A Study of the Relationship between Media Consumption and Feeling of Social Security

The concept of social security, feeling of security and citizenship are key elements in achieving development. Sociologists and criminologists have always paid special attention to them. Study of the factors influencing feeling of security can increase our chance to facilitate its increase. Also enhance citizen's feeling of security and welfare of the citizens can lead to better acceptance of responsibility and commitment. The widespread use of social media in recent years and the impact of media on society have led to many scholars to think about security and how it is projected in media. The aim of this research is to study the effects of mass media on the population of Sanandaj in terms of feeling of social security, which has be divided into three aspects in this research: instability, insecurity and lack of imagination. We argue that when any of these aspects constituting security is absent, people feel unsafe, and when all the three are present, full security is established. Also, when people suffer from some kind of insecurity, they assume that there is no security at all. In general then we can say that the concept of social security means a feeling of mental peace. For women, it means how much they are protected against risks and harassments coming from others. The main variables investigated in relation to the impact of the media on people's sense of security stem from Becker's (1998) theoretical framework. Becker admits that the media is able to manipulate the patterns of social interaction and social values change. In this paper, we focus on this structuring approach, with theories such as magic bullet or hypodermic needle, priming, cultivation, spiral of silence, cultural imperialism, and theory of agenda setting. According to agenda setting the focus of the media on public issues is limited in its understanding of the issues.The research method used in this study is survey. Research population includes women of 15-35 years old in the city of Sanandaj. Sample size was obtained through Lin formula to be 382. We selected these individuals through random multi-stage sampling method. Discussion of Results & The findings suggest that gender, marital status, housing type, housing conditions, have meaningful relationships with sense of social security among research population. To test the impact of media on sense of security, two-way analysis of variance was used. The results suggest a positive relationship between media consumption and feeling of security. In particular, the results indicated that a combination of using local television and local radio has the greatest positive impact on the sense of security. Next, a combination of using internet, mobile phones, and mobile Internet can be mentioned. We can say that in order to increase feeling of security people should be encouraged to use local media outlets. However, it is necessary that their trust can be obtained so they believe what they are given as information is true.The present century is the era of communication and information. It is important to note that the media itself is now more important than the accuracy if the information provided by this media. Hence it is important to inform and educate audience. Through "media literacy", it becomes possible to convert audience as passive recipients of information into active analyzers of media's content.