KEY IDEAS FROM CHAPTER 8

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1. Decisions about judging the quality of any type of media involve individuals’ search for distinctiveness along with the collective interest of both ordinary consumers and people with institutional authority or professional expertise.

2. Media awards, lists, and sanctions offer a type of collective value judgment that offer commentary on social values and represent a form of social power, a way of reinforcing certain cultural values and priorities.

3. As nonwhite people now represent a majority of Americans, Hollywood and the creative industries have paid more attention to diversity, equity and inclusion, but the rise of political polarization has increased controversy over who decides what kinds of books and ideas about race, class, and gender are appropriate for children, teens, and college students.

4. People may believe that the popularity of a message indicates its quality because of our natural tendency to like what other people like. Ratings and reviews are mechanisms used to define quality, but social media sharing practices can intensify and amplify social pressure and conformity, which may affect people’s judgments about quality and value.

5. People use online reviews to make good decisions about product purchases without being fully aware of the ways in algorithmic personalization and anticompetitive behaviors are shaping the online marketplace.