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Mass media have emerged as a social institution, assuming many of the functions formerly served by traditional social institutions such as the church, school, government, and family. However, in Western countries operating on the private-ownership model (most notably the United States), media systems were never intended to serve as a social institution. Instead, the primary objective of a privately owned media organization is to make a profit for the company. Thus, many films, television programs, and Web sites contain sexual and violent content designed to attract the largest imaginable audience. The messages contained in these programs can be confusing or disruptive to a public looking to the media for direction, purpose, and meaning. The public's reliance on the Western media for guidance and support can therefore be dangerous. Within this context, media literacy provides strategies that enable people to critically examine media messages and put media programming into meaningful perspective.
Keywords: media; social institution; socialization; media literacy
One of the first questions that students ask when they enroll in media literacy classes can be summarized as follows: "Why do we need to study media literacy? After all, are not films, television programs, Internet chat rooms, and video games simply entertainment?"
One way to address this question is by considering the emergence of mass media as a social institution, which has assumed many of the functions formerly served by traditional social institutions such as the church, school, government, and family.
A social institution is an organization that is critical to the socialization process; it provides a support system for individuals as they struggle to become members of a larger social network. To illustrate, day care and kindergarten teachers focus the majority of their attention on "classroom management" skills, instructing students about how to stand in line and raise their hands when they want to talk in class.
Institutions contribute to the stability of a society by maintaining an ongoing presence. In that sense, institutions are often tied to tradition. Social institutions such as the church maintain formalized practices and procedures. These rules apply to governance of the institution, including issues of leadership, membership, and dismissal from the institution.
An institution is a relatively self-contained social system. Within the institution is found a large variety of...