Preview

Mass Media Essay

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2220 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Mass Media Essay
Mass Media’s Influence on Americas’ Youth Does mass media influence children and teenagers more than their friends and family? That’s the question mainstream America is asking. America’s youth today is faced with an issue that adolescents in past decades never experienced. Young people today are flooded with media such as television, music, movies, magazines, newspapers, internet, and more. Media is overly accessible and virtually impossible to hide from in a world now dependent on it. The main concern that always comes up in the discussion of mass media is its many negative impacts on children and teens in American society. Mass media is a dominant force in the United States and across the world that shapes and molds young people in a variety of ways, creating ideas and theories that hold huge influence in the perceptions and actions of these adolescents. Many times these perceptions and ideals shown through mass media are very harmful to the development of children and teenagers in the United States. Mass media in the United States lacks government intervention and regulation. One of the reasons that there may not be strict enough rules for mass media could be that most broadcast companies in the United States are privately owned. These private companies receive no government funding. For example, public radio and public television are funded and controlled by government. Therefore, the government holds little leverage in telling these corporations what to do. Mass media’s effect in regards to violent behavior shows why the government regulation of mass media needs to be stricter than they currently are. The watching of violence is a very popular form of entertainment in mainstream America. A crowd of pedestrians enjoy a street fight just as the Greek enjoyed watching Spartans battle in the arena. Boxing and Wrestling are one of the most popular spectator sports on television in the United States and around the world. Violence is the most frequently


Cited: Werner-Wilson, Ronald Jay, Jennifer Lynn Fitzharris, and Kathleen M. Morrissey. “Adolescent and Parent Perceptions of Media Influence on Adolescent Sexuality.” Adolescence 39.154 (2004). Wayne State University. 12 Aug. 2011 CNN on the Web. 14 August 2011. <http://articles.cnn.com/2008-05-08/tech/gta.sales_1_ea- sales-grand-theft-auto-iv?_s=PM:TECH>. NIH on the Web. 14 August 2011 <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/smokingandyouth.html>. NIMH on the Web. 14 August 2011 <http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/eating- disorders/complete-index.shtml>. FORBES on the Web. 14 August 2011 <http://www.forbes.com/2001/05/25/0524porn.html>. Web. August 14 <http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/media/Mag_and_Prev_ARPH_April_2005.p df>.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Mean World
    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Mean World

    Everyone is influenced and shaped by society. Society affects our perceptions, our consciousness, and our actions. A majority of the influence, especially on the younger demographic comes through the media; specifically through television. It is important to examine how violence in the media develops a pervasive cultural environment that cultivates a heightened state of insecurity, exaggerated perceptions of risk and danger, and a fear-driven propensity for hard-line political solutions to social problems. The purpose of this essay is to evaluate the impact of television and media violence, as well as the human cost of violent media, and the overall effects on society from watching TV.…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    David Phillips Prize Fight Experiment
    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages

    David Phillips Prize Fight Experiment

    The amount of homicides and violence is steadily increasing. The media plays a large role in what information is shared with us and how information is shared with us. Without the media, we probably would not know half the things going on in the world. The media is the main means of mass communication. The media can have both positive and negative influences on people. This paper will discuss examples of what can happen when media broadcasts violence. This paper will compare and contrast David Phillips Prize fight experiment as well as Todd Millers reanalysis of Phillips experiment. Also, being compared is Martins experiment on aggression in classrooms and Elson’s review on experiments researching media and violence.…

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hum/114 University of Phoenix Material
    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hum/114 University of Phoenix Material

    The role of media violence in violent crime has been exaggerated is very much an issue Media violence has become a scapegoat, onto which we lay blame for a host of social problems. Sociologist Todd Gatling describes how "the indiscriminate fear of television in particular displaces justifiable fears of actual dangers—dangers of which television ... provides some disturbing glimpses." Concerns about media and violence rest on several flawed, yet taken-for-granted assumptions about both media and violence. These beliefs appear to be obvious in emotional arguments about "protecting" children. So while these are not the only problems with blaming media, this [viewpoint] will address four central assumptions: (Mass Media, 2010).…

    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gabriel Vara
    • 418 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Gabriel Vara

