Question

Sociologists Paul Lazarsfeld and Robert Merton coined the term ______ to describe how an overabundance of media coverage on a topic results in the audience failing to act on that information.

Answer 1

Answer: Narcotizing dysfunction

Explanation: Narcotizing dysfunction simply refers to the situations where the media provide so much information that makes people become numb. It's a concern because it allows people become desensitized to the information when they see it on the media. Furthermore, Narcotizing dysfunction remains a central concept to mass communication theory, it explains that as mass media inundates people on a particular issue, they become apathetic to it, substituting knowledge for action.