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The impact of media on our society
The impact of media in society
The impact of media in society
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Modern society is a slave to the media. Everyone, everywhere is influenced by the media in both positive and negative ways. The media touches every aspect of a persons life, from their clothes to their hair color. Society is told what they should spend their money on, what products will make them popular, and even what car they should be driving. Every Super Bowl, a record amount of viewer, which trump over 100 million, watch thirty second commercials with as much focus as the game itself. These advertisements which cost roughly four million dollars vary from beer and car commercials, to soda and music promotions. But the media is not only about commercials and promotions. The media helps deliver news around the world allowing people to gain a better perspective of what is going on around them. The media also brings society closer together through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Clearly, the media has a huge impact on society. The role of media in today’s society is to influence society to buy certain products, deliver world wide and local news to the people, and unite the world through social media.
Every form of media persuades society to buy certain products. Although many people would argue that this influence is harmful to humanity, it is a role that media plays in society none the less. As of 2012, “94% of all businesses with a marketing department used social media as part of their marketing platform” (Role of Social Media). Companies are adapting to social media and they use Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus as a way to advertise (Role of Social Media). Then there is the Super Bowl, the most watched television event of the year. Advertisers spend, “approximately $4 million” for a thirty sec...
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...and will continue to influence society in years to come.
Works Cited
Ebright, Olsen. "NATL." NBC Southern California. N.p., 17 Apr. 2013. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.
Fallows, James. "Learning to Love the (Shallow, Divisive, Unreliable) New Media." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 24 Feb. 2011. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.
Hutchinson, Sophie. "Social Media Plays Major Role in Turkey Protests." BBC News. BBC, 06 Apr. 2013. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.
Kay, Alex. "Super Bowl Ad Costs: Latest Info on Cost of 2014 Super Bowl Commercials." Bleacher Report. Bleacher Report, 2 Feb. 2014. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.
Shakeel, Muzna. "The Role of Media in Today's World." - Society and Culture Articles : Hamariweb.com. Karachi University, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.
Women, Money Wise. "The Developing Role of Social Media in the Modern Business World." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 08 Aug. 2012. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.
Looking the historical moment we are living at, it is undeniable that the media plays a crucial role on who we are both as individuals and as a society, and how we look at the...
Today, the media impacts almost everything we do. It tells us to act a certain way or to beh...
The issue of the relationship between the mass media and the popular culture has always been a controversial issue in social sciences. The political economists insist on the role of the media industry in the creation of this phenomenon of the twentieth century. Though, advocates such as John Fiske, argue that popular culture is actually the creation of the populous itself, and is independent of the capitalist production process of the communication sector. Basing his argument on the immense interpretive power of the people, Fiske believes that the audience is able to break all the indented meanings within a media message. He also believes- by giving new meanings to that specific message they can oppose the power block that is trying to impose its ideology to the public. Consequently, this anarchistic activity of the audience creates the popular culture as a defence mechanism. Even when we accept Fiske’s ideas, we can not disregard the manipulative power of the media and its effects on cultural and social life.
It is quite often oblivious to all of us, the effect that media has on us. However, where ever we look the effects of media have altered the coarse of living. The clothes we wear, the sports we play, the music we listen to and our political opinions, are all aspects that are influenced by the media.
Today’s Media is on the decline into a “shallow, diverse, and unreliable” place (Fallows). In an article by James Fallows called “Learning To Love The (Shallow, Diverse, Unreliable) New Media” he frequently talks about how the media is affecting the American mind negatively. Fallows often references other people in to article to support his claim. The new media has caused dysfunction, filtered information, and competition among Americans.
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.
Media comes in a variety of forms including television, advertising, broadcasting, and much more. The purpose of media is to share information, to communicate. America is drawn into the world of mass media now more than ever. For most of us, the first thing we do when we wake up is check our phones and social media. We eat dinner in front of the television; we listen to the radio during the drive to work. Through the media we decide where we should go, who we should vote for, even how we should dress. It is important to understand what roles media play in society in order to construct our own views and opinions. For example, most Americans define classism based on what we see in the media, “products of media culture provide materials out of which we forge…our sense of class…and of ‘us’ and ‘them’” (Kellner, 2011, p. 7).
The media, including television programming, cartoons, film, the news, as well as literature and magazines, is a very powerful and pervasive medium for expression. It can reach a large number of people and convey ideas, cultural norms, stereotypic roles, power relationships, ethics, and values. Through these messages, the mass media may have a strong influence on individual behavior, views, and values, as well as in shaping national character and culture. Although there is a great potential for the media to have a positive and affirming effect on the public and society at large, there may be important negative consequences when the messages conveyed are harmful, destructive, or violent.
Media also influences the thinking of people and society in general through entertainment as well as advertising and marketing campaigns. It is the creative ideas and boost to the imagination that people get once they watch a television show, movie, commercial or listen to a certain song. The impact any of these forms of media can have on an individual’s thinking can change in that most of them view the various stars in the movies, TV or the music industry as role models and as a result, they start imitating them. This type of influence oftentimes will influence the way someone views a political
Everyday we encounter the media in some form. It could be waking up to the sound of the radio, or passing billboards in the streets or simply just watching television. They are a lot of different forms of media, for example, verbal or written media, visual media and aural media. Examples of media would include newspapers, magazines, film, radio, television, billboard advertisements as well as the internet. Media studies came about because of the developments in mass communication and it provokes the generation of exigent questions about what we think we know as well how we came about knowing it. There are always changes in the media and the term “media” refers to the many ways of physically forming meanings as well and carrying them. The term “media studies” on the other hand, means different courses priorities different media; different theories and different learning outcomes (Bazalgette, 2000).
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.
As Americans we take pride in our liberating government. But, it is essential to ask how much we, the general public, know about our democracy. Because of the representative structure of our government, it is in our best interest to remain as knowledgeable as possible about political affairs so that we can play an active role in our democracy by voting for candidates and issues. The media, which includes print, television, and the internet, is our primary link to political events and issues. (For the purposes of this essay only print and television will be considered.) Therefore, in order to assess the success of our democracy it is necessary to assess the soundness of our media. We are lucky enough to have a media, in theory, free from government influences because of our rights to freedom of press and freedom of speech, but we are still subject to the media’s interpretation and presentation of politics, as is the danger when depending on any source for information. So, we must address how the media informs us; how successful it is at doing so; and how we should respond to it.
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.
Hence, the power of media has touched its apex in today’s age. Its societal, political and economic functions reflect its unparallel capacity to affect the human life in all spheres.
Media technologies are becoming an important aspect of today’s society. Each and every day, people interact with media of many different forms. Media is commonly defined as being a channel of communication. Radio, newspapers, and television are all examples of media. It is impossible to assume that media is made up of completely unbiased information and that the media companies do not impose their own control upon the information being supplied to media users. Since many people use media very frequently, it is obvious to assume that it has affects on people. According to the text book Media Now, "media effects are changes in knowledge, attitude, or behavior that result from exposure to the mass media," (386). This leaves us with many unanswered questions about media and its influences. This paper will look at how the effects of media are determined and explore the main affects on today’s society - violence, prejudice, and sexual behavior.