Mass Media Influence On American Culture

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, television quickly emerged into a popular and greatly desired entertainment system in America. Although expensive, the television was still found in over fifty million American homes. Socially, the television not only embellished what the time period believed to be the “ideal” family, but the new technology also helped pull women closer to a world vacant of sexism and stereotypes, while also drawing African Americans closer to a society without racism, segregation, and prejudice. As well as social benefits, the television substantially impacted the world of politics by airing the platforms of political candidates and broadcasting important news concerning America. Additionally, the fields of advertising and

The advent of television also caused a great impact in the American society that brought huge changes in the economy. American families during the 1950s started to replace radios, newspapers, and magazines as the leading media entertainment with televisions. They became common for families to unite and watch TV shows at noon. “Television as a product itself influenced the economy, creating what quickly became an essential household item. By 1957, over 40 million TVs were in American households”. Fundamentally, television altered how Americans utilize their free time, but economically there was even a major impact. Businesses around the country started to use the TV for advertising and marketing to sell their products easier. TV commercials

Mass media has experienced many major developments over the past hundred years. As the manner in which media is communicated to the world evolves a definite shift to American culture has occurred in the process. Mass media has undergone numerous changes in the way it is distributed to the general public, going from newspapers, to radio, to television, and now to the World Wide Web. American culture is so ingrained in technology, that distributing mass media in this format seems like a natural step in the evolutionary process of distribution.

     What role does television play in society? For decades we have seen many parts of our world rapidly going through changes in technology. Today’s society has been transformed by means of communication and the available information through mass media. Most Americans rely on television for news, sports, and entertainment. Television is just one of the many examples of how technology has changed our lives. Since the invention of the television in the early 1900’s, it has played a very important role in our lives. Having a television set in the home has become very essential in today’s society. We depend on it to entertain us with its sitcoms and to inform us about current world issues. The

The first commercial to ever air in America was a 10 second ad for Bulova clocks and watches. This commercial cost nine dollars. Today, a typical commercial costs around two hundred dollars to a thousand dollars (Luckin). Both society and television have drastically changed from when television was first invented to today. Few inventions have had as big of an impact on American society as the television has. The invention of television has impacted American society positively, because it helps spread information faster and influences the way people think about important social issues, it provides cultural experiences and can help broaden viewer 's perspectives, and it entertains and brings communities together.

In chapter one, Wattenberg discusses the declining trends of Americans who regularly read newspapers between the 1960’s and present day. This can be attributed the aging patterns among generations who frequently read newspapers as well as with the use of technology rising. Reading the newspaper is a habit that either is or is not developed by the time one reaches voting age. With this, newspapers have become an older generation’s primary source of information, however, are still the best source for political matters. Younger generations tend to be more computer literate and have grown up with television and media more accessible to them than the previous generation. These trends not only reflect in American culture, but in other countries

Mass media is communication that reaches a large audience. This includes television, advertisement, the Internet, newspapers, and so on. Mass media is a significant effect in modern culture in America. It creates ideas and sustained within society not only send ideological messages out to the public but to advertise this ideas which are tend to manipulate our mantalities.

In the articles "The Box That Changed America" and "Television Transformed," the author elaborates on how the television has impacted American culture over time. One article directly gives information on how the TV impacts American children, and Americans. "The Box That Changed America" states that "Kids weren't playing outside as often. Commercials for cigarettes and junk food encouraged bad habits" (Tarshis 21). This shows that American's were becoming more attached to their televisions, leaving less time for other things, such as reading. It also shows that commercials could lead people into doing such things they wouldn't do normally. In the other article, the author writes about how new technology changes how Americans watch TV, and

Television has had large impacts on American society once it became widely available, which occurred during the 1950s. Most American households owned a television. The creation of news outlets on television led to the American public to be exposed much that they wouldn’t ever have been exposed to without. There were no restrictions on the device yet for what they could or couldn’t show. Television would go on to create the largest impacts on American society, impacts that even continue today. Commercials became commonplace for the public, Civil rights would gain tons of support, and television would be one of the leading causes that attributed to the United States loss of the Vietnam War.

The new era of technology led to major developments in the evolution of mass media, worldwide. In our society, we originally communicated orally before the Internet and wireless devices existed. Individuals relied on traditional forms of mass media, such as the television, radio, newspapers, and magazines, to attain knowledge of the outside world. Thereafter, the development of new forms mass media evolved, and we were introduced to the Internet and other wireless communication devices such as IPads and tablets, smart phones and social media sites. Regardless of the rise and fall in popularity of certain forms of mass media, the evolution of mass media influenced the American culture greatly.

This article discusses how media influence is also used in other media outlets such as Tumblr and Twitter. Usually media bias is viewed in the context of newspapers and news programs, but now politics are now being incorporated in Tumblr to influence voters. President Obama is using media outlets such as Tumblr in order to appeal to a certain age demographic and influence young voters by “playing to his audience’s preferences.” The president is not the only one to start using these tactics; many foreign governments are starting to incorporate them as well because social media is such a powerful tool.

In today’s society, media is present in our lives 24/7 allowing it to have a major influence on our culture in both positive and negative ways.

Having control over an entire country’s population’s opinion is a powerful thing to have. Possessing that control would allow you to direct how the population spends their money or even who they like and dislike in politics. The mainstream media news outlets have this control and are expected to give us information that is unbiased, fair, and not meant to sway our opinion. The topic I will be exploring is bias in the mainstream news media and how it effects their viewers. This is an important topic in the field of communication because it has such a great impact on any country that uses mass media to disseminate information. The information can be given to the viewers with a certain twist to intentionally shape their view of an event, or it can be unintentionally bias just by the tone and manner they are reporting on the event. I am going to research how mass media news outlets influence the viewers opinion, and what goes in to picking the news stories covered. These are controversial topics to get into, but important to consider. They can have a very big impact on things like elections for a political office, support or dislike of a certain group, or can sway your opinion of who is the hero in a certain story. My sources will need to show specific examples of how the media is biased towards one opinion, what the effects are from this are, and who makes the determines the bias that is being displayed.

Back in the 1920s people had receive news and entertainment through the radio, which then in turn out-shined newspapers and magazines. Now day’s social media sites have become the most popular form to get the news and information. The biggest tool in the media that generates revenue by the millions every day, is advertising. The media has its way of showing us constructive information when it comes to news channels, travel and other educational shows. Kids benefit from watching these, since it can boost self-esteem, heighten interest levels in a particular subject, or encourage them to ask relevant questions.

Media is a huge part of people’s lives in today’s society. Through different forms of media people can now obtain vast amounts of information at the slightest touch of a finger. While it is convenient and comforting to have access to so much data, the question arises. How much of this information we receive shapes our lives? Mass media as an agent of socialization can prime and/or skew people’s belief system through mere exposure without the slightest clue of it affects. Mass media as an agent of socialization can structure people’s perception on society as a whole by simply using influence, control, and trust.