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Media and Technology Studies

The phrase media and technology studies applies to a vast area of interdisciplinary research, including multiple areas of the communication discipline that share, to an extent, an interest in mediated channels and their role in communication processes. Studies under the broad media and technology umbrella range from investigations that focus on the central role of media and technology in the current communication landscape to those that place them on its periphery. Broadly speaking, communication scholars seek to explain how meaning is shared between communicators. Although various communication theories and models exist, most include aspects such as a sender, receiver, message, channel, noise, feedback, and a larger social context. Media and technology studies scholars display immense variety in regard to their epistemological, ontological, and methodological views, yet they are united in their focus on the channel aspect of the communication model and its role in overall communication processes. Research regarding media and technology studies typically analyzes how specific media channels affect the way that meaning is transmitted, such as how the channel influences sender encoding, receiver decoding, or perhaps even the social and cultural environment through which a mediated message is transmitted/interpreted. This entry describes some of the areas of research that might be approached using a media and technology studies focus and further considers some of the research area’s common methodological approaches.

Areas of Research

Outside of a shared focus on the channel effects associated with mediated communication, media and technology studies scholars might approach their research from a variety of subdisciplines, including but not limited to the following areas: human–computer interaction, mass media, interpersonal communication, organizational communication, political communication, and critical and cultural studies. Each area, in turn, shapes how media and technology are studied.

Human–Computer Interaction

As defined by John M. Carroll, human–computer interaction is an area of inquiry that draws from computer science, engineering, and the social and cognitive sciences. Scholars of human–computer interaction tend to place the technology at the forefront of inquiry in an attempt to understand how humans relate to forms of artificial intelligence, while improving the interface to optimize users’ experiences. This line of research is often forward thinking and involves looking at ways that robotics and interactive technologies might enhance the human experience.

Mass Media Effects

Scholars who approach the study of media and technology through the lens of mass media effects typically focus on the various ways that broadcast style (one-to-many) messages are disseminated to mass audiences, as well as the potential effects (e.g., attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, behaviors, knowledge levels, and issue awareness) of these messages on audiences. While this area of research was born out of traditional mass media such as the radio, newspaper, and television, it has adapted to explore newer forms of digital media. Currently, mass media effects researchers are examining the ways that Web 2.0 environments have altered the traditional broadcast nature of mass media, and created a more interactive experience in which users can leave feedback to media stories and even create their own mass-disseminated content using blogs and social media. The breakdown of media gatekeepers, increase in media interactivity, and rise of participant journalism are therefore of particular interest, as are more traditional media effects topics such as source credibility, news framing, agenda-setting, and audience effects in a multitude of contexts.

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