Gerbner proposed that media presents homogeneous messages about issues like crime and violence.
With cultivation theory, Gerbner wanted to explore the long-term effects of mass media in general.
Gerbner was not concerned with specific TV shows or individual viewers' interpretations of TV messages.
Nico De Pasquale Photography / Getty Images
He wanted to explore the broad patterns of TV messages that promote common, but incorrect,perceptionsof society.
Content analyses of TV have shown that there are consistent differences between the real world and TV world.
Cultivation theory has become one of the most cited theories in research on media.
In particular, they contributed to the ideas of mainstreaming and resonance.
Social Media
In the modern age, cultivation theory can also be applied tosocial media.
Like TV, social media often does not portray the reality of real life.
Social media isnt necessarily replacing TV viewing, either.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, scholars have also seen firsthand how social media and cultivation theory were connected.
Social media played a significant role in the dissemination of informationand misinformationabout COVID and shaped what people believed.
Evidence for Cultivation Theory
There is a great deal of evidence for cultivation theory.
While there is plenty of evidence for first-order cultivation effects, there is less evidence for second-order cultivation effects.
Some studies have suggested that heavy TV viewers are more likely to believe that most people cannot betrusted.
In the modern age, social media may also influenceand skewpeoples perceptions of reality.
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