Sailor And Mass Media

Nowadays, people are surrounded by information which is becoming the most important component of the human daily lives. The mass media, as the transformation vehicle, is a tool to acquire knowledge and entertainment, just as the "great booster" which influences people's thinking pattern and lifestyle. As the development of mass media technology, people will be influenced more and depend on it as much as possible, they have been engraved a brand called "media people".Not everyone lives in an environment which is filled by mass media and huge information, sailors is such a typical group. Due to the specific characteristics of working and living environment when they are at sea, they have been long short of contact with mass media. There for, this group can be ascribed as "a disadvantaged minority of information". Thus, it will be a brand-new world to investigate this group for the field of anthropology and communication.This quantitative research takes the theory of media effects, by using the method of ethnography, through the field investigating about the sailor group of PuTuo Area ZheJiang Province to study the relationship between the mass media and sailor group.The paper is consisted by six chapters:the first chapter introduces the background, significance, issues and methods. The second chapter presents the basic circumstance of investigation scene. The third chapter describes the contacting situation between the sailor group and mass media on the sea. Chapter four describes the sailors'social activities and contact situation between this group and the mass media on the ground, including their families'situations. The six chapter gives a new thinking after the research..Throughout the research we get that the average level of media literacy about the sailor group is as low as their contact with the media. Mass media is not essential in their daily lives. The lack of the contact with mass media influences their thinking style, social activities and personal development, especially the absence of information puts them in a weaken situation in the social activities in a group and it makes it harder for them in the process of changing their jobs.