How Culture Affects Advertising Expression and Communication Style

How has technology changed society's expectations of mass media culture? Does it shape society's way of crafting a better online experience? These are all questions professional communicators at some point will have to ask themselves due to the role technology has played in changing the work of a communicator and the work needed to keep them up to date. 

In researching topics that would help educate me on the evolution of technology and how it has changed the work of communication professionals and influenced the training they need to stay current with the new digital era, I stumbled across an article written by Stephen Unwin, the Assistant Professor of Advertising at the University of Illinois. The article included findings on a study the professor conducted on how culture affects advertising expression and communication style. This article addressed how technology has changed society’s expectations of mass media and culture. For instance, what is social media doing to us? I like that the article focused on the relationship between society today and the communication media, further explaining how technology in the media has influenced our society, suggesting that the media plays a role in molding and controlling the patterns of society. I can agree with both sides of the argument presented in the article. The arguments being 1. Society influences the media and 2. Media solely reflects what is already happening in society. Unwin notes two forms of technology that he feels influences the people and their expression of communication in his article. The two forms being television and advertising, discussing the intercultural distinctions in advertising as it relates to American culture and British culture.

References

Unwin, S. (1974). How Culture Affects Advertising Expression and Communication Style. Journal of Advertising, 3 (2), 24-27. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1080/00913367.1974.10672524