Communication Theories - Knowledge Gap & Modernization Theory

Communication Theories
Modernization Theory
Knowledge Gap Theory
COM 600: Social Media Theory & Practice
February 9th, 2018
Julianna Whiteway, Alyssa Lobo, Kohinur Khynum & Eveny Parker

Modernization Theory
“as societies develop, they become more open and more achievement
oriented; and what people do and think are less tied to their socioeconomic
background, social position, and other ascribed characteristics”
- (Marks, 2014)
.
1. Diffusion of Western lifestyle (1950s - 60s)
Modernization is due to a superior of Western, individualist culture
2. Critique of Western modernization (1970s - 80s)
Previous view is the result of Western cultural and economic imperialism or dominance
3. Late/high/postmodernity (1990s onwards)
Contradictions & consequences of modernity

Marriage & Dating in India
• Matrimonial Sites:
• Shaadi.com, simplymarry.com,
• “Semi-arranged marriages” - (Jejeebhoy et al.,
2013)
• Kin based to Global/national networks
• Growth of internet, proliferation of cell phones
• Compatibility over other parameters - (Harris,
2015)
• Dating:
• Tinder, Woo, TrulyMadly
• Tinder’s fastest
growing market in Asia - (Chaturvedi, 2016)
• Changed the tone of matrimonial websites
(Tandon, 2017)
• Local apps that cater to India (Russell, 2015)
Image: Techcrunch, March 2015
Image: Askmen.com, Shaadi.com Review

Media Consumption Among African Millennials
GeoPoll Survey done among youth in five Sub-Sahara
African countries between ages 18-35
Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria
(GeoPoll Rapid Survey, February, 2017)
Africa has highest youth population in world with 200
million people, aged 15-24.
Increased dependency on technology and mobile first
approach
Even with lack of access to smartphones and reliable
internet, level of use and influence reached a major
milestone in last 5 years.
* Use mostly mobile data for internet access

Rise of Social
Media
60% of African millennials use social media as
primary source of information
35% said they are always on their phone
Video streaming services still low- Netflix is
most popular
WhatsApp (56%) and Facebook (31%) most
important social media platforms
They download social networking apps most,
with gaming, instant messaging, banking,
education/health & fitness apps following
(GeoPoll Rapid Survey, February 2017)

Knowledge Gap
“As the infusion of mass media information into a social system increases, segments of
the population with higher socioeconomic status tend to acquire this information at a
faster rate than the lower status segments, so that the gap in knowledge between these
segments tend to increase rather than decrease.” - (Tichenor, Donohue & Olien, 1970)
● Reading and comprehension skills
● Prior exposure to info (i.e. background knowledge)
● Social contact (reference groups, interaction)
● Selective exposure, acceptance & retention
● Mass media (Print media) dies out lacking repetition
Too Big To Fail

Communication Theories - Knowledge Gap & Modernization Theory

People have easy
access to
information these
days but
sometimes they
react without
verifying the
information
Ramu Violence 2012
Photo:CNN
- The Daily Show, August 19, 2018

Things to consider...
● People from higher socioeconomic status not necessarily
information rich. (Trump is high SES but…)
● Social climate is changing and lower SES segments are
mobilizing. (Can social media bridge gap?)
○ #Blacklivesmatter
○ #Womensmarch
○ #Lovewins
○ Influx of minorities in education
○ Indie artists bypassing record labels
○ Arab Spring
○ Shahbagh Movement
● Internet provides access
○ Increasing number of social media users and advent
of cheap smartphones made information more
accessible
● Threshold of diminishing returns. What if the higher
segment reaches it before the lower segment? - bbcnews, January 25, 2016

References
Alias FBC [aliais_fcb]. (2018, Febreuary). Lying Trump @theRealDonaldTrump yuge failure again poop lil Donnie Dotard worse fake president ever. [Quote Tweet]. Retrieved from
https://twitter.com/search?src=typd&q=alias_fcb.
bbcnews. (2016, January 25). 25 JAN: Five years ago today, mass protests began in Cairo which brought down Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. We look back at events since the revolution began, in the #ArabSpring of
2011. Watch more: bbc.in/Jan25 #Egypt #Jan25 #EgyptianRevolution #Tahrir #MohammedMorsi. [Instagram video]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BA9krtGOj_x/?tagged=arabspring.
bitcoin. (2015, August 13). Somebody contacted me asking to sell my account…[Instagram post]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/6U2GlKyosp/?taken-by=bitcoin
Chaturvedi, A. (2016). India is the largest market for Tinder in Asia: Taru Kapoor, head, India, Tinder. The Economic Times. Retrieved 7 February 2018, from
https://www.bing.com/cr?IG=D156AB6274384C15B125990408B92748&CID=31B7AAAB25AB62F32AF1A124240463FD&rd=1&h=Hl4R92OIrGNsaw1nv-ObTQTulWcK04KqJPODTqL5Bnw&v=1&r=https%3a%2f%2feconomicti
mes.indiatimes.com%2fopinion%2finterviews%2findia-is-the-largest-market-for-tinder-in-asia-taru-kapoor-head-india-tinder%2farticleshow%2f51840649.cms&p=DevEx,5069.1
Harris, G. (2015). Websites in India Put a Bit of Choice Into Arranged Marriages. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 7 February 2018, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/world/asia/india-arranged-marriages-matrimonial-websites.html#
Jejeebhoy, S., Santhya, K., Acharya, R., & Prakash, R. (2013). Marriage-related Decision-making and Young Women’s Marital Relations and Agency. Asian Population Studies, 9(1), 28-49.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17441730.2012.736699
Lld, G. [Garnell]. 2018, January 26. Who’s doing rides?? I need one ASAP…[Facebook status update]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/DonnieLoong?ref=br_rs
Marks, G. (2014). Modernization theory. In D. Phillips (Ed.), Encyclopedia of educational theory and philosophy (Vol. 1, pp. 528-530). Thousand Oaks,, CA: SAGE Publications Ltd. doi: 10.4135/9781483346229.n221
Mass Media I Knowledge Gap. Retrieved from https://www.utwente.nl/en/bms/communication-theories/sorted-by-cluster/Mass%20Media/knowledge_gap/
Media, Culture and Society I Modernization Theory. Retrieved from https://www.utwente.nl/en/bms/communication-theories/sorted-by-cluster/Media%2C%20Culture%20and%20Society/Modernization%20Theory/
Tandon, S. (2017). India’s matrimonial websites are trying to keep up in the age of Tinder. Scroll.in. Retrieved 7 February 2018, from
https://scroll.in/article/831770/indias-matrimonial-websites-are-trying-to-keep-up-in-the-age-of-tinder
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. (2016, August 19). Putting Donal Trump Supports Through and Ideology Test: The Daily Show. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4Zdx97A63s
Theos [_zensei]. (2018, February 4th). This why we not f*ckin wit you @jtimberlake. [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/_zensei/status/960317486863396865
Tichenor, P., Donohue, G., & Olien, C. (1970). Mass Media Flow and Differential Growth in Knowledge. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 34(2), 159-170. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2747414
Russell, J. (2015). TrulyMadly Is A Tinder-Style Dating App That’s Built For India. TechCrunch. Retrieved 7 February 2018, from https://techcrunch.com/2015/03/02/trulymadly/
Wangari, Njeri (2017, February). African Millennials; Mobile Usage and Media Consumption. GeoPoll. Retrieved 27 February, 2017, from https://blog.geopoll.com/african-millennials-mobile-usage-and-media-consumption

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