4.2.7.1 The new media and the role of the media in society Quiz: AQA Sociology, Unit 2

The 20 questions

1. What is meant by 'new media' in sociological analysis?

   • Radio and television broadcasts that are controlled by a single public corporation and transmitted from one central studio
   • Newspapers and magazines printed in colour and sold on the high street, which were introduced in the late twentieth century
   • Digital media that allow users to create, share and interact with content, such as social networks, websites and streaming services
   • Cinema films shown in purpose-built theatres, which replaced live theatre in the early years of the twentieth century

2. Which term describes the phase of the internet in which users generate content, such as blogs, social networks and video platforms?

   • Intranet, which describes private networks used within an organisation and not accessible from the public internet
   • Web 2.0
   • Web 1.0, which describes early static websites in which content was published by providers and read by users passively
   • Web 3.0, which describes the future generation of the web based on artificial intelligence and automated services

3. What is the 'digital divide'?

   • Unequal access to digital technology and the internet, and to the skills needed to use them, across social groups and places
   • A physical gap in the internet cables that connect two countries across the ocean and carry data between them
   • A gap in the length of time people spend online, measured in hours per day for each age group in every country
   • A legal barrier between websites that operate in different countries and cannot link to each other for political reasons

4. Which concept describes the way that social media algorithms can filter content so that users mainly see views that match their existing beliefs?

   • Hypodermic syringe model, in which audiences are seen as passive recipients who absorb media messages directly
   • Moral panic, in which a social group is portrayed as a threat to the values of society, prompting public alarm
   • Echo chambers or filter bubbles
   • Agenda setting, in which the media influence which issues the public considers most important at a given time

5. What does Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model argue?

   • Media producers encode messages with intended meanings, but audiences may decode them in dominant, negotiated or oppositional ways
   • Media messages are decoded only by the state, which controls the meaning of every programme broadcast to the public
   • Media messages have no meaning at all, because every audience creates a completely private and unrelated interpretation
   • Audiences always decode media messages exactly as the producers intended, because meaning is fixed by the text alone

6. Which view of the media, associated with the hypodermic syringe model, sees audiences as passive and easily influenced?

   • The uses and gratifications approach, in which audiences actively select media to meet their personal needs
   • The encoding/decoding approach, in which audiences may accept, negotiate or resist the meanings of texts
   • The reception studies approach, in which audiences interpret media texts in the context of their social lives
   • An early model of media effects, in which messages are injected directly into a passive audience

7. Which argument is made by sociologists about social media and participation in politics?

   • Social media has no political effect, because citizens never use online platforms to discuss or organise around political issues
   • Social media is controlled entirely by the state, so citizens cannot use it to organise political activity of any kind
   • Social media can mobilise political campaigns, but it can also spread misinformation and polarise debate
   • Social media always improves political debate, because every user shares accurate and balanced information on every topic

8. What is 'user-generated content'?

   • Content produced only by the owners of major newspapers and broadcasters, who control the output of every platform
   • Material such as posts, videos and comments created by ordinary users of a platform rather than by professional producers
   • Content produced by government agencies to inform citizens about public services and official policies
   • Content generated automatically by computer programmes without any input from people at any stage of its creation

9. Which concept describes a public reaction in which a group is portrayed by the media as a threat to social values, often out of proportion to the actual danger?

   • Moral panic, as described by Stanley Cohen
   • Cultural capital, in which skills and knowledge valued by elites give advantages in education and work
   • Hyperreality, in which the distinction between representation and reality collapses, as argued by Jean Baudrillard
   • Hegemony, in which dominant groups secure consent to their rule through shared ideas that seem natural

10. Which claim about the internet and the media's role in society is most consistent with sociological research?

    • The internet has reduced the diversity of voices, because all content is now produced by only one company worldwide
    • The internet has widened access to information and voices, while raising concerns about privacy and platform power
    • The internet has no effect on the role of the media, because traditional broadcasters still provide all information
    • The internet has eliminated all concerns about privacy, because all users control their data and can see who accesses it

11. Which concept describes a person's constant use of mobile and digital devices to access social media and the news, often leading to fragmented attention?

