ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the technical differences of the various media, and mainly focuses upon 'mass', not upon 'media'. The mass may be seen as a national audience that can be described as heterogeneous, anonymous, spatially separate and unorganized, but it can also be divided into local audiences, which consist of groups of individuals organized by norms that, amongst other things, govern how they view the so-called mass media. The mass media of television, film and comics offer to contemporary children a great variety of role models who offer styles of life to children and with whom they may experience para-social interaction. The chapter also discusses different types of peer groups which displayed different norms. It further examines the ways in which the primary roles of age, sex, intelligence and social class are latent when reacting to the media and, hence intervene between the medium and recipients, thereby influencing how messages are received.
