Preview

Sociology- Role of Media

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2026 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sociology- Role of Media
Role of The Media
By Tess Bugbee

Mass media is the methods of communication, including television, radio, magazines, films, internet and newspapers, that have become some of society’s most important agents of socialization. In this paper I will talk about media and its effects on society today, things such as stereotypes the media portrays, the way media illustrates women and what that does to body images of women. I will also be talking about medias effects on teenagers, and sexualization in the media. Media has always played a huge role in our society. For a long time media was one of the methods of controlling people and leisure. Nowadays media is one of the main part of our lives and our society, because we use word media, to combine all sources of information. Average man is spending 4 hours a day on watching TV and reading newspapers. There're a lot of different types of information sources, all of them are specific and dedicated for different types of information. Newspapers, Internet, television, radio, and magazines are all media. The media provides information to educate, to inform or simply to entertain its audience. The importance of the media is to publish the message worldwide, so that it can become popular. Stereotypes have existed since the beginning of time in our everyday life through religion, politics and the media, but what I am going to focus on is their impact on the media and how the media really portrays stereotypes. Stereotyping is a fixed conventional notion or conception of an individual or group of people, held by a number of people. Stereotypes can be basic or complex generalizations which people apply to individuals or groups based on their appearance, behavior and beliefs. Stereotypes are found everywhere. Though our world seems to be improving in many ways it seems almost impossible to let go from stereotypes. Humans have the tendency to use stereotypes in their humor, descriptions of others, and



References: "Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth-KidsHealth" KidsHealth. Teen Health, n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2012. "Teens and the Media." Teens & the Media. Palo Alto Medical Foundation, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012. Tishler, Henry L. Introduction to Sociology. 10th ed. N.p.: Cengage Advantage, n.d. Print.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Media has grown with the advance of technology, all including the radio, newspaper, magazines, television, and the internet. The internet is a big media development. We live in a society that depends on the internet for majority of things and in the next five years everything will be done by the internet or the media. Media affect people in many ways, some are good and some are bad. The media has its way of showing us information through news channels, travel and other educational shows. Kids benefit from watching these, since it can boost self-esteem, heighten interest levels in a particular subject, or encourage…

    • 303 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The mass media, television, internet, radio, newspapers, magazines and film is part of our everyday life. It is a powerful tool that provides us with information and entertainment. It reflects our society and it influences the way we think. The media has been criticized for its portrayal of women as objects whose value is measured in terms of their usefulness to others. It becomes difficult to see them as thinking, feeling, and capable people. Constantly portraying women in a highly sexualized way makes it more likely all women will be seen as sexual objects. This becomes a human right issue.…

    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Capstone Checkpoint

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages

    I will be discussing the media’s portrayal of sexuality in various ways which are as follows; I the positive and negative effects that the media involvement has played in adolescent’s lives as well as how all this has affected my own personal life also.…

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the past century, media has grown exponentially. Starting off with the newspaper, then going to the radio, then eventually the television and now to cell phones, media has become a huge role in today’s society. It is our source for news. Media has become a crucial necessity in recent times. With media, news is able to spread faster around the world than it ever has before. Media has a very important role in society, specifically with the improvements on the spread of information.…

    • 1145 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Stereotypes can be defined as judgments that people make against others before they truly understand them, and they impact our society in many ways. For example, in an interview with Guy Raz from NPR,…

    • 793 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The media has been proven to affect not only today 's youth but the majority of the world 's population. With television, radio, advertising, movies, the Internet, newspapers, magazines and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, the media affects the entire population in many ways which can be directly seen. A survey study, compiled by Teen People magazine, demonstrated that 27 per cent of the girls felt pressurized by the media to have a perfect body, with 69 per cent of the girls basing their idea of the perfect body on models featured in magazines that their parents have lying around the home.…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Does media have a major influence in the way teens look at themselves? “Media causes body dissatisfactions since they are the ones who define this perfect body.” ( Furnham, Greaves) I will test whether different outlets of media from T.V advertisements and shows, magazines, and…

    • 1576 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the first time we have our first memories to the time we become adults, the media has always been there to guide us. Everyday we will see a form of media, whether its on our way to work or before we go to bed. However, we try not to realize how much power the media has over us. The media teaches us how to behave in our society. It teaches by advertisements that pull us into an ideal style of life, the news that teaches what to believe in and celebrities that we inspire to be.…

    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Media Eating Disorders

    • 1935 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The media seeks to inform us, persuade us, entertain us, and change us. The media also provides an easy way of communication so that everyone in our culture is up to date with…

    • 1935 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Media is one of the most influential aspects of modern society. It plays an enormous role in setting societal standards and depicting how people, especially women, should act and appear. In everything from advertising, television programming, newspapers and magazines, to comic books, popular music, film and video games the media sets unrealistic standards for women. These unrealistic depictions of the role that women must play, and the image that women must have in order to be accepted are drastically affecting societies views and the self-worth of women worldwide.…

    • 1492 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Stereotypes In Propaganda

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Stereotypes play an important role in today's society and particularly in Propaganda. According to the Webster's Dictionary stereotyping is defined as a fixed conventional notion or conception of an individual or group of people, heldby a number of people. Stereotypes can be basic or complex generalizations which people apply to individuals or groups based on their appearance, behaviour and beliefs. Stereotypes are found everywhere. Though our world seems to be improving in many ways it seems almost impossible to liberate it from stereotypes.…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    The mass media governs the information on what women see and so they can affect the female’s self-image ideals. The mass media is a significant society of socialization; whereas the individual thinks they discover their own individuality, thoughts and emotions that help them contribute in society. However, the mass media is just another public resource to females that will not only confuse their identity, but can cause emotional harm when referencing self-image.…

    • 1741 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racial Stereotypes Essay

    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages

    So what are stereotypes anyway? Where did they come from and how did they come to be such a powerful, influential force in our society? Stereotypes are “over-generalized beliefs about people based on their membership in one of many social categories.” Stereotyping is a way of categorizing things and has both psychological and cognitive roots. From a cognitive standpoint, “quick and ready categorizations, even from momentary encounters, help us process huge amounts of information we receive about the people we…

    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The following essay will concentrate on the reciprocal relationship between the media and society, focusing on journalism in particular. A brief overview of the terms used in this essay will be used first to create a common understanding. This will be achieved by discussing theories regarding mass media and journalism as separate entities. The two will then be combined to discuss how mass media affects , and is affected by society. This will be done by referring to the many theories regarding journalism and mass media and how thy correspond with society using theories such as the normative press theories.…

    • 1919 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics