The Impact Of Consumerism On Mass Media And Audiences In China

Consumerism, as a consumer culture , rise in the 1930s in the West. It is the product of capitalism developing to a certain stage. In 1980s ,as China's reform and market economic development, consumerism as an ideology began to spread in China. Due to profound social causes and the mass media's own role, in the process of the propagation of Consumerism, China's mass media played a "conspiracy" to the role. On one hand, mass media vigorously promote consumerism, constantly adding fuel to the flames of consumerism. The other hand, the mass media pandering to consumerism, received more audience and economic interests. In this paper, we will investigate the impacts of consumerism on the basis of the "conspiracy", which are for our mass media and the media audiences.Under the influence of consumerism, the mass media in our country have a tendency of consumerism. In this paper, we will call this consumer trend of the mass media as "media consumerism". The so-called "media consumerism" refers to the media focus on creating public demand, which is about material consumption and spirit of the desire .And it also refers to the dissemination activities and the corresponding social practice, which underline the significance of objects and symbols to create a"consumer society"atmosphere .Such media consumerism have mainly manifested in the content and form of the mass media. In the contents of the mass media dissemination of view: first, the mass media has a tendency of entertainment. And such entertainment is a tendency to an extreme -- Vulgarization. The Vulgarization trend will result in that the all media products loss profound and critical and degenerate into a single, similar imaging symbols to sensory stimulation. Secondly, the mass media pay attention to the ideology of consumerism. This was reflected in the mass media continually preaching goods and services symbolic value through advertisements. It continued to consumer way of life for publicity. Mass media constantly promote the product symbolic value and the consumerism lifestyle, directly to the audience to spread the ideology of consumerism. In the form of dissemination of view: first, the consumption of the text forms of media be constantly strengthened. This is mainly reflected in two aspects. First, the mass media language for dissemination change. Under the influence of consumerism, in order to attract more audiences, the mass media use more friendly language, which is close to the public daily. Second, the interaction between the audience and the mass media increases the consumption channels of media products. In recent years, as network development and the spread of cell phones, the interaction between the audience and the mass media significantly enhanced. The mass media in various ways increase the interaction to expand the consumption channels of the audience for the media products. It make the audience more actively participate in the process of the mass media disseminate, and unwittingly involved in the consumption process for a variety of media products.Consumerism has a great influence on China's mass media audiences, mainly through the mass media. The scope and intensity of the current media bring unprecedented efficiency of the social functions. This prompts the role of the audience evolution. China's mass media audience, who participated in public affairs through the mass media as citizens, have become a consumer. This is mainly manifested in two aspects. On the one hand, the mass media to disseminate information with a tendency of entertainment, which satisfies the entertainment needs of the audience at the same time, greatly stimulated the various junior sensual desires from the audiences. When the audience contect with the media information, they consider all the media information as entertainment and leisure items. This may not only weaken the audience's ability to think and produce a vulgarization of mentality .But it will also enable audience fail their real needs. Audience make all information as consumer goods, which objectively speaking, easily makes the audience reduce the right in public affairs, but to some extent, is likely to lead to the audience the loss of critical spirit. On the other hand, the mass media, through its production of symbols and information has architected a ecological environment about consumerism. The mimicry environmental impact on people's subjective environment generation. One would like to think that the ecological environment of consumerism is the mainstream of the real world, although this is not true reality. People in mimicry environment began to take the consumption of the symbols on goods and services as the ultimate goal.In fact, under the impact of consumerism, there is an interactive relationship between mass media and the audience. The fundamental reason for the forming of the interactive relationship is to consumerism stimulate the mass media's information industry attributes. In the process of practice, such an interactive relationship very easily lead to the social mission of the mass media weakening and the attributes of their profits to be publicity. And the mass media over-emphasize this "to the audience to God" theory, which makes the mass media playing the role ,which alienates the audience's psychologics and dismembers social psychologics. Under the influence of this theory, social welfare are not only deprived of maintenance. It also caused a certain degree of the ecological imbalance of social spirit , even more deep cultural crisis.Looking at the entire development process of the social history, consumerism as a way of life and values, is the product which economic and social developed to a certain stage . It is an inevitable phenomenon when society develops to a certain stage. As a inevitable cultural phenomenon, the impact on mass media and audience is inevitable. Overall, the impact of consumerism has advantages and disadvantages. And the disadvantages weigh advantages. At present, we should have a rational view of consumerism. we should avoid excessive consumption of natural resources and avoid the waste of social resources. Meanwhile, we should recognize its role in facilitating the economic side and promote it in the moderate context in order to promote economic healthy development.