Mass-Media-Influence

TypesofMedia:PrintMedia:Theprintmediaincludesnewspapers,magazines,brochures,newsletters,booksandevenleafletsandpamphlets.ElectronicMedia:Formanypeople,itisimpossibletoimaginealifewithouttheirtelevisionsets,beitthedailynewsdoseoreventhesoapoperas.Thismassmediaincludestelevisionandradio.Thiscategoryalsoincludeselectronicmedialikemovies.New-ageMedia:WiththeadventofnewtechnologieslikeInternet,wearenowenjoyingthebenefitsofhightechnologymassmedia,whichisnotonlyfasterthantheold-schoolmassmedia,butalsohasawidespreadrange.Mobilephones,computersandInternetareoftenreferredtoasthenew-agemedia.Internethasopenedupseveralnewopportunitiesformasscommunicationwhichincludeemail,websites,blogging,Internettvandmanyothermassmediawhichareboomingtoday.MassMediaInfluenceInthelast50yearsthemediainfluencehasgrownexponentiallywiththeadvanceoftechnology,firsttherewasthetelegraph,thentheradio,thenewspaper,magazines,televisionandnowtheinternet.Weliveinasocietythatdependsoninformationandcommunicationtokeepmovingintherightdirectionanddoourdailyactivitieslikework,entertainment,healthcare,education,personalrelationships,travelingandanythingelsethatwehavetodo.Acommonpersoninthecityusuallywakesupchecksthetvnewsornewspaper,goestowork,makesafewphonecalls,eatswiththeirfamilywhenpossibleandmakeshisdecisionsbasedontheinformationthathehaseitherfromtheircoworkers,news,tv,friends,family,financialreports,etc.Whatweneedtobeawareisthatmostofourdecisions,beliefsandvaluesarebasedonwhatweknowforafact,ourassumptionsandourownexperience.Inourworkweusuallyknowwhatwehavetodobasedonourexperienceandstudies,howeveronourdailyliveswerelyonthemediatogetthecurrentnewsandfactsaboutwhatisimportantandwhatweshouldbeawareof.Wehaveputourtrustonthemediaasanauthoritytogiveusnews,entertainmentandeducation.However,theinfluenceofmassmediaonourkids,teenagersandsocietyissobigthatweshouldknowhowitreallyworks.HowmassMediaInfluenceworksOfallthemediadistributionchannelsthemostinfluentialhasbeenthetelevision,weareconstantlyexposedtothousandsofimagesofviolence,advertising,sex,celebritiesandmuchmore,infactaitsknownthatachildisexposedtoabout40,000adsayear.Butwhoownsthemedia,whicharethecompaniesorpeoplethatshapeourvalues,beliefsanddecisions?Themediaisbasicallydominatedbyfivemajorcompaniestheyare:TimeWarnerVIACOMVivendiUniversalWaltDisneyNewsCorpThose5companiesown95%ofallthemediathatwegeteveryday.Theyownthemajorentertainmentthemeparks,entertainmentmoviestudios,televisionandradiobroadcastnetworksandprograming,videonewsandsportsentertainment.Theyalsoownintegratedtelecommunications,wirelessphones,videogamessoftwares,electronicmedia,themusicindustryandmore.Yearsagotherewasmorediversityincompanies,buttheyhavemergedsonowtheyarejustafewandtheyhavethepowertoshapetheopinionandbeliefsofusandourkids.Soitsimportanttobeawareofwhatyourkidsareexposedtoeverydayandyoushouldalsotrytolookatthingsfromdifferentperspectivesandnotjustfromtheonethemediagivesyou.GodsofEntertainment:ThePowerofMassMediatoInfluenceHowdoesmassmediainfluenceyoungpeople?Themediamakesbillionsofdollarswiththeadvertisingtheysellandthatweareexposedto.Webuywhatwearetoldtobegood,afterseeingthousandsofadvertisingswemakeourbuyingdecisionsbasedonwhatwesawonTv,newspapersormagazinestobeaproductwecantrustandalsobasedonwhateveryoneelsethatweknowisbuyingandtheirdecisionarealsobasedonthemedia.Thesearetheeffectsofmassmediainteenagers,theybuywhattheyseeonTv,whattheirfavoritecelebrityadvertiseandwhatisacceptablebysocietybasedonthefashionthatthemediahasimposedthem.Therearesomepositiveandnegativeinfluencesinyoungpeople.Hereisapositiveinfluenceexample,ifthereisasportthatisgettingalotofattentionbythemediaandgainspopularityamongyourfriendsandsociety,youwillmorelikelywanttopracticethesportandbecoolwithallyourfriends.Theresultisthatyouwillhavefunwithyourfriendsandbemorehealthybecauseoftheexerciseyouraredoing.Howeveranegativeinfluenceinteenagersistheuseofcigarsbycelebritymoviestars,theconstantexposureofseximages,theexcessiveimagesofviolenceandexposuretothousandsofjunkfoodads.Youngpeopleareinastageoflifewheretheywanttobeacceptedbytheirpeers,theywanttobelovedandbesuccessful.Themediacreatestheidealimageofabeautifulmenandwomenandtellsyouwhatarethecharacteristicsofasuccessfulperson,youcanseeitinmoviesandtv.Itsasubliminalwaytotellyouthatifyouarenotlikethemyouarenotcoolyetsoitstimetobuythestufftheybuyandlookliketheylook.Anothernegativeinfluenceinteenagersthathasgrownoverthelastyearsareanorexiaandobesity.Therearemillionsofadolescentsfightingobesity,butatthesametimetheyareexposedtothousandsofadvertisementsofjunkfood,whiletheideasimageofasuccessfulpersonistoldtobethinandwealthy.Alsomorewomenareobsessivewithlosingweightevenwhentheyarenotobese,therearemanythinwomenthatwanttolooklikethesupermodelsandthincelebritiessotheyengageineatingdisorderswhichleadstoseverehealthissuesandevendeath.EffectsofviolenceintheMediaWhenwewatchTvoramovieweusuallyseemanyimagesofviolenceandpeoplehurtingothers.Theproblemwiththisisthatitcanbecometraumaticespeciallyinourchildrenasweseeitmoreandmore