Journals Proceedings

Abstract

The internet, as a unique medium of communication and information, converges different media forms into networks and simultaneously, different modes of communications. This creates difficulty in choosing a theory when carrying out studies on the socio-economic, psychological and political basis of the internet. Selecting a theory that appropriately suit such studies will depend on the theory’s potential to offer a view of a very powerful mass medium that ties its power to the audience members’ dependency on the medium and its contents. This paper, enumerates several reasons why the Dependency Theory of mass communication is most aptly suited for Internet/Web studies. It also explaines the stand of Defleur and Ball-Rokeach who offered this theory and some insights into some studies and opinions of media experts who support the application of this theory on internet studies.