    Mike Males, in “Stop Blaming Kids and TV,” inscribes government officials have blamed today’s media on the acts of kids and young adults, how the impact of violence, drug, and alcohol abuse can ruin children’s lives. Parents need to notice that their own behavior has a major influence on their children’s lives and futures. He makes strong statements that the media does not influence adolescent violence, drug, and alcohol abuse. He supports his opinion with many examples including the comparison of television violence and real actual violence. Males notes, “Kids will witness at least 200,000 acts of television violence by the time her or she are completing high school.”…

    • 418 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Censorship of Violence in Popular Entertainment is Unjustifiedt
    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Censorship of Violence in Popular Entertainment is Unjustifiedt

    In Roberts Peters’ article “Censorship of Violence in Popular Entertainment Is Justified”, he writes about his personal concerns and his personal solutions to combat obscenity and uphold decency standards in the media. He believes that due to the many graphic and violent depictions in TV, films, music/RAP, video and computer games, the children in present society are easily influenced into acting out the media violence and turning it into real life violence. He believes that there are four main problems with media violence. The first problem is that is too much of it. The glut of media violence desensitizes viewers and contributes to the “mean world syndrome.” A second problem with media violence is that it can be easily imitated. He believes that the characters being depicted in the media are mostly glorified, youth characters who are troublemakers and engaged in behavior kids can readily imitate. A third in media violence is the manner in which it is depicted. He believes that the media does not show the purpose of the horror of violence, but rather the media portrays it as an exciting, pleasurable and effective way to handle problems. The fourth problem with media violence is Hollywood’s infatuation with guns, in which I quote, “Why should we be surprised to discover that kids want a gun? If Hollywood stopped glorifying possession and use of handguns, there would be fewer crimes committed by youth with handguns.” Peters wants us to know that whatever minor flaws there may be in enforcement of gun laws permitting crazy people to buy them, the real problem is that our media is saturated with violence. Although Peters’ tries to make valid points about the corruption of youth through media violence, he misses many opportunities to use prime examples as if he hasn’t done much research into the subject himself. I believe that his arguments are ineffective due to his lack of statistical evidence, such as crime rates statistics, to support his statements.…

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Do violent media desensitize children
    • 973 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Do violent media desensitize children

    In my opinion media shouldn't be held responsible for corrupting the society because there are many other factors which contribute to the corruption of younger kids in a society. Television, Music and video games are held responsible all the time when something goes wrong in a society regarding the kids. Factors like personal issues and lack of understanding and also the miscommunications between kids and the adults are other reasons which add up to the reasons for the "desensitization" of younger audiences. Regardless, media does have a negative impact on the society, especially the children`s, due to the popularity of media that is presented and promoted in our everyday life's. It allows younger viewers to believe that the media is more genuine than actual reality, therefore creating aggressiveness and attitude changes in youngsters, creating major impacts on the future of the society.…

    • 973 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    What's Love Got To Do With It Analysis
    • 3069 Words
    • 13 Pages

    What's Love Got To Do With It Analysis

    Strasburger, Victor C., and Edward Donnerstein. "Children, Adolescents, and the Media: Issues and Solutions." Pediatrics 103.1 (1999): 129-39. Web. 15 Nov.…

    • 3069 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Bobo Doll Experiment
    • 1326 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Bobo Doll Experiment

    In this century, the mass media have come to rival with parents, school, and religion as the most influential institution in individual 's lives. There has always been contemplation on whether media is the spark that ignites violence in individuals. Depictions of violence often glamorize vicious behavior. They offend the society and feel less able to respond to others in a sensitive, caring way. This essay will analyze the effects of violent media on the minds of individuals. While it focuses on media vastly, other contributing factors like emotional processing factors or exposure to violence might be reasons too.…

    • 1326 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    Values Portrayed in Popular Media
    • 2201 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Values Portrayed in Popular Media

