Impact of Mass Media on Children Essay

Free Articles

Excessively much media attending focuses on the impact of sex and force on kids. The premise seems to be that if the media stopped demoing sex and force on telecasting and in films–and now video games are the culprit–the universe would be a better topographic point. Sometimes the statement goes farther. If the media alternatively presented choice household and spiritual scheduling. kids would turn up to be moral people.

Both of these ifs are based on the premiss that the media makes us make things that we don’t want to make. The scenario in the 1950s played out like this:

We Will Write a Custom Essay Specifically
For You For Only $13.90/page!


order now

We have two good adolescents ;

They listen to Rock ‘N Roll music ;

The music stimulates their carnal inherent aptitudes ;

They have sex. They didn’t want to ; the music made them.

Today the scenario goes like this:

The male child is good ;

The male child plays video games ;

The male child becomes a cleft shooting ;

The male child goes to school and hit his schoolmates ;

He didn’t want to ; violent picture games made him.

I agree that the picture games and the music have an impact on kids. From the picture games…and television…and movies. the kid learns the forms of force. Similarly. the media teaches us the forms of gender. Once those forms become senses stored in our memories. that larning can’t be unlearned this side of enduring a encephalon hurt. However. no individual signifier stands entirely. Persons interpret each form as portion of a mental scheme.

The concluding influence for a given person to take antisocial behaviour may be the video game or the music. Or it might be the cocoa ring. With one million millions of people in the universe. person someplace is likely to be motivated to action by merely about anything.

To fault the media for single behaviour is losing the point and simplifies the issues. Just acquiring the “bad” messages out of the media is non traveling to make a “good” society.

The media is an influence

The media does hold an influence on kids ; the same impact it has on all of us: 1. The media teaches us the forms of the civilization and what they mean.

2. The media sets an docket which directs our attending to the issues that the media directors think are of import.

3. The media Teachs us ideology by offering us solutions to binary resistances.

Let us look at each of these points individually and see what the impact could be on kids.

Here are two typical sets of forms found in our civilization.

The images of Jennifer Anniston from Seventeen ( August 2000 ) teach the forms of gender. feministic and gender. Whether those forms have a positive or negative impact on a given single depends on single past experience. One individual may read her images as cultural definitions of “cute. ” A victim of sexual maltreatment may construe the forms as an invitation to elicit notice. A individual who knows the forms of erotica may read the images as indicating handiness.

The Cadmium screen to the right teaches the forms of gender and maleness. The images create an association of maleness with force and arms.

Both images put forms into the civilization. put an docket and offer solutions to binary resistances to the kids to whom they are targeted.

Teaches forms. From watching violent movies. telecasting. and playing violent picture games. we all learn how to be violent. Similarly. we learn the forms of gender and what those forms mean. How we interpret those forms is traveling to depend on our ain yesteryear experiences. Childs who are sexually abused are traveling to read sexual forms otherwise than kids whose parents demonstrate a loving. caring relationship and explicate sexual behaviours to their kids. Similarly. kids who were physically abused or who live in violent vicinities besides will convey their past experiences to any media experience. In short. the past experiences of kids help find what impact the media’s images have on kids.

What this means is that the media can’t make mass liquidators or schoolyard taws. but if a kid decides to travel in that way. the media helps learn them how to make it.

Sets the Agenda. An analysis of mass media becomes a spot chilling at this point. What are the three dominant subjects presented in the media? Sexual activity. Violence and The Consumer Culture. This is what we are stating kids is of import.

Offers Solutions to Problems. Now things become truly scary–at least to me. Let’s expression at this media consequence in three ways:

1. The media invariably presents the binary resistance of good vs. immorality. This is peculiarly true in many sketchs. such as “Batman” or “G. I. Joe. ” or some other superhero scenario. In each instance. society is held surety by immorality. The mean individual can make nil. Merely the superhero can get the better of evil through the usage of force. But. there’s a bound to what even the superhero can make. If the good cats destroy evil. so the premiss of the sketch is over. The heroes win but evil continues. Here are the lessons being taught:

Evil exists to destruct good and so the universe is a struggle between good and evil. Most of us can non make anything against immorality ; hence. we are easy victims. We must give control over to superheroes who can pay war on immorality. Violence is the solution to jobs.

2. True love is the solution to all personal jobs. Remember the “Jerry MaGuire” line: “You complete me” ? “True love” means merely one individual in the universe exists for each individual. The current platitude “soul mate” sums up this manner of thought. Here are the lessons being taught:

If there is merely “one” individual for each individual. how do you explicate an attractive force to another individual? Today’s economic system invariably puts work forces and adult females together in high force per unit area. stimulating fortunes. We are psychologically and physiologically wired to react to members of the opposite sex. Sooner or subsequently. most people in our civilization will be placed in an interpersonal context that can easy presume the “feelings” of love because organic structure chemical science is reacting to the intimacy of the other individual.

If a individual needs person to “complete” that person. what happens when the portion that needs finishing feels incomplete once more? The mistake lies with the relationship. No uncertainty all of us need person some of the clip. but a individual with serious. unsolved personal issues is likely incapable of organizing a healthy relationship in the first topographic point. When the first spouse fails to make full the personal hole. so the uncomplete individual will travel in hunt for another “completer. ”

Is it any admiration that so many failed relationships be? Is it any admiration that so many teens engage in prenuptial sex since “love” is the solution so frequently offered by the media?

Why is the media hooked on love? Love motivates us to buy so many products–from toothpaste to diamonds–so that we can offer our ideal egos to another individual alternatively of the existent people we are. Plus. it is easy for the media to link sex and love. What was the name of the last new film you saw where sex didn’t follow one time the lead male and female fell in love? As Maslow argues. sex is a strong motivator…strong plenty to convert people to pass money to get sexual attraction. and. by extension. love.

3. Finally. the media offers force as the method chosen by work forces. The film industry presents us with Tom Cruise. Wesley Snipes. Al Pacino. James Bond. and the list goes on and on. In athleticss. we have Sunday football and Wednesday wrestle. The History Channel presents the heroes of World War II. A & A ; E and Discovery channels prove the power of bulls through their scheduling.

Harmonizing to the media. such work forces are heroes. They protect their households. They are honored by those around them. They are rewarded with the most attractive adult females available. Any boy unwilling to prosecute in force can non be a “man. ” Girls besides have something to larn. They need a “man” to protect them from going victims of colza and force. As cheerleaders stand on the out of boundss heartening on the squad. they are taught to honor the cats who prove they are work forces.

Decisions

The media Teachs kids the forms of sex. force and consumerism. The media tells kids it is of import to believe about these three things because these are the subjects the media most frequently places into the docket. Finally. either sex. force or a merchandise offers a solution to every job.

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

x

Hi!
I'm Katy

Would you like to get such a paper? How about receiving a customized one?

Check it out