Running head: MASS MEDIA AND ITS EFFECTS ON SOCIETY 1
Mass Media and Its Effects on Society
Alexander Wilson
Kansas State University
MASS MEDIA AND ITS EFFECTS ON SOCIETY 2
Mass Media and Its Effects on Society
Sudden introduction of mass media into society undoubtedly caused a shift in societal views and behaviors, evident from the vast amount of research that started as soon as television and other sources became available in households worldwide. Mass media constitutes anything that helps reach a mass audience such as television, newspaper, radio, social media, and even video games. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a mass medium as “a medium of communication that is designed to reach the mass of the people – usually used in plural,”. From building a dependency on mass media, to changing the way some children and young adults behave, mass media has played and continues to play a massive role in shaping today’s society.
It is important to first note the exact magnitude of media today. According to the AC
Nielsen company, the 2016-17 television season will consist of 118.4 million TV homes in
America. Those households include 301.7 million people above the age of two years old.
Nielsen (or Nielsen Holdings) is a global information data and measurement company. In
September of 2017, records showed the largest consumption of mass media ever. Those who consume television, on average, consumed 238 minutes a day (Statista, 2017). From those same statistics, on
Throughout the years the use of technology has increased, and expanded. Mass media plays a vital role in society. Mass media can be defined as any means of communication, to an extremely large group of people. Technological advancements have been extremely beneficial for prior generations, the generation we now live in, and will be for the future generations to come. Such as, providing news for the world to hear, entertainment, and much more. Some examples of media would be television, films, newspapers, and the Internet. Unfortunately along with benefits, there are disadvantages concerning gender discrimination, and sexism. Such as, women feelings forced and obligated to stay at home with their children instead of working, and the representation of beauty involving both men and women. Examples of how the media can accomplish this would be through the use of advertisements, movies, magazines, and the radio. The media has an enormous effect on people within society today.
Throughout America’s infantile years, the media solely consisted of the printing press, but as a result of industrialization, commercialization, and professionalization, it now extends into the world of technology, reaching far more Americans than ever before. Media can be defined as collective outlets for mass communication. In today’s society, massive amounts of media are consumed in a plethora of forms: newspapers, magazines, television, Internet, and social media. The 2007 U.S. Census Bureau 's Statistical Abstract of the United States reports that adults and teens spend nearly five months out the year watching television, surfing the Internet, reading daily newspapers and listening to music (cited in ABC News, 2006). In correspondence
Media has been changing drastically since its inception. While print was the main form of media for the longest time, when radio and television became major forms of media they brought something with them that words could not do. People who were tuning in to the radio and watching television were now exposed to marketing campaigns, visual violence, sexuality, suffering and relief, and the start of celebrity idolization. As technology expanded and matured, the electronic age began. Since that time mass media has multiplied exponentially, information can be accessed faster and faster, more and more information could be circulated and accessed. As well as information circulating, marketing
“The media 's the most powerful entity on Earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that 's power. Because they control the minds of the [people]” (Malcolm X). The message of this Malcolm X quote is that society can control the mind of the individual. This is true. For many years, society has influenced everyone worldwide both negatively and positively. That is because society has the ability to control the individual’s decisions. They can control the individual in making their decisions that could affect people’s lives worldwide; it also has the ability to control their decisions that could affect the individual’s life. You might be thinking “But why should we care about this topic? This doesn’t seem really important to us” well it’s important because we all can relate to this as everyone has been influenced by society at least once in their lifetime. Just ask yourself this. Have you ever simulated a role model that you had by just copying the actions that they do just because you wanted to be just like them? Have you picked up habits from society that is around you like family or peers that has affected you in your life? Have you ever maybe tried something you found from your family members or from the Internet to get your personal needs? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are involved in this conversation. But there’s a problem. There’s an argument going on about this topic. The controversy of this topic
There may be almost no doubt that the mass media were a few of the maximum powerful forces, having an awesome have an effect on on politics, society, and tradition. Beginning with the evolution of movies and radio inside the early decades of the 20th century and finishing with the dramatic upward thrust of the net inside the 2d half of the 1990s, the mass media have performed an effective role within the evolution of Western democracies. because the question of ways the media are prepared and how the real messages are transmitted stays, it's far relevant to don't forget the character of the medium with regards to message content, questions on that content material and the manner it's far produced in phrases of training, lifestyle, and politics. Likewise, in the book of 1984, there are quotes and manipulation being said around the society such as “War is Peace, Freedom is slavery, and Ignorance is strength” (Orwell. 30). Nowadays the words ‘communication’ and ‘media’ have regularly been prefixed with the word ‘masses. Those terms are used so frequently that they have become like acquainted objects that we take for granted. However, there are in fact no masses, however most effective methods of seeing human beings as masses. Certainly, society is impossible without communique and it is thru communication that socialization takes vicinity, accordingly creating a big opportunity for influencing the attitudes and behavior of others and of being influenced by ourselves. In our
The most powerful form of mass media that we enjoy in America is the television. What we see on our T.V.’s can have very deep and profound effects on our beliefs, our life-styles and our needs and behaviors.
