The Effects Of Media And Technology On Our Lives

The perception of African Americans in America will stay the same. The perception of African Americans is that we always play the race card and we always act as the victim in any situation. In most situations the outcome or conclusion can be perceived in many ways, African Americans are never giving the benefit of the doubt. The Opportunity Agenda conducted three studies to gain knowledge on the perception of African Americans in society. One of the best-documented themes in the research is that the overall representation of African American men and boys in the media is a distortion of reality in a variety of ways. The perception is that we are all criminals, live in poverty and do not try to succeed in life besides playing sports or having musical career. The positive images and attributes with which African American males are associated tend to be

By stating such, hooks implies the dissatisfaction that many black males have and thus establishes the ubiquitous discontent and tension evident in black-white relationships. As black males realize their disadvantage in their racially-segregated society, they do not see the need to co-operate amongst others. With this strong statement, hooks implicitly states that their incoherence with mainstream society is a form of public disobedience to express their discontentment with the societal dynamics. Thus, they start to act on their own self-interests, thereby ignoring norms, rules, and ultimately, the law. She asserts that the notion of patriarchal manhood is ultimately stimulated by the “lust for easy money” (186). hooks highlights the popularity of gangsta culture in the media, where money is superiority, and how delinquents ultimately surpasses the law-abiding citizens. Black males are clearly marginalized in the “racist white tyranny in the work world” (hooks 186), hence their dependency on “street” jobs. Thus, it is rational for them to want to achieve greatness to prove that they do not need to incorporate or submit to the exploitative and degrading mainstream work field. By craving money, not necessarily is their money “easy money” (hooks 186), but rather just a representation of success that they desire. Black males believe that wealth is not a privilege, but a right; they do not wish to “delay gratification” (hooks 187). Further elaborating on wealth, hooks

This article climbs into the struggle of young black males. Many issues that are recurring such as early school dropout, delinquency, poverty, unemployment, incarceration, fatherless, and they don’t have much of a chance to lead a successful life. Most black males are set up to fail at this rate and all this leads to a need to develop interventions to save those lost lives of the young black communities.

We live in a media saturated environment where everything we know and what we consider to be important is often based on stories produced and displayed to us by the media, Brooks and Hebert (2006). Much of what we know and care about is based on the images, symbols and narratives in radio, television, film, music and other media systems. How individuals construct their social identities, how they come to understand what it means to be male, female, Black, White, Asian, Latino and Native America is shaped by commoditised texts produced by media for audiences that are increasingly segmented by the social construction of race. In short the media are central to what ultimately come to present our social realities. For example for many Whites and people from other races and ethnicities the media’s portrayal of young black men is the primary bias for their knowledge and reaction. With a few notable examples in politics, most media present young black men as figures to be admired for their athleticism, artistic, entertainment talent or feared for their criminality. However this essay will focus on the way young black men are portrayed in news.

Looking at these statistics it is easy to recognize the many hardships African American males have to endure and it also depicts the portrait of Black male underachievement at various points in their lives. “There is no shortage of empirical evidence to highlight the difficulties African American males encounter, including the realm of education and the consequences associated with being undereducated (McGee, 2013).

The institutionalized social imagery of the Black community is not a positive one. Holistically, “mental pictures, stereotypes, and fake histories,” have created, “...social domination, economic exploitation, and political disenfranchisement,” of racialized groups-shaping their norms into hardships that displace the victims further away from self-actualization and upward social mobility. A tremendous amount of Black males are not meeting their academic potential or cultural dispositions because of the social imagery behind the Black male archetype. The preconceived perceptions prohibit Blacks from partaking in sufficient schooling, further hindering their success rate of competing in an ‘increasingly global market.’ Without this involvement, exclusion from the American social, economical, and political mainstream occur.

In today’s society, the state of mind that African American males is constructed upon is troubling. It is not a frame of mind that develops overnight, it starts developing at a young age and manifests into adulthood. Many of these African American males that have developed this mentality “were abused as children, dropped out of school, lived in poverty, abused drugs, and served in many juvenile jails and prison sentences (Austin & Irwin, 2012).” Unfortunately, the environmental factors have dictated the lives of young black men instead of using it as a source of empowerment like women. They rather life the “ fast life” that involves them joining in gangs, selling illegal narcotics, and engaging in various types of property crimes just to

According to Marian Wright Edelman, “Education is a precondition to survival in America Today. Unfortunately, a good quality education that will ensure a successful and economically stable future for our children today is not available to all children, especially young Black males. According to Jenkins (2006) in the needs assessment for African American Men of Arizona State University (AAMASU) program, the university noted that Black males experience a high level of underachievement in the higher education arena, over involvement in the criminal system, and high rates of unemployment, poverty, and dying via homicide (Arizona State University, 2004). All too often African American males have been caught in a web of stereotyped notions of race and gender that place them at considerable disadvantages in schools and ultimately society (Howard, 2008). According to Hooks (2004) more than any other group of men in our society black males are perceived as lacking intellectual skills. The 1900 census reports that 57% of black males were illiterate. Now as we move onward in the twenty-first century, black males make up a huge percentage of those who are illiterate (Hooks, 2004). Society will looks at our young black men and label them as lazy, uneducated, underachievers, and highly involved in the criminal justice system, however at the same time, it overlooks how they got there. According to Jenkins (2006) this has not always been the case. Prior to the segregation of schools, young