    • Continuous partial attention or constant connectivity, in which users monitor several streams of information at once
    • Offline sociability, in which people spend their time in face-to-face activities without any use of digital devices
    • Analogue media use, in which people read printed newspapers and books at their homes with no digital device present
    • Deep attention, in which a person focuses on a single task for a long period without any interruption from devices

12. How has the new media changed the relationship between audiences and producers?

    • Audiences can produce and comment on content and interact directly with producers, blurring the distinction between producer and consumer
    • Audiences no longer read or watch any content, because the new media have replaced all forms of entertainment with games
    • Audiences have lost all contact with producers, because the new media are controlled by automated systems without any interaction
    • Audiences and producers are now identical in every respect, so there are no differences in power or resources between them

13. Which factor is most often identified as limiting the impact of citizen journalism on public debate?

    • Citizen journalism is always funded by the state, so it has no independence from government in any circumstances
    • Citizen journalism is always more accurate than professional journalism, so there are no limits on its impact at all
    • Uneven credibility, lack of verification and the difficulty of reaching large audiences without established platforms
    • Citizen journalism is banned in every country that has access to the internet, so it cannot influence public debate

14. Which concept describes the way that media consumption can be shaped by social class, gender and ethnicity, as shown in audience research?

    • Differential media use and interpretation, in which social position influences what people consume and how they understand it
    • Universal media use, in which all social groups consume exactly the same media content in the same way and amount
    • Media neutrality, in which media content is free from any social influence because it reflects only objective facts
    • Technological determinism, in which media use is fixed entirely by the design of the technology and not by social factors

15. Why is the media's role in shaping public agendas important for sociologists?

    • The media decide the agenda entirely, because audiences have no capacity to discuss or reject any issue they are shown
    • The media play no role in shaping public agendas, because the public decides independently which issues matter most
    • Media choices about which issues to report can shape which topics the public considers important and which are debated
    • The media only report events after they happen, so they never influence which issues the public thinks are important

16. Evaluate the claim that new media have made traditional media irrelevant.

    • The claim is fully proven, because no one has used a traditional newspaper, radio or television service since the internet began
    • The claim overstates the change, as traditional media remain influential and many digital outlets rely on their reporting
    • The claim is irrelevant, because new media have no effect on any aspect of communication in any society at all
    • The claim is confirmed by the fact that every traditional media organisation has closed in every country since 2000

17. Which conclusion best follows from the view that new media both expand and constrain public communication?

    • New media only constrain public communication, so no benefits for participation or information exist in any society
    • New media have no effect on public communication, since communication was already perfectly free before the internet
    • New media only expand public communication, so no constraints on participation or information exist in any society
    • The impact of new media on society depends on how platforms, regulation, audiences and social inequalities interact

18. What is 'fake news' in sociological debates about the media?

    • Opinion pieces written by professional journalists and clearly marked as such in printed newspapers each day
    • Accurate reporting that audiences reject because it contradicts their personal beliefs and existing political views
    • Satirical programmes broadcast on television and labelled clearly as entertainment for viewers at all times
    • False or misleading content presented as news, often spread through social networks to influence opinion

19. Which concept describes the collection and sale of users' personal data by digital platforms to predict and shape behaviour?

    • Surveillance capitalism, in which personal data is harvested and used to predict and shape behaviour
    • Public service broadcasting, in which programmes are funded by a licence fee and are free from advertising
    • Cooperative ownership, in which members share profits from a platform and vote on its key decisions
    • Mass production, in which goods are made in large quantities using standardised methods on assembly lines

20. Why does the gatekeeping role of editors matter in new media?

    • Editors are required by law to publish all content submitted to them, so their selection has no effect on audiences
    • Editors select and frame what reaches the public, which shapes the agenda even when content is shared online
    • Editors only correct spelling and grammar, so they have no influence on which stories the public sees each day
    • Editors have no role in new media, because every user publishes content directly to a global audience without any selection

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