The significance of mass media in human life cannot be underestimated. This is true because beyond the physical requirements of food and shelter everyone needs communication, entertainment and information. And it's mainly mass media that can satisfy all these requirements at the same time. Mass media is usually considered as the main source of entertainment and news. Even entertainment carries news and information in form of story or satire; they also carry messages of persuasion and messages for binding communities. Entertainment is the only function that fulfills both social and psychological needs of a person. As life is getting increasingly busy, it has become more difficult for people to relax, unwind, divert mind from tension and spend …show more content…
• On an average newspaper and magazines contain 15-20% entertainment content such as sports news, horoscopes, jokes, satire, etc among others. • 50-75% of TV’s progammes are entertainment such as music, movies among other forms. • On an average spending 2-3 hours on internet chatting, reading articles, reading entertaining stuff, etc. is entertaining. Entertainment is often called the diversion function because it diverts us from the real world. Through sound recordings, film, radio and television, entertainers have been able to attract audiences around the globe. Painters, sculptors and poets reach mass audiences through books and magazines. The entertainment function of the media has been subdivided into three categories: • Stimulation (as an antidote to boredom): o People seek emotional or intellectual stimulation which psychologists have called “ludic” behaviors for instance, playing, recreation, etc. are performed to help maintain the level of intellectual …show more content…
• Entertainment for Cognition: People use the media to satisfy their desire for to know something or for knowledge. There are various events that happen in the world daily. People tend to have desire towards knowing these events. They therefore rely on the mass media to follow such events. For example; People watch shows like “The Week that Wasn’t” that talks about the current events in satirical way. Or people watch channels like History and Discovery for knowledge and at the same time unwind and relax and fill in the empty time. Entertainment that is educational or inspiring encourages people to achieve success amid their existing or perceived difficulties. • Entertainment for Social utility: Entertainment is important as it brings people together and is a good way for the entire family to bond. This is where people use media to strengthen contact with family, friends and other members of the society. It takes various forms: o Conversational currency is where the media provide a common ground for social conversation and people use things they have read, seen or heard as topics for discussion with
entertainment to Americans, which is why it reigns as a commercial success and influence in our
Mass media is designed to reach large audiences through the use of technology. Its purpose is
For years, the population has been exposed to different forms of media. Newspapers, magazines, television, films, radio, and more recently the Internet are ways of promoting ideas, spreading news, and advertising products.
In "Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business" the author Neil, Postman elaborates his ideas of television and other types of media being related culture and society. The book was written in 1985 in the 20th century when many of the technologies we have today did not exist. At the time Postman suggests that American culture, which was symbolized by Las Vegas, was "entirely devoted to the idea of entertainment (Postman, 268)." Specifically the biggest concern about entertainment was a person's appearance. Which still remains true in today's 21st century. In today's television we are still very concerned with appearance even when it comes to doing more important television like the news. In the Introduction Neil Postman's son ask's the question "Can such a book possibly have relevance to you and The World of 2006 and beyond? (Postman 72)" because he feels that now we live in a world with so many other technologies than the primary focus in the book, which is television. However, I feel that many concepts in this book can be applied to the new era of television today. A very big statement that Neil Postman makes in his book is that "The problem is not that television presents us with entertaining subject matter, but that all subject matter is presented as entertaining, which is another issue altogether (Postman 1551). The point of the book is not to attack television itself, but to evaluate what is coming out of it because it has become a method of communication. I am going to discuss how the content on television is being presented, the problem with televisions main concern with entertainment, and the reflection mass media has on politics, society, and culture.
The entertainment that people use in the world has a very large variety. People go from doing outdoor activities to watching television. Entertainment soon impacted its way of use through technology such as video games and computers. The most common thing people love to do is watch movies. Movies have been out for a very long time.
The media is everywhere and takes up a great deal of people’s everyday lives. People depend on the media to provide them with information that would otherwise be hard to get. The people of society also use the media to communicate with friends, family, and people from all around the world. Also, the media serves as a means for entertainment. Businesses use the media as a way to advertise their products. The media affects society in many different ways; such as, businesses use the media to promote their products, the media effects communication, and the media affects body image and behavior of people in society.
Movies, tv shows, internet, and video games are the most popular types of entertainment and are also packed full of drama. People thrive on the drama and can not get enough. For instance, reality television shows are very popular and give the audience a sense of drama in their own lives. The television show The Walking Dead is filled with drama and suspense. This show is one of the most popular shows in the world. Characters get into relationships, fight, kill zombies, and many times die. People enjoy watching the drama and getting an escape. It is just one of hundreds of shows on TV that are drama filled. These forms of entertainment give people something to talk about when they feel their life is too boring.
The definition of mass media is “a means of communication that reaches large numbers of people in a short time, this can consist of the use of television, newspapers, magazine, and radio”, and within the last decade the internet as well. (HarperCollins) The media can actually be a minor or major effect on individuals depending on how or what their view is on the particular subject or matter. The effects it plays on individuals and societies will depend on the exposure to the subject matter at the time, but it effects all ages from young to old.
The Role of Media in the Society Media has always played a huge role in our society. For a long time media is one of the methods of controlling people and leisure. In In ancient times when there was no newspapers and television, people used literature as a source of information, some books like "the Iliad", and different stories about great kings, shows those people the information about them, and how they are used. Nowadays, media is one of the main parts of our lives and our society, because we use word media, to combine all. sources of information to be used.
Mass society theory have few assumptions that media directly influence the minds of average people and transform their views about the society in which they live. Media influence cause severe consequences individually or socially, and in mass society media controlled by elites and they use it for their own benefits. Mostly media promote high culture instead of giving representation to real society art or image.
The mass media has played a key role in shaping people’s lives. The modern society’s use of mass media including TV, radio, newspaper, as well as print media has largely influenced people’s ideas regarding themselves and the society at large. This is evident from their behavior towards themselves and their community as well as their treatment of the environment. While some experts believe that the media is to blame for most of the negative behavioral traits among the active members of society, the majority agree that the media makes people understand and develop a positive sense of association with their society within which they live, making it easy for them to identify and get their role in it.
Conclusion, media can be used to promote social growth and thinking skills. If television and the newer electronic media, is used wisely it can have great positive potential for learning and development. Television is a better medium for conveying certain types of information, and it makes learning available to group of children who do not do well in traditional school situations and even to people who cannot read well. People believe media also can make any latest new all around to world reach everyone easily via media mass in a very short time.
Throughout the previous years, the effect of mass media has produced exponentially with the innovation of technology. Initially there were books, tabloids, journals, photography, movies, broadcast, TV, New Media of the Internet, and now mass media. Nowadays, each individual are most depended on the news media and gossips to preserve their lives moving within everyday accomplishments. We trust the mass media for the existing newscast and evidences concerning anything that is significant and what we must be conscious of. We rely on the media as a consultant for gossip, info, and amusement. The amount of authority varies on the obtainability of media. All of the customary mass media partake excessive impact throughout our existence. For example the 20th century port...
Basically, the media performs three functions to inform, to influence and to entertain. But effects of these functions are multidimensional in modern times. It has provided awareness about the whole world. In twenty-first century, media has a tendency to shape political, economical and social values of an individual. Moreover, media has eliminated the boundaries of information, so that a person can become an active citizen of the global economy. Hence, it is logical to state the media has become a basic need of human civic life.
Media has made its way into our everyday lives without us taking much notice. Companies have products placed in television shows; music played on radios is interrupted for advertisements. While media does consist of advertising, it is also much more than just advertising. Media helps us stay informed, make decisions and many more things. Media can be very beneficial to our lives if not misused. Driving past a billboard is media exposure. Watching