What is the public? What are the characteristics of the public?

In mass society theory, "mass" is a specific concept. 1The end of the 9th century and the beginning of the 20th century is a dividing point for human beings to enter the mass society. Due to the development of industrial revolution, bourgeois revolution and mass communication, the traditional social structure, social order and unified value system in the past have been broken, and members of society have lost their unified behavior reference system and become isolated, dispersed, homogeneous, atomic and new unorganized social groups, that is, the so-called "masses".

"Mass" is a concept opposite to "elite". Elite is a minority trying to control and influence the public; The public, on the other hand, is a passive and affected majority, but sometimes it can also produce huge "majority pressure."

The main characteristics of the public are:

(1) is huge;

② Dispersion and heterogeneity;

③ Anonymity;

① Liquidity;

⑤ unorganized;

6 homogeneity.