The media and its influence on society has grown exponentially with the advance of technology in the last 5 decades.
The current level of media
saturation has not always existed. As recently as the 1960s and 1970s,
television, for example, consisted of primarily three networks, public
broadcasting, and a few local independent stations. These channels aimed their
programming primarily at two‐parent, middle‐class
families. Even so, some middle‐class households did not even own a
television. Today, one can find a television in the poorest of homes, and
multiple TVs in most middle‐class homes. Not only has availability increased,
but programming is increasingly diverse with shows aimed to please all ages,
incomes, backgrounds, and attitudes. This widespread availability and exposure
makes television the primary focus of most mass‐media
discussions. More recently, the Internet has increased its role exponentially
as more businesses and households “sign on.” Although TV and the Internet have
dominated the mass media, movies and magazines—particularly those lining the
aisles at grocery checkout stands—also play a powerful role in culture, as do
other forms of media.
We have put our trust on
the media as an authority to give us news, entertainment and education.
However, the influence of mass media on our kids, teenagers and society is so
big that we should know how it really works. The media makes billions of
dollars with the advertising they sell and that we are exposed to, every single
moment. We buy what we are told to buy by the media. After seeing thousands of
advertisements, we make our buying decisions based on what we see on TV,
newspapers or magazines. These are the effects of mass media especially in
teenagers, they buy what they see on tv, what their favorite celebrity
advertise and what is acceptable by society based on the fashion that the media
has imposed on them.
If one day the internet and
these forms of technology were taken away from us, what would become of our
society? Would we be like wild beasts going crazy because we don't know what to
do with our lives? Sadly in today's society technology has become our best
friend that we can barely live without. An
episode of hit comedy show South Park that shows how human beings are so in
need of technology that we don't know what to do when the internet is taken
away from us.
Has anything been done to stop media influence?
Nothing has really been
done to help stop the influence on mass media.
Our lives revolve around mass media and people are starting to become
more unaware of the negative things that are shown in mass media. In almost every movie there is some type of
violence going on. Since 1955 with the
TV show called Gunsmoke there was violence going on in television, cowboys
shooting other cowboys and people doing deviant things such as rape, killing
people, robbing banks, etc. There is no
doubt that the United States is a pioneer state and the guns have been around
for years now. But over the years violence in mass media has been taken way out
of context that has resulted in thousands of people dying from gun violence or
other types of violence that are presented in mass media.
How is Mass Media Affecting Socialization in children and
young adults?
The answer to this question
is very simple now: mass media has enormous effects on our attitudes and
behavior. Mass media opens our minds to discover new things one may have not
known before. The mass media can serve
as positive and negative influences in children and young adults’ lives, that’s
why it is very important for parents to shield their children as much as
possible from these negative influences.
In this last article called "Negative Influences of Media on the
Society" it gives you more insight about the negative influences in our
society and how it is affecting our children.
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