Diversity gap in media leads to college students consuming same media genres

• The is a lack of media diversity in the consumption of college aged students
• Preference behavior and memory based models determine media preferences
• The large diversity gap in media can be narrowed by the FCC

In today's highly connected and easily accessed world, the limits seem endless on the different types of media that can be consumed. Companies like Netflix, Spotify, and Youtube make watching movies and listening to music faster than ever. With media spreading every day, it would make sense to believe that the current society is one with a large level of media diversity. After testing the opinions of three University of Maryland-College Park
students, this does not seems to be the case.

With so many available options, it would seem as though there would be lots of diversity among student preferences. The results of a three person survey discovered however that students consume the same basic types of music, video, and book genres. Within these genres, preferences can vary, but the broad scope shows that diversity is not all that widespread. For example, all three students stated that they enjoy electronic music, but each describe their favorite aspects of the music in different ways such as electronica and EDM.

The Lack of Media Diversity is caused by disproportionate numbers of Women and Minorities in Media

Beyond the tastes of three college students, the issue of media diversity extends to the creators of media and how its demography effects the consumption of the general public. Civilrights.org is dedicated to the issue of media diversity and it claims that the problem stems from "the disproportionate lack of women and minority reporters, producers, and owners." The lack of differences along the cutting edge of media leads to gaps in diversity. According to an infographic (right)  by indiewire, there is a large diversity gap between the award winners at the Academy
Awards. This is a sign that because there is a lack of diversity of the top consumed media, it is hard to form preferences different from the crowd.

In addition to cinema, the iTunes Top Ten List shows a lack of diversity amongst the top singles in the U.S. Each song is categorized in either the pop or soul genres.

It is clear that there is a media diversity issue in society, but how does the average consumer get influenced by the owners of large media companies? A study on musical stereotypes, explains that people choose their source of music based on personal characteristics. For instance, the study describes that the "psychological characteristics" of the consumer (such as whether they are extroverted or not) leads them to enjoy different types of music. It is these "psychological characteristics" for music stereotypes that fit consumers into genre classifications. Knowing this, media owners are able to capitalize and market their products to appeal to the largest portion of the general public. Top songs like Uptown Funk by Mark Bronson and Bruno Mars are able to break through stereotypes and appeal to the masses because they are conceived knowing the common characteristics of music listeners.

Another explanation for society's lack of media diversity stems from the way humans form their preferences. One important factor leads to preferences according to a study on the formation of preferences for political candidates is memory-based models. This theory can be used to describe how the public wants to consume the same media and is unaffected by the lack of media diversity.

The memory-based model describes that preferences are developed from experiences in the past. If a movie goer enjoys Happy Gilmore with lead actor Adam Sandler, this theory suggests that they will likely continue to consume his movies even if they do not fit into the same genre. The memory-based model explains that if you had a good experience, your memory and preferences will push you to similar experiences. Because of this, large media corporations can provide the same experiences for years without changing diversity.

Diversity lies in the hands of the FCC and Media Owners

There are few easy solutions on how society can improve media diversity. An opinion piece on Al-Jazeera describes media diversity as an old problem for new media. Some of the solutions could involve diluting the few number of media owners with more open minded people, or creating laws that push media to be more diverse. Both would involve the government, and specifically the FCC who choose to deregulate media in the 1990s. These solutions could help spark diversity in media and once it has started, science has shown that the preferences of the population will take over and crave more diversity.

Diversity in media will ultimately lead to a more diverse set of genres that people will consume. Diversity is not a negative to the film, television, and literature industries. It can open new storylines and ideas that have not been tapped into previously. It can appeal to the large groups of minorities that are underrepresented in the current media model. And, it can create a society where three college students do not listen to the same exact media. Diversifying media in the end, is the best way to diversify the media types that people consume.