From a young age I have been interested in the social and political influence of the media, and the ways in which it affects our lives. One particular interest is how the media affect younger audiences, such as how through new technologies sexual content is increasingly presented through varying media channels. The way this is interpreted and impacts upon the values of young people is compelling, and I believe worthy of close study to inform better understanding. This is a subject that I have a developed a strong commitment to via my undergraduate studies but also through time spent researching in a school during the final year of my academia. I frequently think about whether any types of content appearing through the media have part in programming …show more content…
I am keen to learn the use of key concepts of this module for my research papers at this university. For example, it is exciting how this module permits students to apply affect and body-without-an-image to the contemporary issues surrounding body image, performativity and TV intimacy. Thus, I will increase limitless knowledge in the grounds of contemporary social theories surrounding body image identifying with the media. As an outcome it will permit me to effectively apply a large portion of these techniques to my dissertation …show more content…
Additionally, a second focus group expected to highlight the reaction of the youngsters to censored and age restricted music videos. The data was evaluated through qualitative thematic analysis; this was in turn converted to quantitative data. Results demonstrated that larger part of the participants supported parental control and censorship as apposed to the age rating framework since any online user can claim they are above the age of eighteen. After gaining a high grade for my dissertation, I believe I have gained the relevant knowledge and the necessary skills in researching, evaluating and analysing in the cultural and social studies subjects. This will in turn help to apply these skills and knowledge to the course at Goldsmiths, university of London in which I will be practically active in writing and researching. I am confident that my studies to date have helped me to develop the right academic skills to successfully accomplish this exciting
Today, the media plays an essential role in the Western civilization. Considering this, entertainment, social media, and the news are all intrinsically valuable media literacy devices. In addition, the media “helps to maintain a status quo in which certain groups in our society routinely have access to power and privilege while others do not” (Mulvaney 2016). For instance, both in the music and pornographic industry the female body is perceived as a sexual object. In Dreamworlds 3: Desire, Sex & Power in Music Video, Sut Jhally mentions that “examining the stories that music videos tell us about both male and female sexuality, about what is considered normal, allows us to do more than just understand one aspect of our culture” (Jhally 2007).
In today’s world of multimedia it has become extremely hard to avoid the introduction of adult themes to younger children, who lack the maturity to process and question the information. Young people are bombarded continually with unsuitable and undesirable concepts that give false images of acceptable behavior. Music, movies, television, internet and video games are accredited with the moral deterioration of present day youth. Great strides have been made to establish rating guidelines, parental controls and warning labels that assist adults in making informed choices on what their children should or should not be able to access but they are not perfect.
...ers, Kim. Sexual Teens, Sexual Media: Investigating Media’s Influence on Adolescent Sexuality. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2002.
American author and political activist, Ward Churchill, once said, “The American people are free to do exactly what they are told.” The influence and control mass media and propaganda has on modern society is comparative to the mastery a puppeteer has over his puppets. Due to the technological advancement in mass media over the past several decades, it is now easy, and very common, to tune-in, plug-in, and be in “the know”. Whether the majority of our society realizes it or not, mass media and propaganda controls many because of the broad exposure it has. Besides the numerous issues needed to be discussed, I will focus on the harmful, degrading influence mass media and propaganda has on adolescent girls throughout their teenage years. With Photoshop, television, and social media clouding our world, these young girls are not only adopting unrealistic standards for beauty but also unrealistic lifestyles portrayed on television. When a problem arises, a solution is sought after. Problematic behavior arises from the negativity portrayed through outlets of communication. If media and propaganda can influence negative behavior, it can also promote positive behavior. Television provides us with great plays, operas, music, sporting events, and all kinds of other entertainment. There is nothing in the medium itself that suggests the hyper sexuality and violence found within it. Arthur Asa Berger stated in his book, Manufacturing Desire, that “television is a mass medium and economic and commercial considerations tend to drive the programming decisions, so what we get, all too often, is a cultural ‘wasteland’”. (Berger 3) We can reform our world by our thoughts and harmful propaganda and negative mass media has made me and many ...