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When a person thinks of the word “criminal” they will probably say it is a corrupt, unintelligent individual that has committed a horrible crime. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, the word “criminal” is defined as “any person involved in illegal activity”. They are often portrayed in novels and movies as horrible and sometimes even inhumane creatures, but being labeled as a criminal could mean the individual has done a crime that was ethically wrong also. Once a person is labeled as a criminal they often face an onslaught of unfair and sometimes unjust prejudice. In addition to being looked down upon, people tend to disregard the accused’s moral stature and their personal dignity. Long ago people thought criminals were awful beings, but today people have less of a harsh definition of criminals. In some ways people today idolize the way criminals act and what they do. The media portrays criminals to be a certain way and that allows society to somehow admire criminals more.
Television is a strong and influential tool. To first understand why television has a strong influence on its viewer’s, it is important to know some basic facts. According to Nielsen’s National Television Household Universe Estimates, there are 116.4 million TV homes in the U.S. prior to the start of the 2014-15 TV season. The number of persons age 2 and older in U.S. TV Households is estimated to be 296 million (Nielsen, 2014). This stat shows the enormous audience that TV and its messages
Americans are spending a substantial amount of time on media to the point that it outnumbers the hours spent on doing productive tasks. Kids and adolescents are now spending the same amount of hours on media as one would be working a full time job.
Media presents us with many types of negative messages. Mass media tells us how we should look and behave in society. Adds in the media sell more than product they are selling an image. Violence is persuasive and now a troubling aspect of the new world. Media shows us that women need to have the newest trends and ultra-thin bodies to be considered beautiful in society. It tells us that the most important thing is our image. Jean Kilbourne talks about how the image of woman has changed so much over the last twenty years. Woman’s bodies haven’t changed what changed is the ideal body. Media creates a climate where there is a wide spread of violence against woman. Ads don’t always directly promote violence but when they turn a human into an
Today is the world of technologies which keeps on introducing us with new innovations and advancements and one of these technologies which influenced our lives is mass media. Mass media is a means of communication that reach number of people in a short time. Mass media includes television, newspaper, magazine, radio and Internet (Nariman,2011) . It is a large pool of information from where every type of information can be extracted and is widening more and more. Mass media influences the society especially the younger generation and shape their opinions and decisions. The study of the impacts of mass media requires a great understanding.
It is no wonder, that mass media have a great impact on people minds. Contemporary author Jess C. Scott frankly wrote about it. She claimed, that “People are sheep. TV is the shepherd.” I agree with the opinion of this writer. Mass media influences on us and it is not always good for us and the people who are our surroundings. At the same time, mass media is not only the television. It can be different. Radio stations, video games, newspapers and magazines, Internet and social networks like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or Friendster are indicated as mass media too. And they also make a substantial contribution to the effect on us and our friends, relatives, colleagues. Generally
"Media Violence - American children and adolescents are exposed to increasing amounts of media violence, especially in television, movies, video games, and youth-oriented music. By 18, the average young person will have viewed 200,000 acts of violence on television" (http: //www.karisable.com/crssmv.htm)
The evolution of mass media has changed remarkably over decades. Media has been a tool utilized to broadcast information and give entertainment to a broad audience for relatively some time. In many ways, the use of television has helped construct the overall understanding of society. What we visualize on television ultimately replicates the “realities of life”. The messages/images demonstrated on the air depict underlying customs sought out by society that are most reputable to the viewers. However, with such a powerful tool comes offsetting material that may be exposed to the public; ultimately causing the manipulation of the people’s attitudes and opinions. The false or lack of representations demonstrated on the air has caused a negative outlook on certain genders or races overt time. Today, there continues to be a set standard in which most individuals are accustomed to view. Therefore, in the remaining of the paper, I will examine each decade from the 1950’s until the 2000’s and the depiction of gender roles in the media.