Do You Think That the Mass Media Has More of a Positive or Negative Impact on Society?
Do you think that the mass media has more of a positive or negative impact on society?
Regardless of the type of mass media used, I believe that the mass media has more of a positive then negative impact on society.
Firstly, the mass media may be used to raise awareness for certain subjects, allowing people to know of the events happening nationally and globally. An online survey shows that 44% of online news users get news a few times a week through social media, such as emails, thus showing what an important source of information the mass media can be. Documentaries may raise environmental awareness and cause people to pause and think about ways to help Mother Earth. For example, the documentary ”An Inconvenient Truth” was created to educate the public about global warming, raising international public awareness on climate change and fuelling the environmental movement. Another example is the documentary “Super Size Me” by American filmmaker Morgan Spurlock., where he addresses the issues of obesity in America. His documentary shows how eating too much fast food and having an unhealthy diet may affect one’s physical and psychological well-being. After viewing his documentary, one may wish to improve on his or her diet, thus having a positive impact on the society.
Secondly, values and ethics may be conveyed to the society using the mass media. For example, to promote filial piety in Singapore, a campaign was started and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports of Singapore broadcasted a television commercial with the tagline ‘How one generation loves, the next generation learns”. Viewers of this commercial may be triggered to reflect upon themselves and learn from their mistakes. Other values such as courtesy and kindness were also being promoted in Singapore via the mass media. Studies have shown that a correlation exists between the significance people assign to a problem and the frequency and the amount of time the mass media, such as
Regardless of the type of mass media used, I believe that the mass media has more of a positive then negative impact on society.
Firstly, the mass media may be used to raise awareness for certain subjects, allowing people to know of the events happening nationally and globally. An online survey shows that 44% of online news users get news a few times a week through social media, such as emails, thus showing what an important source of information the mass media can be. Documentaries may raise environmental awareness and cause people to pause and think about ways to help Mother Earth. For example, the documentary ”An Inconvenient Truth” was created to educate the public about global warming, raising international public awareness on climate change and fuelling the environmental movement. Another example is the documentary “Super Size Me” by American filmmaker Morgan Spurlock., where he addresses the issues of obesity in America. His documentary shows how eating too much fast food and having an unhealthy diet may affect one’s physical and psychological well-being. After viewing his documentary, one may wish to improve on his or her diet, thus having a positive impact on the society.
Secondly, values and ethics may be conveyed to the society using the mass media. For example, to promote filial piety in Singapore, a campaign was started and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports of Singapore broadcasted a television commercial with the tagline ‘How one generation loves, the next generation learns”. Viewers of this commercial may be triggered to reflect upon themselves and learn from their mistakes. Other values such as courtesy and kindness were also being promoted in Singapore via the mass media. Studies have shown that a correlation exists between the significance people assign to a problem and the frequency and the amount of time the mass media, such as