Media Influence On Sports Research Paper

Media has greatly evolved since starting, but has bad evolved with it? Print media, digital media, and now social media surround everybody today. Media surround us when we go to the store and see magazines, when we sit and home and watch TV, and especially when we go online. Over time, media has created its own idea of beauty. Medias influence on body image can’t be overlooked. Media and eating disorders have a cause and effect relationship. In Helens article, “Eating Disorders: A growing problem on college campuses”, she expresses that, “In today’s media-saturated world, young women are bombarded with one message: be thin” (Helen, 2014, Paragraph 9). Today media shows that to beautiful you have to be an unhealthy weight. If media doesn’t change its view of beautiful, then the rate of eating disorders triggered by media will go up. We need to figure out a way to help now.

This article’s purpose was to gain insight into the process of changing people’s views on female sports and athletes. It included an interview with ESPN and ESPNW jounralist, Kate Fagan, who expressed her opinion about the influence of sport media on social change in women’s sports.

The media must have some sort of effect on people and the portrayal of other women always resonated with me. I know that there are many people who claim that unrealistic appearances in things like magazines cause an increase in eating disorders and low self esteem. The constant strive for perfection has been evolving due to digital enhancements with programs such as Photoshop or others that assist with photo editing. It is really easy to make things appear completely changed from their natural looks. A lot of places are requiring acknowledgement of alterations via disclaimers on advertisements. This prompts a debate for who has to concede between what is considered artistic freedom and dangerous content. Technology also contributes to the amount of media exposure people have now through the Internet and social media. These are considered staples in the lives of many impressionable young people, so it could add pressure to accept a new normal.

Many people across the world are negatively affected by the media each day. Being exposed to the media, specifically body image, causes very damaging thoughts and actions to occur in a person’s life. Scientists and researchers tend to conclude that body images in the media and the exposure to those images causes a person’s mental and physical health to decline. To dig deeper into the conflict, people often question if mass media is the actual problem. Ultimately, scientists and researchers blame the media for the negative affects it has on people and the disaster it has created throughout time, while other people blame themselves for the negativity it has caused in their life. This controversial situation allows people to evaluate both sides of this argument and come to the realization that this specific situation is very crucial to know about in our lives.

It is without a doubt a prestigious certainty that in the present time, media has changed sports. Be that as it may, there was no TV, PCs and the same number of distributed papers before the 1950s as today. Back in those days, sports news was given less enthusiasm to than writing, magazines, silver screen, and so on. Indeed, even now, aside from normally regular TV and radio, there exists a wide assortment of media itself, similar to the web, PC amusements, digests, and so on.

In today’s world us humans are surrounded by the media which shapes our beliefs, behavior, and perspective. Within the media, there is a vast amount of gender roles, stereotypes, and sexualization that clout our views on what we think of eachother. Gender roles consist of what people are drawn to believe what is the correct way to speak, act, and dress. Gender roles within the media sway the way that people think, which should not happen because there is no true definition of what intelligence, beauty, or what normal behavior is. Gender roles create stereotypes, body images, suggest that women aren’t equal to men, and imply that people should act a certain way. Gender roles within the media have an immense impact of what information impacts and influences people and their thoughts.

We are witnessing an increase of violence and sexual nature on television that is increasingly influencing the minds of children and adults. Women are believed to only becoming a sexual object towards men and the more sex appeal you present yourself is how society will notice you. Men are also affected by these messages of how emotions are only for women and an aggressive attitude is what society wants from you. The media brainwashes us from unrealistic body sizes to actions that are considered “acceptable” to do in society. This makes it difficult for men and women to discover their true identity of how they want to present themselves towards a society where expectations are desired. I personally find it disappointing when I see young girls wearing skimpy clothing because that is how women are presented in the media. Another topic that McCluhan talks about technology doing more harm than good. Since many households owns television, computers, videogame consoles, and radios, our society is becoming more inactive and unhealthy. We are using technology as an alternative to do physical labor or activities. People would willingly using a vehicle to reach their destination or children would rather play videogames rather going outside to exercise. The medium has become more of a social effect that controls how the messages are being presented to

