No Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior [Paperback]

Joshua Meyrowitz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 11, 1986 | ISBN-10: 019504231X | ISBN-13: 978-0195042313 | Edition: 1St Edition

How has television affected our everyday experience? This question has generated endless arguments and speculations, but no thinker has addressed the issue with such force and originality as Joshua Meyrowitz in No Sense of Place. Advancing a daring and sophisticated theory, Meyrowitz shows how television and other electronic media create new social situations that are no longer shaped by where we are or who is "with" us.
While other media experts have limited the debate to program content, Meyrowitz focuses on the ways in which television has rearranged "who knows what about whom," making it impossible for us to behave with each other in traditional ways. He shows how television has lifted many of the veils of secrecy between children and adults, men and women, and politicians and average citizens. The result is a series of revolutionary changes, including the blurring of age, gender, and authority distinctions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"To date, this is one of the finest presentations on this subject. It is critical that educators, parents, and those involved in our laws and decision-making read this carefully in order to address the negative impact of the electronic media on social behavior and enhance the positive uses of this media."--Anne Taybin, SUNY Stony Brook

"It's rare that such a complex subject is dealt with in such a readable style. Sociologists rarely deal with the media's role in reality construction, resource mobilization, etc., in as concrete a way as Meyrowitz does."--Denis M. Hurley, Pace University, College of White Plains

"A striking analysis of television's impact on our culture."--Ellen Goodman, syndicated columnist

"A luminous contribution to the social psychology of our time."--Stanley Milgram, author of Obedience to Authority

"Among the most important books on media yet written; a masterful piece of scholarship."--Channels

"Brilliant...a theoretical tour de force."--Journal of Communication

"A very impressive work that provides new insights into the bearing of the structure of information access in society on a surprising variety of social phenomena. The book is exceptionally well written and well reasoned. It is a display of the sociological imagination in the very best sense of that phrase."--Contemporary Sociology

"Deserves our undivided attention....An outstanding contribution."--Communication Quarterly

"The most evocative and perceptive theory of mass media effects published in the last twenty years."--Joseph Dominick, University of Georgia

"A stimulating, thoughtful analysis. Should be read by all persons interested in the media's impact on social behavior."--Joseph P. McKerns, Southern Illinois University

About the Author

Joshua Meyrowitz is a Professor of Communication at University of New Hampshire.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1St Edition edition (December 11, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019504231X
• ISBN-13: 978-0195042313
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #609,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MUST READ, if interested in the impact of electronic media!, May 5, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: No Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior (Paperback)

Joshua Meyrowitz takes the reader through a fantastic and comprehensive perspective on the impact of electronic media. Beyond McLuhan, Meyrowitz challenges the reader to consider the formulative role of media, irrespective of it's content. Meyrowitz clearly details the impact of electronic media on one's perception of place, and the unrecognized rearrangement of social forums. This book is a MUST READ for those interested in the impact of television and computer networking technologies on contemporary social life--if understood, it will forever change your perceptions of media

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A solid framework in which to negotiate a mediated culture, February 12, 2001

By 

Derek "Derek" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior (Paperback)

Revisiting and moving beyond his predecessors, Meyrowitz's book provides a wonderful framework that allows the reader of any level to appreciate the role of mediated communication in shaping social spheres and orders...both historically and today.

Written in a style that avoids the high-semantics of academia and avoids the vague poetics of McLuhan, Meyrowitz's book is perhaps most fascinating because of the fact that it was written fifteen years ago: before the internet boom, before the merger-mania of media conglomeritization, etc. In my opinion, Meyrowitz's ideas are still very relevant and are a true signifier of the brilliance of this text.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A leisury yet deep analysy of the impact of television, July 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: No Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior (Paperback)

To understand the impact of media, you have two choiches: you decode McLuhan and DeKerkhove (at least try), or you read this book. Meyrowitz writes from the perspective of a child and of a socioligist of media, describing how television has changed forever the way we relate to space, both public and private. With theatrical recollections of family scenes from the 60's and cultured references to other studies Meyrowitz manages to make us look at TV and media in general as we never did before.