The Media's Influence on Health

The mass media (including everything from television and music to popular novels and fan cultures), creates an endless and accessible flow of information. "What we know about the world beyond out immediate surroundings comes to us via the media (Yates 1999)." The technology of electronic media and the art of advertising have combined to create very powerful tools of influence. These tools are capable of shaping the attitudes, values and behaviors of large numbers of people (Walsh.) By identifying and examining the various forms of health information contained in the media, problems arise because the media does not present it's messages in a neutral and straightforward way. Because the media distorts reality, the public must become more conscious and critical of various medias in order to protect their mental and physical heath. Emotion focuses attention, determines what is remembered, shapes attitudes, motivates, and moves one to act. Considering this, its no surprise that the emotional centers of the brain are the primary target for marketers and advertisers. "The art of advertising is difficult to master and it takes a great deal of skill and creativity to achieve proficiency (Walsh 1999.) However, the underlying psychological principles are quite simple. Once the desired emotional state is achieved in the viewer, the product or message becomes mentally linked to the state. For example, viewers seeing a television ad for the first time may not know what the product is until the very last seconds of the ad. The first 28 seconds of the 30-second ad are used to create the mood. Once the mood is set, then the product is introduced and the emotional association is made. The most effective ads are not informational, but emotional. In some cases, the feelings evoked by the ad may have no logical connection to the product whatsoever. As long as the desired emotion is linked with the product, the mission has been accomplished (Walsh.) The media creates emotion using

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