An Analysis of How Mass Media Affects the Youth
AN ANALYSIS OF HOW MASS MEDIA AFFECTS THE YOUTH
Imagine a world without media. Can limiting the amount of media in today 's society, decrease the affects it has on the young minds of today or not? Can their minds develop an intellectual way of thinking and behaving under a restricted amount of media? Being so, media everywhere has both negative and positive influence on the youth. This essay will discuss such influences of the media on the youth as well as how they can be addressed.
First, the mass media affect young people’s fashion sense. Simply take a glance at the way young people around you dress nowadays, it is probably something they have picked up over the internet or magazines. What they are wearing may look similar to what famous actors or singers have worn recently. When choosing what to wear, most of young people have a tendency to choose what is said or shown to be fashionable by famous people. We cannot deny that the mass media have a great contribution to shaping the young people’s way of thinking.
What they watch on TV, radio and what they read in newspaper and magazines affect, without their awareness, a great deal to their thinking. Does what His Majesty the king or the honorable prime minister say on TV mean anything to you? Does what your music idols wear affect your taste of fashion? I definitely believe the answer will be "yes". (Berger, Gilda. Violence and the Media. United States of America: Moffa Press, 1989)
Although most of our media appears to be superficial and meaningless fluff, violence and chit chat, it is also a source of education, wit and non-violent entertainment. Both salesmen and individuals wishing to promote various things have at some point made use of the different forms of the media. They have used the media to promote what people should wear, eat, do and even value. The effects of media will vary with a child’s age and stage of development. (McQuail, D., 2008. McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory. 5th ed. London:
Imagine a world without media. Can limiting the amount of media in today 's society, decrease the affects it has on the young minds of today or not? Can their minds develop an intellectual way of thinking and behaving under a restricted amount of media? Being so, media everywhere has both negative and positive influence on the youth. This essay will discuss such influences of the media on the youth as well as how they can be addressed.
First, the mass media affect young people’s fashion sense. Simply take a glance at the way young people around you dress nowadays, it is probably something they have picked up over the internet or magazines. What they are wearing may look similar to what famous actors or singers have worn recently. When choosing what to wear, most of young people have a tendency to choose what is said or shown to be fashionable by famous people. We cannot deny that the mass media have a great contribution to shaping the young people’s way of thinking.
What they watch on TV, radio and what they read in newspaper and magazines affect, without their awareness, a great deal to their thinking. Does what His Majesty the king or the honorable prime minister say on TV mean anything to you? Does what your music idols wear affect your taste of fashion? I definitely believe the answer will be "yes". (Berger, Gilda. Violence and the Media. United States of America: Moffa Press, 1989)
Although most of our media appears to be superficial and meaningless fluff, violence and chit chat, it is also a source of education, wit and non-violent entertainment. Both salesmen and individuals wishing to promote various things have at some point made use of the different forms of the media. They have used the media to promote what people should wear, eat, do and even value. The effects of media will vary with a child’s age and stage of development. (McQuail, D., 2008. McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory. 5th ed. London:
References: 1. Berger, Gilda. Violence and the Media. United States of America: Moffa Press, 1989 2. http://www.cps.ca/english/statements/PP/pp03-01.pdf 3. McQuail, D., McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory. 5th ed. London: SAGE Publications Ltd,2008 4. Ruddock, A., Understanding Audiences: Theory and Method. London: Sage Publications Ltd,2001