Sociology Structural Theory and The Media

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Ryan Robertson Sociology Structural Theory and The Media

The media is one of the main sources in the world which provides us with information and is an important and major influence in the socialization process. This is why the media is a major subject within sociology. There are two different theories which can be applied to the media and these are structural and action theories.

Structural theories are ideas in which behavior in society is structured. It relates to behavior in society following certain rules and that behavior is patterned and recurrent. In comparison action theories describes action as a behavior caused by an agent in a particular situation. It takes into account actions and reactions of other individuals.

By applying the functionalist approach to the study of the media we are using a structural theory. The functionalist view-point of structural theory is also known as consensus theory which was developed by an important figure in sociology, Emile Durkheim. Consensus theory attempts to explain why society gets along most of the time and why it does not descend into chaos. Consensus theorists use the human body as a way in which to help us understand