Influential Destruction
Influential Destruction
We see mass media daily, in TV, Internet and magazines. As we look at it, do we even think of how much it influences us? People get easier influenced by it than we might think, and we think that we control the mass media, but in reality it's the other way around. In other words, the world is inundated by the media that surrounds us.
The media’s primary focus is to gather and maintain an audience. Attempting to convey the importance of drugs, sex, money, and violence, immediately grabs the attention of society and mostly inspires negative acts of behavior which can also be categorized as abnormal. What is abnormal behavior? Well, there is no one right answer. Many definitions exist but none are entirely satisfactory. One definition is that abnormal behavior is any that deviates from central tendencies, like the mean, for example. By this definition, abnormal behavior would be any that is statistically deviant. For example, if most of the population smoked, but you did not, then not smoking would be considered abnormal. There are obvious problems with this definition. For instance, what happens to the definition when the popularity of a behavior shifts? Everyone has their own general understanding of abnormality, but no one person’s judgment will ever be completely accurate. However, negative and or deviance are considered to be very common forms of abnormal behavior. Many studies addressed media use and sexual activity. Of these studies, most showed that more media exposure increases the likelihood of a child engaging in risky sexual behavior. A strong correlation was also found between media use and drug or alcohol abuse, low academic achievement, and attention deficit hyperactivity behavior.
Most people in our society generally have the opinion that violence in television, movies, and music increases aggression in children and adolescents. Does it? Who is to say whether media has a positively direct effect or a positive correlation?
We see mass media daily, in TV, Internet and magazines. As we look at it, do we even think of how much it influences us? People get easier influenced by it than we might think, and we think that we control the mass media, but in reality it's the other way around. In other words, the world is inundated by the media that surrounds us.
The media’s primary focus is to gather and maintain an audience. Attempting to convey the importance of drugs, sex, money, and violence, immediately grabs the attention of society and mostly inspires negative acts of behavior which can also be categorized as abnormal. What is abnormal behavior? Well, there is no one right answer. Many definitions exist but none are entirely satisfactory. One definition is that abnormal behavior is any that deviates from central tendencies, like the mean, for example. By this definition, abnormal behavior would be any that is statistically deviant. For example, if most of the population smoked, but you did not, then not smoking would be considered abnormal. There are obvious problems with this definition. For instance, what happens to the definition when the popularity of a behavior shifts? Everyone has their own general understanding of abnormality, but no one person’s judgment will ever be completely accurate. However, negative and or deviance are considered to be very common forms of abnormal behavior. Many studies addressed media use and sexual activity. Of these studies, most showed that more media exposure increases the likelihood of a child engaging in risky sexual behavior. A strong correlation was also found between media use and drug or alcohol abuse, low academic achievement, and attention deficit hyperactivity behavior.
Most people in our society generally have the opinion that violence in television, movies, and music increases aggression in children and adolescents. Does it? Who is to say whether media has a positively direct effect or a positive correlation?