Females very rarely receive more coverage than males, despite their efforts and achievements being equivalent (Weter and Canni, 2013). This is evident in the sport sections of newspapers as well as other forms of mediated sport. Often only a minute portion, if any, of a newspaper page is utilised for the representation of female athletes. Media personnel attempt to permeate ideologies to wider society through the use of media texts, often legitimising the notion that sports are naturally an activity for males. This is achieved by displaying many images of physically powerful men (George et al, 2001: ) who depict the ideals and values of muscular Christianity. Boyle and Haynes, (2009:122), explain that due to biological differences between men and women that have been socially established, females are very rarely represented showing muscles and being physically powerful. George et al, (2001: ), explain that this organisation of society can be seen throughout history and has been prominent for many years. The Victorian legacy, as explained by Boyle and Haynes (2009:123), where by female physical ability, emotional state and limitations inflicted by society to participate in sport, can still be seen in modern society.

This source discusses how he influence of television sports media has an affect on young black viewers. The article seeks to prove how sports media builds a false idea in young black males minds of what careers are achievable for them and what are not. This source will be extremely helpful because it speaks specifically to how black males often see sports as one of the only realistic careers for them. This source can be directly related to Smash Williams because in “Friday Night Lights” Williams is banking on his athletic ability to get him and his family out of low income living.

In the paper the reader will go through the personal relationship between culture and socialization as it relates to sports. Much of my sports career was in cross country and track. The culture I grew up in allowed me the ability to get out and enjoy the elements and the desire to be active. Sport socialization holds heavy impact and greatly influences the behaviors and actions one makes as an athlete. This paper critiques my past approaches to socialization from a cultural perspective, and demonstrates an interactionist approach to the process.

Although popular sports such as football, baseball, and soccer typically attract the rowdiest, most hyperactive crowds, gymnastics and dance tend to be overlooked. Dancing requires an abundance of time, commitment, and vitality, similar to the demands of the public’s accepted sports. Often times, dancers do not receive the same appreciation as other athletes. The media neglects dance, broadcasting professional football and baseball games weekly, yet rarely airing any remotely dance-related

Despite the prevalence of the gender binary in our everyday lives, it is reinforced even further by the sports media that acts as a strong social influence. Additionally, sports media depicts gender inequality by creating a discriminatory system that favors men’s sports and regards women’s sports as a “second rate investment.” Lack of funding and lack of coverage have seemingly created a self-fulfilling prophecy for the future of women’s sports. Quantitative evidence from research completed by the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles includes a six-week analysis where 264 minutes of sports coverage contained a mere 12 minutes worth of women’s sports coverage as opposed to the 244 minutes of men’s broadcast. Furthermore, the women’s sports coverage tended to be during the ending of the broadcast and female athletes received the lead coverage twice as opposed to the 40 times a male athlete was displayed. (Duncan, Messner, Williams, Jensen) This data, although surprising, is not shocking. The lack of exposure is a product of the relationship between viewer ratings and TV network investment. Men’s sports traditionally generate the majority of revenue and garner the higher ratings among sports media thus making it more likely for sponsors and investment into men’s sports coverage. The large impact of men’s sports is directly correlated with the higher production qualities and exorbitant media coverage. In addition, television networks will tend to cater towards men’s sports

The change and the transformation that the media has had on sports is a change of several positive and negative impacts. Media in the 21st century is one of the leading aspects of the massive growth and development of sports. The enormous transformation of the media from the printed word to the internet and the television of nowadays led to the result of the dramatically increased consumption and exposure to the media products including in the sports area. The relationship that developed between the media and the sport has led to lots of positive and negative impacts on the sports area through the years and especially in the recent years.

Magazines and television are often held responsible for the creation of unhealthy body image due to the portrayal of unrealistic images that cause people to feel uncomfortable toward their bodies and lose confidence in themselves. The introduction of laws regarding conventional media have been put in place in various countries around the world to minimise the effects media has on people and there perception of their bodies. However, such laws may not be able to eradicate body image issues due to the fact that the twenty-first century revolves around all forms of conventional and unconventional media. The media is held accountable for the creation of health concerns such as eating disorders and mental illnesses because of the unrealistic images

Athletics and sports have influenced me in many ways over the years. They have taught me different leadership skills and how to function on a team. These skills will help me in the future, whether it is in my career or working with other people on projects.