 
Agents of socialization

Media, more often called as mass media, is pervasive in modern life. It takes on many forms such as television, radio, the internet and the like. Mass media is a vehicle of communication that carries mass messages and information that affects people from different walks of life. Every morning, millions of people wake up to read newspapers and tune in to the radio for the latest headlines. Every minute, people from different parts of the globe check and update their social networking accounts in Twitter and in Facebook. Every hour, political candidates spend their campaign in television advertisements to woo voters. People, more often than not, depend on the media to access information around the globe. Through the media, people learn almost everything they know about the world beyond their immediate environment. As highlighted, mass media is one of the most popular agents of socialization which can influence public perceptions and ultimately shape the identities of the people in everyday discourse. They can transform culture, in terms of indicating a standard set of norms or beliefs which subsume the expectations of society. According to Sir Contreras, they form what they call “Culture industry”, whereby they “dictate and manipulate the people’s consciousness through the production of cultural commodities”.

Last January 13, 2011, I had a first-hand experience in a radio industry. I was really lucky to have been interviewed on air! (Thanks to Lu Skywalker for hooking me up in his show, together with King Dj Logan and Anna Q5 over at the Disenchanted Kingdom. They are such nice people. J) The thought of millions of Filipinos listening on the receiving end made me extremely nervous. Whew. Indeed, the djs have “influential voices”. In that short span of time, I was able to get a glimpse of how the station works. Basically, what they do is to talk on air. Engaging in everyday discourse is important because it a part of our own lives. They talk about the issues that the listeners would be interested in. They talk about the beliefs, traditions, and customs that shape how you live your life, may it be on the clothes you wear, the songs that you listen to, the way you view things and the like. They also spark interest and curiosity. Finally, they influence one’s identity. As mentioned a while ago, mass media, in the form of the radio, can shape peoples’ behavior and perceptions about an array of issues- whether they may be political, social or what not. A concrete example of how they can shape one’s identity is though their depiction of what is beautiful. The djs carry out special biases on the physical appearances of women, of how one is better looking than the other. I think that they are also influenced by a bigger industry namely the television industry, whereby they portray beautiful women as fair, thin and tall. On the receiving end, the people might agree to it because of the social construct that is shaped by these influential industries. The same can be said with gadgets. The Ipod operates just like other mp3 gadgets (but of course, all the gadgets claim to be better equipped compared to others). But when you say “Ipod” in the Philipines, you are pertaining to something other than an mp3 player, but also to a certain status in society that is based on social production. Also, I think there is also an interaction amongst the different mediums of culture industries, especially those who target the masses. (e.g. television and radio, fashion and television).

(This is just based on my observation. I am not pertaining to particular radio and television stations  :) )