The Effects of the Media on Today's Youth

The media today is having a profound effect on society, especially its youth. When it comes to people’s behavior in society, adolescents usually look to the media for guidance. Teens today today are reliant on the media to tell them what is acceptable and what is not. It tells them how to look, how to act, even what to say. Social media definitely has an impact on the daily life of a teen. Most teens have some way to connect with friends using a social networking site. Young adults, much like the citizens of the distopian society in Fahrenheit 451, are dependent on the media for guidance and are almost unable to function without it. The media is brainwashing adolescents into changing their views of acceptable behavior and body image. It is also making them dependent upon the internet social media. The inflicting media has strongly influenced the behavior of adolescents today. First of all, violence in the media has been a huge problem among adolescents. Media violence is desensitizing viewers, most of whom are children and adolescents, to real life violence. This gives them false and distorted views of the world, causing them to be far more aggressive and restless. Also, most children's television shows these days depict violent and foolish acts with no moral or educational value. (Stuttaford 1) Also, most video games contain extreme graphic violence. Believe it or not, the American military uses first person shooting games to desensitize new soldiers to killing and war. (CAM) Similarly, the media also desensitizes adolescents to drug and substance use. For instance, in some ways, the media depicts drinking alcohol as fun and risk free. Those who abuse alcohol and drugs don’t suffer any consequences. Often movies and TV shows depict drinking and drug usage as normal behaviors, thus influencing teens to adopt the habit. Odds are, if teens view scenes of smoking and drinking they will be more likely to actually use the drugs at an early age.