MEDIA THEORY- THE EFFECTS MODEL OR HYPODERMIC NEEDLE MODEL

The hypodermic needle model suggests that media messages are injected straight into a passive audience which is immediately influenced by the message - the mass media could influence a very large group of people directly and uniformly by injecting them with appropriate messages designed to trigger a desired response. This theory implies that mass media has a direct, immediate and powerful effect on its audiences. The mass media in the 1940's and 1950's were perceived as a powerful influence on behaviour change. Several factors contribute to this theory of influence such as, the rise and popularisation of radio and television broadcasts, the emergence of advertising and propaganda and also the impact of motion pictures on young children. They express the view that the media is a dangerous means of communicating an idea because the receiver or audience is powerless to resist the impact of the message. A strength of this theory is that the use of numbers and statistics can be effective and reliable in terms of seeing trends within audience members, however a weakness of this theory may be the idea that it has a little place in contemporary analysis of audience reception, although it is possible that audiences revert to such thinking from time to time, these types of instances are rare, and don't carry a great deal of momentum, if anything audiences today tend to be a lot more sophisticated and aware of how media messages may be constructed to appeal to various categories of audiences relying on their demographic and psychographic groups. 

The hypodermic needle theory is not based on empirical research, instead it is founded on the assumption that humans are controlled by their biological nature and will react instinctively to passing stimuli in similar ways.

                    

Within this advert above we see the contrasted lives from a later generation ideally early 80's and a more modern generation nearer towards the 21st century. The surroundings within the advert vary but the lifestyle is very similar despite the few tweaks over the years with technology and the advancement of it. On the left hand side we see a very friendly life, a happy man happy marriage etc where he sits down and speaks to his wife showing a lot of communication between them. Whereas on the right hand side there is a lack of communication as everything is surrounding modern technology and the lifestyles differ completely. Through this though the producer injects the idea of coke bringing people together through the technique of hypodermic needle theory as they use coke to inject into their audiences to make them come together more as a community and diminish the barrier between the generations. As this is shown towards the end of the advert as the line between the two frames disappears and becomes one whole shot and frame. The advert proceeds to tell the audience of how the world has become less social due to the proliferation of technology and this has replaced the feeling of family. Although despite all of this there is one thing keeping each generation together and that is Coca Cola.