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European Journal of Social Sciences Studies ISSN: 2501-8590 ISSN-L: 2501-8590 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/soc Volume 2 │ Issue 2 │ 2017 doi: 10.5281/zenodo.344494 MEDIA COMMUNICATION AND FAMILY IN ALBANIAN SOCIETY Holta Hebai PhD, European University of Tirana, Albania Abstract: In this study will be addressed first media communication from sociological view in Albania after the '90s. This period was characterized by change of political system. The consequences of this change were reflected in the social and cultural life of Albania. In this study, will be analyzed the relationship between the family institution and the institution of the media, television. The Hypothesis of this Study is: Media Communication in Albania affects the behavior and partially the decision-making on the economic, political, social aspects of Albanian family. The object of Study: As people's perceptions are influenced by advertising on television in the same way are affected the perceptions, beliefs, behaviors, ideas that exist within Albanian family. The research Question: Is it possible that Media and Communication has transformed, influenced or modified relationships with another ancient, honored and very complex institution, such as the Albanian family? Media is a mean that impacted on the development of human society, by using it on her behalf and vice versa. Both these elements together are affected mainly by economic, political and social development. Keywords: communication, media, society, family, behavior 1. Introduction The study will be focused in three sociological points of view: historical, social-cultural and social-historical points of view. It tried to answer the main hypothesis, that aims to Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. © 2015 – 2017 Open Access Publishing Group 12 Holta Heba MEDIA COMMUNICATION AND FAMILY IN ALBANIAN SOCIETY explain familiar’s behaviour, their role and spectacle that media offers for human society. The methodology is based on the analytical review of Media Communication process in historical, social-cultural and social-political situation before and after the 90s in Albanian families. The two main actors that positively influence on the policy making and better administration are Media and Civil Society. They directly influence on the decisionmaking process, an important process for a country. Mutual relations between Media and Society have never been so visible as they became after the television usage and especially after the collapse of the Soviet System . (”alle, F. ( ): 713) Media provides an important contribution not only for people’s political orientations, cultivating citizen’s’ awareness but also controlling various aspects of state organs. That’s why it is called the fourth power. The role of Massmedia in social area is really important and difficult to be riched. The media debate fluctuates between reporting risky deviations of the reality on TV’s, as well as culture and democracy damages for the sake of "communication" and transparency expectations. Television represents a new reality, to which the traditional code of intimate relations in Albanian families faces an inevitable contrast in values, beliefs and worldview. Unlike the Western society, the main institution in Albanian society before and in the early 's, was the family . The cult figure and civil society are still under construction as part of our society. So, the term Albanian Society means the Albanian family and vice versa for the period under review. 2. Historical Point of View The ability to communicate has been really important in human evolution and its cultural progress. That’s the reason why the history of any civilization is characterized by the resources and appropriate technology researches to manage and control the information. The new means of communication has deeply transformed the culture and society. Understanding how communication technologies of the past have affected social change, is a mean to understand the changes today, and trying to address them. (Maclluhan, M.(1994) :73) A concrete example of this case study is Albania before and after '90s. At the beginning of the ’ s, the rural or suburban area linking to the political, cultural, artistic world is not done by the "chosen people" of the party, but through television and radio. The cult of omnipotent figure has been fallen and it should be substituted. Media played an important role in Albania democratization. Full of unknowns, with a legacy European Journal of Social Sciences Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 2 │ 2017 13 Holta Heba MEDIA COMMUNICATION AND FAMILY IN ALBANIAN SOCIETY of material and obsolete concepts, Albanian Public Television must meet one of the most important criteria; the freedom of speech. It took several years those rural or suburban areas to be covered by local and international television airwaves. At the beginning of the s’, Albanian families consider the television as a home decoration , as a self-satisfaction and sublime achievement in relation to a defined family plan often driven by close social relationships within a particular community. While Albanian families after the '90s, "rebuilt a new relationship" with the TV, once again by an aesthetic point of view. In this case, it was driven by wider factors than those before the 90s, the freedom of markets. Supply-Demand was based on "real estate and equipment replacement" that often turn into a physical and visual annoying abundance, but it was inevitable in Albanian Society Conditions. It needed everything that fulfills them mental needs. It needed a free Media that will facilitate the communication between them. So they could know each other; the rural area meets the urban area. We should admit that even in Communism existed an infrastructural network that linked rural to urban areas, but existed fundamentals barriers in their way of reality perception. As a result, the infrastructural network was not sufficient to pass the boarder of their reality. So, this necessary unfilling should be done by Media, especially television. Fortunately, or unfortunately, after Albania democratization it existed only Albanian Public Television, of course free/released of propaganda. Taking into consideration, the period that TVSH was the main source of information seemed difficult replacing it with a variety of TV channels. Despite the existence of "secret" foreign channels, TVSH was an irreplaceable part of Albanian families. The TVSH transition was immediately. Consequently, the control of the information for the Albanian society once again remains in the "big" somehow old hand of TVSH. Was it Right or not?! Would it be better to be created some new Albanian Channel at the beginning of the 90s as they were created after 97s? What will be they immediate effects on the Albanian family institution? Would help or confuse its adaptation to the new democracy? Or should we admit that the existence of the TVSH was more acceptable and affordable to bring the information in Albanian Society?! All the question need an answer, but that may not be considering in this paper, as not belonging to the study objectives. Anyway, it helps