It has a great influence on our actions, opinions, and perceptions of certain groups of people. However, the media does not always represent groups of people accurately. Historically, African Americans have been inferior to whites during the slavery era, according to Rome (2006), the early belief of African Americans slaves is an important concept to understand the most recent stereotypes because it shapes the ways in which African Americans are perceived. I believe that the media are a big problem when it comes to portraying black male. Also, the negative stereotypes might have major impacts on black men in society. For example, in some interviews they are seen as “unqualified” and when they are seen on the streets, they are seen as “dangerous” or “criminals.” Some media outlets such as Daily Mail, explain how some studies found that black men as dangerous, violent, aggressive, and uneducated (Gray, 2016). The distorted portrayal of blacks in the media creates attitudes and understanding among the audiences, such as amplifying the views related to crime and violence. Unfortunately, the stereotypes shape our perspective by profiling criminals as young black males. The chapter enhanced my understanding of how African Americans are being represented in the media; therefore, giving me a better viewpoint on how someone’s race is still playing a factor in crime.

African American men have been disproportionately displayed with prejudice public perceptions in television media dating all the way back to the early 1900’s. Racial pejoratives, stereotypes and bigotry are just a few adjectives to describe what television has infused with the image of African American men. “These preconceived stereotypes are related to a number of political and social issues such as historical events (civil rights), economic status (citizens on welfare vs. citizens not on welfare), educational levels (academic achievements, people with or without college and graduate degrees), employment (unemployment rate), etc. (Dubriel, 2006)”. With using quantitative and qualitative methods to find correlation in the numerous impacts made

For the black man, the average walk down the street is a game of chance. Will his tall and dark figure spark controversy? Will people see him and immediately move in the opposite direction? Will women clutch their purses the same as officers clutching their hoisters because this black man is immediately seen as a threat before he’s seen as human? The black male teenager has been demonized in today’s society; media outlets, such as news stations, TV, and movies, constantly paint black men as violent, dangerous thugs.1

The article “Television, Black Americans, and the American Dream” explained how Black Americans have been represented in the media and television. The media has shifted our understanding of racial inequality away from a structured process. This makes it seem as though racial inequality is “natural and universal rather than as result of social and political struggles over power” (Gray, p. 431). This is illustrated in the CBS News documentary The Vanishing Family: Crisis in Black America by following the lives of underclass, single parents. It highlights drugs, riots, and teenage pregnancy to show that

Individuals generally like to be praised for their success and efforts and bask in the approval they receive from their peers, but when they fail why is it that many cast the blame to society and not take into account their own actions. Many believe that we as individuals control their own destiny and thus they must accept that it is up to them to succeed whether or not the world as the know it is against them. Orlando Patterson’s A Poverty of The Mind examines the plight of African-American male youth. His views that African American males were subject what he calls a” deep seated dogma” which has been derived from bigoted studies throughout history. Patterson is extremely accurate when he notes that on how inaccurate these studies have proven, namely statistics based on the socioeconomic status of these individuals as he draws parallels to other nations with similar poverty statistics but different outcomes. He then begins to imply that society is at fault for categorizing black youth and not doing everything in their

Like many people my age, media is a huge part of my daily life and is prevalent in all my memories. Media such as photography brings to life memories I otherwise would have forgotten, while the internet allows me to connect with others from across the world and gives me access to resources like Khan Academy to aid me in school. Media also has more negative impacts, such as interfering with family time. Whether its effect is positive or negative, media has influenced my life since the start and this reflection helped me realize that.

Technology occurred before the human kind and it has improved people’s lives positively and negatively. The influence of technology is really great that it has absolutely changed our lifestyle. Computers, the Internet, Gadgets all these things have transformed our working system completely and our productivity has increased unbelievably. As everyone knows with every positive that have to be a negative, technology is really great, but it also has a huge affected every part of family life. We are spending more time indoors than we are outside. The time we spent on the computer, watching TV, and other electronics drive is about 8 hours a day. During this time, we are usually spent alone and not with the rest of the family. With all the electronics drive, we currently have, we don 't need to get out of the house anymore, you can do everything from the luxury of your home. Almost everything revolves around technology now. Don’t get me wrong, I love computer and all the technology we have now, with every new invention coming out I have them all, Apple Watch, iPhone7 Plus, iPad, new Apple TV, and new headphone, most of my product is around Apple because I love the company they produce a good product, good design, and it last for a long time. On June 29, 2007, about 9 years ago, when the first generation of the iPhone came out, people will wait outside the stores to buy it. The estimated sales of this first generation iPhone were around 250,000 and 700,000 units in the first weekend