The Importance Of Mass Media

Former SIS agent and novelist David Cornwell once said, “I suffer from the same frustration that every decent American suffers from. That is, that you begin to wonder whether decent liberal instincts, decent humanitarian instincts, can actually penetrate the right-wing voice, get through the steering of American opinion by the mass media.” In this weeks reading we read about the events happening after the cold war and beyond. These being subjects like the NATO expansion to internal reform. However in one section of the reading it talk about the events of the Somalia and Bosnian humanitarian effort and the shocking reality of America’s view on it. Being born in America, we have all have heard and influenced by the idea of America being a peace keeping and leading Humanitarian force in the world. Yet the history of America is anything but. With fights only

Mass media is one of the greatest tools of communication. Media is the source of mass communication which can be delivered through newspapers, radio, and television. Mass media is very important because it provides information for people around the world. Because of its importance, mass media is always changing day by day. The development of technology lead a change to digital media. Internet, for instance, has been most popular in recent years. It has provided people with a large source of information. As a result, printed media such as newspapers are left behind by the majority of readers. For example, readership for the New York Times has dropped by 50% (BBC. 2010). Newspaper readers have moved onto digital media because of several reasons. These reasons prove that paper newspapers are becoming obsolete.

The consciousness, beliefs and culture that individuals in society adhere to are largely influenced by the ever-growing mass media. As a matter of fact, Americans devote an average of twenty-eight hours to watching television per week (Mantsios, 2008). Furthermore, they put in an undetermined number of hours listening to the radio, going to the movies and reading periodicals (Mantsios, 2008). It is clear that the media has an overarching impact on society, yet American mass media have highly concentrated control and ownership compared to other social institutions (Mantsios, 2008). Over 20 corporations own a majority of all daily newspapers, magazines, radio, television and movie studios (Mantsios, 2008). What’s

| |You can email, text, Facebook, and even send fax from cell phones. The technology of cell |

Mass media affects large numbers of people within a society daily. Such as television, movies, internet, radios, newspapers, magazines and the list seriously goes on. In my perspective this topic is incredibly important because mass media is a source in which many different types of technologies are meant to reach large audiences through communications. It also plays a strong role in society and culture because it is the main channel in which people communicate with each other shaping opinions, beliefs, values, and attitudes. In my response to that; Are women or men more affected by mass media and in what way? Furthermore, I will utilize the functionalist theoretical approach because it portrays how the media can be positive, but can also bring negative effects within gender stereotypes.

Today’s society revolves around the media. It is in sync with the clicks of a keyboard and with the voices on the television. Every day individuals find it arduous to stroll down the street without hearing the latest presidential or local controversy. Most toon into the news every morning and night, like clockwork. Some cannot function without technology and media for extended periods of time. Over generations, the media has been shaped by the social environment of the time period. For example, the climate of 2017 has made audiences question the media. Nevertheless, even though it may be unreliable and dishonest, the media is still necessary for the intent of keeping the public informed and entertained.

In today’s society, worldwide communication is at the palm one’s hands. In just seconds, someone can send a message to someone halfway across the world with very little effort. The mass use of this “fast-as-light” communication can cause one to become so accustomed to it that they see it as the norm. Due to this exponential increase in technology, it is easy to forget about how message were communicated before there was any technology available to communicate with. Mass communication traces back all the way to a time before even written languages had been created. The root of all communication was storytelling. For people like the Ancient Greeks, though, storytelling was much more than just a form of communication. It was a form of art and entertainment. Some people’s job was solely to tell stories. Bards and minstrel were tasked with entertaining people, especially royalty and the elite, with stories from the past. However, entertainment does not express the true value of storytelling in Ancient Greece. The real reason storytelling was so prominent is those time was because it was a form of survival. Storytelling as a mode of survival is prominently seen in Homer’s work, The Odyssey. The main character, Odysseus, uses storytelling as a tactic to stay alive during his hero quest. In many situations throughout the work, his skill at telling stories prevents him from being killed and helps him get closer to returning to his home in Ithaca. Storytelling was crucial to

Media has changed dramatically over the years, technology has been a major reason for the progression and its influence on society. The concept of media is simple to get a message across to widespread of audiences by using print or communication. Over the last five decades technology has improved rapidly for the better use. Before the internet we had different stages in receiving news. There was the telegraph, radio, newspapers, television and now the internet. There are many reason why people need to be informed by media; it could be for entertainment, educational or news worthy. Since information comes in many forms it may be difficult to separate facts from nonfactual news. Newspapers, television and radio programs make stories available from across the globe so we are informed. This helps allow readers or viewers in Paris to access voices and videos from United States, Tokyo, or Mexico. Books and magazines also offer a more in-depth look at a wide range of subjects. Gutenberg’s invention of the movable printing press, books were painstakingly handwritten and no two copies were exactly the same. The printing press made the mass production of print media possible today. Not only was it much cheaper to produce written material, but the new technologies also made it easier for books to reach a wide audience. It’s hard to overstate the importance of Gutenberg’s invention, which helped usher in massive cultural movements in our society today.