us to understand how television covered an important part as the main mean of culture transmission. This happened because of the inexistence of the local infrastructure on the production, transmission and distribution of the culture in the rural areas. Educational and Cultural Institution as educational environment, education means and libraries in rural or suburban areas were almost destroyed. That’s why most of them were not functional. The absence of these tools in order to convey the culture to the rural society created a big gap in information transmission. This gap begins to be covered by the Television. European Journal of Social Sciences Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 2 │ 2017 14 Holta Heba MEDIA COMMUNICATION AND FAMILY IN ALBANIAN SOCIETY 3. Social-Cultural Point of View After the historical analyses of the Media Communication relations in accordance with social and infrastructural emancipation, the study emerges the Media Communication relations to Social Cultural point of view. Violence phenomenon characterizes modern society filled with tensions and conflicts. (Fuga, A. 2005: 201). Violence means physical and psychological injures. When media reflect this "legal violence" against offenders, terrorists do they help to pacify the society or influence on its spreading?! This is a sensitive question for societies in transition, as is Albanian. Albanian families became more violent after the "legal violence" reflection by Media. That happens because tensions, conflicts and confrontations are really common in our society. “s a result, “lbanian society tends to adopt and use legal violence because this behavior conforms with the social interaction of the society. Media Communication evolution is developing. New points of view are established because communication is a multidimensional area. Anyway, we should admit that the aggressively level is different in different population. This is related to cultural aspects and violence is still a symbolic object. We should not overlook the historical experiences or living conditions that affect Albanian Society. Violence can emerge in television, but is personal and familiar education that affects in violence behaviors. 4. Social-Political Point of View In this study will be addressed another point of view, the social–political point of view. It will deal with the way and influence of political issues transmitted through Media Communication. There are a lot of questions about the Television Media relation to Politics and Politicians. People often find television media too politicized and immediately begin to show their imaginary reasons about television attitude. So we should admit that as much as television media are influenced by certain relations to the politics and administration, even politics is influenced by Media. One of the most wellknown European sociologists Pierre Bourdieu expresses that television does not reflect a certain political issue but it summarizes it. Television offers a dramatization, a double implication: he puts on stage through images an event, and exaggerates the importance and its dramatic and tragic character . (Bourdieu, P (2008): 85). Creating an event is already an innovation in the democratic life in terms of communication/communicating society. Politics in democratic system is based on the propaganda and ideological impact on the electorate. In democratic systems, the politicians have to be faced more than one time with the electorate and therefore are always anxiety before the unexpected results of their election and party. Meanwhile he is facing a person that is not elected but European Journal of Social Sciences Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 2 │ 2017 15 Holta Heba MEDIA COMMUNICATION AND FAMILY IN ALBANIAN SOCIETY appointed, as is the case of the journalist. The journalist, being part of the television, getting used to the "theater" of facing the camera with professionalism, he managed to become a figure referring to a wider audience. Therefore, the journalist became a defining factor in the communication area. Social-political perspective is affected by the outcome: media influence on public opinion by establishing him, concepts, ways of thinking and new behavior. A group of Media specialists stress that the media influencing process has a communicative nature. The media influencing process is possible when the public is ready to acquire the message. The well-known Philosopher Artan Fuga in his book ”riret e dhise Goat Horns expresses that; a peaceful public that has no reason to change cannot be violent because of media violence transmission. 5. Conclusion In this way, Albanian family is facing with a dilemma, between understanding and responding to "media production . The long Hypnosis during the communist period to which the Albanian family had fallen into a quietness and a silent agreement toward the role of the father in it, has already ended. In front of her was an inevitable "enemy that was obliged to deal with any challenge that it (media) could issue. An actual example is the reality show ”ig ”rother . The actors that participate in this reality show and the audience face with the former family "leader" values and beliefs, without excluding other family actors belonging to the previous system generations. Besides, thousands of questions on the eternal conflict between generations, the family institution must face with another major challenge unintentional revealed by media". Western society is far from possessing a common standard moral norm and artistic value to all its members . (Fuga, A. 2005: 202). Albanian society is even further away due to the extreme problems, influencing and becoming increasingly dependent on the Media Communication process. Of course, that media communication influence on individual or Albanian family, however the individual and the family should be wiser and selective to the information transmitted in the TV. References 1. Fuga “rtan, Lexime ne Komunikim, 2. Fuga “rtan, ”riret e Dhise , 3. Maclluhan, M. , Tiranë Ora , Tiranë Ora , Understanding media, The extension of man , MIT Press Edition. European Journal of Social Sciences Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 2 │ 2017 16 Holta Heba MEDIA COMMUNICATION AND FAMILY IN ALBANIAN SOCIETY 4. Bordieu, P. (2009) Artikull: Rreth televizionit dhe Gazetarisë. Revista Polis 8. Tiranë: UET–Press. 5. Balle, F. (2011). Mediat dhe shoqëritë. Mediat: Botimet Papirus & UET–Press. European Journal of Social Sciences Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 2 │ 2017 17 Holta Heba MEDIA COMMUNICATION AND FAMILY IN ALBANIAN SOCIETY Creative Commons licensing terms Author(s) will retain the copyright of their published articles agreeing that a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) terms will be applied to their work. Under the terms of this license, no permission is required from the author(s) or publisher for members of the community to copy, distribute, transmit or adapt the article content, providing a proper, prominent and unambiguous attribution to the authors in a manner that makes clear that the materials are being reused under permission of a Creative Commons License. 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