Journal of Communication Research
Year:2010 | Volume:17 | Issue:2 (62)|Papers Count:8

Given the expansion of communicative technologies and increasing influence of mass media on individuals’ lives, particularly their role in shaping and leading main cultural and social phenomena such as new life styles and consumption patterns, the present article mainly deals with the media mechanisms influencing the audience’s attitudes and behaviors. Drawing on the interactions between culture and economy, and introducing pattern of consumption as a subject embedding cultural and economic components, as well as stressing on the significance and the necessity of observing the pattern of consumption as a religious and national duty, the article also examines media approaches to economic and cultural pattern-making and modifying individuals’ economic behaviors.

The present descriptive research aims to examine the relationship between the two variables of “media” and “audience/actors pattern of consumption” in the society. To this aim, the study answers a number of questions including: Do media merely reflect the audience’s needs or do they play a key role in production and reproduction of these needs? On the other hand, how do the audience’s needs affect the media content? Reviewing the existing theoretical approaches to the media impacts on the audience/actor’s pattern of consumption, the present article attempts to introduce a different analytical pattern based on the theory of constructivism in which the consumptive behavior of audience emerges based on his impression of “identity”.In other words, individuals pick up a certain consumptive style based on the notion they have of their own social status and identity. The role of media in defining the status and shaping the identity of the audience is very important.Thus, in the suggested pattern for explaining the relationship between“identity”, “media” and “pattern of consumption”, these three elements form a triangle in which each angle strengthens and influences other angles.

The present article aims to study the role of National Media in shaping citizens' proper pattern of consumption and to offer a theoretical model for it. Given the interfaces between National Media, consumption and urban concerns, the article introduces mechanisms affecting urban issues (including improving urban life quality, realization of an electronic city) as the Electronic Government's main foundation and source of boosting citizens' social capital. The article focuses on the conceptual framework of cultural citizenship for sustainable development in urban issues. It further explores the relationship between media, consumption pattern and urban issues and finally offers an inclusive pattern for explaining the role of National Media in shaping citizens' proper consumption pattern. Based on this model, National Media can realize an optimized consumption pattern through improving mechanisms affecting urban structure, systematic representing of different issues, and conveying intended meanings using theories of highlighting, framing and cultivation.

The present study, carried out using a descriptive methodology, aims to tackle “the need to improve pattern of consumption and the role of government in its realization” give the religious and law principles. Giving an analysis on this theme, the article suggests to media, particularly the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), to take seven strategies into account while playing their significant role: developing a sense of responsibility towards consumption, displaying destructive impacts of consumptionism, encouraging individuals to consume domestic products, explaining the irreverence of extravagance and its criteria, urging the need to respect public properties, discouraging simplicity in terms of resources and consumption, and finally, monitoring commercials in terms of optimizing consumption culture.

Since the main aim of TV commercials and ads is to trigger the audience consumptive motivation, much of the research on the subject has focused on issues dealing with consumption and its impacts on different aspects of life. Taking this into account, the present article aims to study TV commercials in terms of promoting and advertising consumptionism. The sample of study consists of a number of TV commercials which were analyzed using Bart Semiotic Approach. The findings show that commercials prompt and promote consumptionism among the audience indirectly. Thus, since the Islamic rules urge avoiding materialism, the producers of commercials would better make balance between the Islamic teachings and commercials as a source of income for different TV channels and the need to introduce commercial products and services to the audience.

The present article aims to examine the role of National Media in presenting the pattern of optimized consumption in Iran using a theoretical-analytical methodology based on different cultural and media studies. The research is of paramount significance due to the abnormal state of consumption and extravagance in the Iranian society and the reasons behind this anomaly with regard to the responsibility of the National Media.The process in which consumptionism emerged in Iran and its subsequent implications, as well as the role of media, particularly the National Media, in the rise or fall of this trend in the stream of programming and creating media content and messages, form the basis of the present article. Given the theoretical framework used in this research, analysis of findings is indicative of the significant role of media in offering a proper pattern of consumption.Introducing to audience the impacts of consumptionism, launching surveys and studies on consumption and the related issues, consulting people and elites, increasing the quality of programs content, paying attention to the media and cultural policies in terms of modifying consumption are among the suggestions the article offers for strengthening the role of media in improving the pattern of consumption.