Macro-micro rivalry is a hypocritical proposition
According to the study on differences between knowledge gap theory and knowledge possession, the distinction between the macro and micro levels of knowledge ditch theory is actually rooted in their disagreement over the definition of "knowledge". Macrotheory defines "knowledge" too narrowly for the convenience of research; microtheory expands the scope of the term "knowledge" to make research more universal. Theoretically, the issue of major divergences between macro and micro levels is a hypocritical one, because the basic views of both are the same, although the range and content of the objectives addressed are different and lead to "dissemination"。
The substance of knowledge possession differences
In the context of the broad definition of "knowledge", it is easy to find that the differences in knowledge possession between people affect every process of knowledge recognition, storage, extraction, application and even feedback, by exploring the characteristics of human cognitive systems and the construction of human knowledge. Differences in each process affect the ultimate possession of knowledge, and the existing possession of knowledge and its cumulative influence on the digestion and absorption of new knowledge is one of the important factors that shape the diversity of knowledge possession. At the interpersonal level, the author has demonstrated, through the symbolic theory of interaction and the theory of the yohari window, that interpersonal interaction is an important way for people to acquire knowledge, and that the difference in knowledge ownership between people cannot be perfected in theory; through the dissemination of the theory of "two levels" and "thinking leaders" and the theory of the proliferation of innovation, the breadth and depth of social interaction is one of the key indicators determining the richness of individual knowledge, and socio-economic status considerations are only one of the symptoms of the heterogeneity of social interaction. At the organizational level of dissemination, an analysis of the assumptions of traditional research on formal education and empirical research by continental scholars has led to the realization that formal education is a key factor influencing differences in knowledge possession and cannot be generalized and equated with socio-economic status. Education not only results in a greater difference in knowledge possession between the educated and the uneducated, but also reduces the disparity in knowledge possession among the same educated population. At the level of group communication, through group assimilation studies, it has been demonstrated that this inter-personal formation of groups through various homogenous characteristics has led to further assimilation of this homogeneity within the group and to the generation of new knowledge as the basis for in-depth exchanges among members within the group and the identification of social subdivisions within and outside the group systems are a central manifestation of the significant role that mass communication plays in shaping differences in knowledge ownership between people。
Re-constructing the theory of knowledge
In conclusion, the author recast the knowledge gap hypothesis that, as economic and social development develops, the information resources that exist in human society will also grow. Those individuals with greater social interaction and spiritual learning and better personal endowments will be able to access more information resources earlier and better, so that the difference in knowledge between people in most areas will tend to widen rather than diminish. In theory, however, if the breadth and depth of social interaction and spiritual learning are improved, the difference in knowledge between people in most areas will be effectively bridged。
