Sandie and Chris fell in love during the 1980s, while spending
late evenings together watching Late Night with David Letterman. Twenty or so
years later, their teenage daughter, Abigail, sits in front of a laptop on a Saturday
morning, watching streaming clips of Jimmy Fallon sitting behind Letterman’s
old desk at NBC. She’s also monitoring her Facebook page to see if anyone has
commented on the picture she created of herself with heartthrob actor Joseph
Gordon-Levitt. There are dog-eared copies of her favorite Hunger Games books
on her bed, and she’s reading and posting comments on her blog about the latest
film version. Later, she texts her friends to make plans to go to the movies, but
not before checking out a few trailers online.
That afternoon, while babysitting her ten-year-old brother, Harry, Abigail
spends an hour playing the latest Legend of Zelda game with him on their Xbox.
Abigail lets Harry play Minecraft on her iPhone while she rewatches her favorite
webisodes of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries on her laptop. After dinner, she’s off to
the movies and conscientiously turns off her cell phone—it’s the first time she’s
been disconnected all day.
By the time Abigail goes to sleep, she’s experienced more media than her
parents did in a week when they were her age. Meanwhile, Chris and Sandie pull
up last night’s Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on DVR, grateful that they no
longer have to stay up to watch late night television.Understanding
Mass and Mediated
Communication
The Nature of MediaUnderstanding Mass
Media MessagesEffects of Mass
MediaConverging Media
TechnologiesBecoming a More
Mindful Media
Consumer531IN THIS APPENDIXappendix
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