Media refers to any method of communication, other than one to one interactions, which is facilitated by some type of technology. There is a distinction between the content of the message and the means by which it is communicated although it is both important. According to McLuhan, the medium is an extension of the body. The medium has as much influence as the message itself. It influences how intensively someone processes a message. A cold medium is a medium which requires a lot of imagination to simulate one-to-one interaction. A hot medium is a medium which is very rich in information and does not require that a lot is added. Media literacy refers to sorting out reliable, useful information from junk, marketing and lies. Media blindness refers to being unable to locate the source of the information we acquire and confuse our actual experiences with mediated experiences. The media effects approach in research focuses on the effects media imposes on the individual. However, there is not a fully developed theoretical rationale and low ecological validity. The excitation transfer theory states that media raises adrenaline in people without people recognizing the source of heightened excitement. This leads people to overreact in certain situations. The hypodermic needle theory states that the media injects itself into the brain to influence an individual. This theory is based on the effects propaganda can have on a society which mainly uses one form of mass media. However, people become increasingly media literate.The uses and gratification theory (U&G) states that the individual is a media user rather than a passive observer. The media user is an active agent which seeks out certain media for gratification and rejects other media. Media dependency can be the result of seeking out gratification using media although group demands are often given priority in media use. The cultivation theory states that media gradually cultivate certain...