ABSTRACT
Two decades ago, Wartella and Reeves (1985) observed that throughout the history of mass media, the introduction of each new media technology prompts a patterned social response. The first phase emphasizes initial euphoria about a medium’s potential to improve society. Historical examples include Edison’s grandiose claim that the advent of motion pictures might lead to schools being replaced, and wildly optimistic suggestions that the emergence of interactive cable television might lead to instantaneous national referenda on important political issues. The second phase that typically follows in societal reaction to new media is the growth of concern for how that medium impacts its audiences, particularly the most vulnerable segments such as children. It is only then, Wartella and Reeves (1985) argue, that a research community develops and begins to gauge the content of the new medium as well as its effects on audiences. Their view is that scholars who study communication in society have been largely reactive to the social concerns about media voiced by the larger population. From this perspective, the stimulus for media and social effects research typically originates from politically active groups and organizations in the wider society, rather than emanating directly from any scholarly theory or evidence.
