Shi Lamu summarized the social function of mass communication from three aspects: political function, economic function and general social function. He believes that the political functions of mass communication mainly include: supervision, coordination, transmission of social heritage, laws and customs, and economic functions include: information about resources and trading opportunities; Explain this information; Formulate economic policies; The activity and management of shopping malls; Initiate economic behavior, etc. General social functions include: information about social norms and functions; Accept or reject them; Coordinate the public's understanding and will, and carry out social control; Communicate social norms and rules, entertainment and so on to new members of society.

The important contribution of Shi Lamu's classification is that it clearly puts forward the economic function of communication, and points out that mass communication can create economic behavior by collecting, providing and explaining information. The economic function of mass communication is not limited to providing information services for other industries. It is an important part of knowledge industry and occupies an important position in the whole social economy.