Many teenagers and young adults, especially women, suffer from a negative body image or an eating disorder due to the deception of mass media. Unrealistic beauty and body standards can be the cause of low self-esteem, which in return can cause many harmful diseases/eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating, and obesity. Most of these medical problems occur in high schools and modeling agencies. Young females and males use social media to compare their life and body to the images they see online, many of which are filtered and edited, causing their followers to only see what they want them to see. Mass media has become an issue ever since smartphones and the internet have become more easily accessible. It is important because, so many health issues are occurring do to the mass media. Educating younger generations about the deception social media provides is important because we can raise awareness of the issues social media is causing.

The ringtone of my phone went on for five minutes without a moment’s respite. It was my alarm clock at 6:45 am. Although my mind was still in a fog when I finally got up, I turned on my iphone, and saw two friend requests on Facebook plus three new likes on Instagram. My everyday life routinely starts with me being exposed to mass media. Indeed, in the modern society, the mass media have been vested with such an enormous power that can impact multifarious aspects of our daily life.

Amber alert can caution millions to any serious activities of child-abduction. With a touch of a finger through smartphones, this alert system activates an urgent bulletin to galvanize the community for assistance and safety. Today, mass media has undergone a significant change in terms of how they reach out to the public. During the early 19th century, the dominant form of media was the printing press through newspapers, magazines, and books. Eventually, the late 19th century throughout the 20th century, broadcast media provided easier access for entertainment, political issues, and current events gathering families around the radio. Now, TV and the Internet are the most impactful type of informer as well as an efficient way to notify the users. Mass media emphasizes a positive influence onto to the society in terms of Public Service Announcements (PSA) and trends popularizing on Facebook, Twitter, and other types of social media.

Information is transmitted within a culture through mass media which plays an important role in society through different sociological perspectives. In the case of the functionalist view, providing entertainment is one of the top functions of mass media. In addition, functionalists say that the media can also act as an agent of socialization and an enforcer of social norms. Mass media can also tell people what society expects from them through incentives and punishments depending on a person’s behavior whether it is glorified or penalized and it serves as a promoter of consumer culture such as the heartbreaking film the Titanic.

To understand the issues of whether or not the media is biased or not, one must first understand the importance of the media in today’s society. Every broadcasting and narrowcasting medium is considered as media. This includes newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, billboards, and internet. The various forms of media are used to spread information. The media is so wide-ranged that a community group or organization can meticulously target almost any sector. Which allows the media to target almost any section of the public by looking closely at where it is directing its focus. The media is a crucial part of the average American’s life. The viewers/consumers are what drive the sources to release more stories, however they do not directly control

One of the functions of mass media is linkage. Mass media is able to join different elements of society that are not directly connected. For example, mass advertising attempts to link the needs of buyers with the products of sellers. Legislators may try to keep in touch with constituent’s feelings by reading their hometown papers. Voters learn about the doings of their elected officials through newspapers, TV, radio and websites. Another type of linkage occurs when geographically separated groups that share a common interest are linked by the media. The dating services such as Facebook, eBay online auction site enable people who want to buy or sell items link up. There is however hate sites on the internet that terrorist use to spread propaganda and recruit new members. For example, newspapers generate opinion; develop feeling for whatever happenings are reported. Advertising through mass media links together the needs of buyers with the products of sellers. It is also possible that media can create new social and professional groups by linking together the people of same interest. This function is also called ‘public making’ ability of the mass media. For example, people interested in geography, science, environment form a group and this phenomenon may account for the growth of some movement. In this way, media become a bridge between different groups who may or not may not direct connection.

According to Meltzoff and Moore (1977), heavy exposure to television is believed to be one of the causes of aggressive behavior, crime, and violence in the society. The potential of the mass media for social mobilization, education, and attitude change has been recognized and has been exploited in different parts of the world with varying degrees of success. But the effect that the mass media will produce at given situation still remains a subject of debate even today.