Myths of media and audiences: Inaugural lecture as professor of general communication science, University of Amsterdam

Some of our strongest ideas about media and their audiences are myths - simple, but plausible and poetic, explanations of the world: the defenceless audience, the 'disappearance of childhood', the 'plug-in drug' and the hyperactive media user of the future, to name just a few. Typically, they have often not stood the test of reality but are widely believed. They even have real - good and bad - consequences for our everyday lives: they inspire laws to protect the audience against the bad influence of mass media; they cause people to spend fortunes on new media technology; they lead to blaming the media for not changing the world for the better. Myths seem to be necessary: the 'super codes' behind the myths of media and audiences are Manichaeic views of human nature that reconcile us with the world of our senses and help integrate society.