Many people feel there is a great need for music censorship. People feel that music containing explicit lyrics have a negative impact on the youth. Jim Walsh of the Knight-Ridder wrote and article about how he feels about censorship on music. He insists that most modern day that music teenagers listen to should be banned. Music controls peoples moods, and music with explicit lyrics can cause teenagers to commit violent crimes. Walsh continues to blame music for all the problems that teenagers have, including committing suicide and doing drugs. Most parents agree with Walsh’s ideals towards modern day music. Parents have even gone to the extreme to get parental advisory labels placed on music with explicit lyrics. Children under the age of eighteen are not suppose to be able to purchase music with parental advisory label on them without a adult. I feel that the parental advisory sticker on record is a good idea, because it way for parents to know type of ...
Clark, C, Ghosh, A, Green, E, Shariff,N. (n.d) Media Portrayal of Young People – impact and influences. [Internet], UK, Young Researcher Network. Available from: [Accessed 2nd January 2012]
The media is a large part of our everyday lives; everywhere we go we can find a source of media. It influences our thoughts, feelings and behaviours every day as it is a huge influence in today’s society. Society heavily relies on the media to show them what is in the norm and what is going on in the world. The media also serves as another way to display the normative of the society. Sexuality is a big part in the media and what is appropriate sexuality. The media negatively affects the people who do not fit society’s ideal normative. This includes people with a sexuality that is not the normative of heterosexuality. In the media, these people of other sexualities are excluded and made to feel they do not fit into society. My pyramid shows how society classifies people by their sexuality in the media. This involves highlighting the normative sexuality and excluded any other sexuality from the mainstream media.
Watching television programs with a high level of sexual content can shape the patterns of sexual behavior of a teenager. According to Brown (Brown, Greenberg, & Buerkel-Rothfuss, 1993) many teenagers are not able to receive useful information about sex from their parents, this is the reason they usually use the alternative way to find this information through the media. A Kaiser Family research from 1996 (Kaiser Family Foundation, 1996; 1998) shows that a quarter of all the young people have told that they have learned a lot about pregnancy from television shows and 40 percent of them have gotten ideas how to talk about sexual issues. In these modern times media is holding the power to influence the audience and most of all the youngest audience which is developing their view about sex.
Today’s young men are increasingly being influenced by the harming mass media. Starting at a young age, these young boys are big active users of many types of media such as watching countless number of hours of television, movies, and sports programs, listening to radio programs and CDs, and playing violent video games. These boys are increasingly surfing the Internet at record numbers unsupervised. All of these forms of media are making huge influential decisions in their lives. Young males are least likely to read beneficial sources of media such as newspapers and magazines.
The media has changed significantly over the past decades. Technology has modified our abilities to expand our communication network, and it allows companies to spread their commercials over many different continents. Research done by Roberts (1993) shows that adolescent and children are often very influenced by media that involves sexual or violent conduct. This research is based on media involving children and adolescents, however this does not eliminate the effect media has on adults (Singer & Singer, 2001, p. 269).
Croteau, D., Hoynes, W., & Milan, S. (2012). Media/society (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
People’s image of themselves is mainly impacted on how they were raised and taught at a young age. Parents and teachers have a big impact on the upbringing of children, but social media is known to have the biggest impact on children and their behavior (Rand Corporation). Media is a very powerful tool which imbeds whether sex is acceptable
A media panic or often referred to as a moral panic, is a term that describes how the media is formulating issues amongst our society. Over time, our culture has shifted and caused for many conclusions regarding media panics and the relationship between youth and the media culture. Based upon previous knowledge and course readings, I have drawn a very disturbing conclusion; this being that no matter what age, children are willing or non willingly now under surveillance to determine what kind of role media is playing in their lives. With what I have gathered from the readings and class lectures, most authors strongly believe that different forms of media directly influence children's thinking or perception. What authors and researchers continue to imply is that there is a direct correlation to what youth today see on different forms of media and their behaviours. However, it is important to remember that children are humans as well and do have a mind of their owns. Our society cannot assume that these media panics ultimately take away their ability to think on their own and develop into mature individuals. The first media panic I will discuses is how video games have developed a relationship with violence amongst our children. The second media panic is the sexual objectification of young women online.
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.
“The media may be especially important for young people as they are developing their own sexual beliefs and patterns of behavior and as parents and schools remain reluctant to discuss sexual topics (p.26)”.