    The mass media plays a key role in today’s society. From the young to the old, most everyone relies upon some form of popular media for entertainment, information, communication and education. Additionally, a large part of our beliefs, values and knowledge are gained through some type of popular media. The numerous sources of media in use today make it close to impossible to avoid being exposed to its content. Whether it be newspapers, television, radio, magazines, video games, Internet or one of the many other sources, there is no doubt that the media is everywhere. Furthermore, when something is everywhere, it is certain to have influential effects. If these conditions are accepted as true, then, concluding that the popular media must have influential effects on society, must also be accepted as true. Indeed, society is greatly influenced by the media, specifically, by the values that are being portrayed. Moreover, children/adolescent teens (youth), ages 8 – 17, are the group in society most significantly influenced by media content. It is in this age range that finding individuality and a sense of belonging, or fitting in, is of utmost importance. A youth’s development is effected by what they see and hear, as well as, peer pressure. From eating disorders, behavior issues and self-doubt to teen pregnancy (sex), drugs, alcohol, smoking, and even death, the media’s portrayal of values through TV, magazines, music, and video games can have potentially devastating effects, both physically and mentally on a child. Even though the media can be a positive influence on society, for instance, by keeping society informed in a crisis situation, such as natural disasters, action needs to be taken to protect our youth by reducing the negative influences resulting from immoral and unethical media content.…

    • 2201 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Stereotypes Of Mental Poverty
    • 1593 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Stereotypes Of Mental Poverty

    It competes with families, friends, schools and communities in its ability to shape young teens' interests, attitudes and values. The mass media infiltrates their lives. Most young adolescents watch TV and movies, surf the Internet, exchange e-mails, listen to CDs and to radio stations that target them with music and commercials and read articles and ads in teen magazines. “ The youth are constantly bombarded with the media's messages and they don’t know how to take it in. “The problem is that young adolescents often don't--or can't--distinguish between what's good in the media and what's bad. Some spend hours in front of the TV or plugged into earphones, passively taking in what they see and hear--violence, sex, profanities, gender, stereotyping and storylines and characters that are unrealistic. We know from research such as that conducted by George Comstock and Erica Sherrar that seeing too much TV violence appears to increase aggressive behavior in children and that regular viewing of violence makes violence less shocking and more…

    • 1593 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Television, the Desensitizer
    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Television, the Desensitizer

    We do not have to watch television for very long to realize that violence is a common theme on a variety of shows. It can be found almost everywhere, including daytime talk shows and so-called sports entertainment programs. These programs may be defined as entertainment but they do more harm than good when we consider the effects that watching violent programming has on viewers. When we observe how these programs can influence behavior, especially among younger viewers, we should seriously consider setting standards for violence on television.…

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Jacoby vs Rhodes
    • 1487 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Jacoby vs Rhodes

    There has been disagreement with Jacoby’s argument since some believe the media isn’t responsible for violence at all. In his essay, “Hollow Claims about Violence,” Richard Rhodes argues that society isn’t really desensitized to violence and that all those claims are wrong. Rhodes addresses the reasons why these claims are false and why society shouldn’t listen to them. According to Rhodes, there is no direct link between exposure to violence in the media and violent behavior performed by people. Rhodes provides data from experiments and factual evidence that contain numbers and rates about homicides and violence in all parts of the world for all ages of society. Richard Rhodes concludes his argument with the fact that violence is actually declining in America, implying that Jacoby’s claim is wrong. Although Jacoby presents a valid argument, Rhodes does a better job in convincing the reader that Jacoby’s analysis is wrong through his effective use of factual evidence, recognizing flaws in opposing evidence, and use of a formal writing style.…

    • 1487 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Media Essay
    • 897 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Media Essay

    Disney has impacted the lives of children for more than three decades now, and has been influencing the way they think even at a young age. It supports and actually created the idea of how different gender, race or age group should be treated. Unintentionally, we pick up morals from Disney of how to deal with certain gender groups. In addition, Disney has put women into different stereotypes that the representation of women and femininity is narrow in the media. Images of women did not change, women are still differently stereotyped and the different representations of the characters inside Disney leads to the narrow representation of women in the media.…

    • 897 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Media Essay
    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Media Essay

    Every advertisement delivers a message, whether to persuade you or to inform you. For my example advertisement, I will be using Proactive. With proactive they use so many ways to persuade their target audience to buy their product. The target audience is young people (between the ages of 16-36) who have bad acne. By using different propaganda techniques, proactive always ends up making a sale. The overall message that this company is trying to push across to their audience is “once you buy our product you will live a happier and stress-free life while using proactive”.…

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Media Essay
    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Media Essay

    After spending a couple of days monitoring how much I actually use media I realized how much I would go crazy if I didn’t have it in my life. I knew before writing this essay that I was going to print out a few pages of the form used to track my media usage. I used media for keeping in touch with friends, listening to the radio, to do my work, download media content, and to do search my news online and do my class work.…

    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics