ABSTRACT
The role of the mass media in shaping humans self-identity, decision-making, and ecology represents a central area of scholarship in the field of communication. In fact, the evolution of the discipline is in parallel with major advances in mass communication technology (Feeley 2012). The main tenet of Michael Slaters (2007) paper is the suggestion that mass media on any given topic are likely to serve both endogenous and exogenous roles. Early evidence in communication research by Harwood (1999, 130) supports the contention that media exposure serves many uses and gratifications in relation to social identity. The concept of a spiral model metaphor to model the role of media is attributed by Slater et al. (2003) to Mullings, Marquart, and Diamond (2001), who test Rosenbaums (1981) theory of the downward cycle experienced by women in the process of becoming addicted to heroin.
