Negative mass media influence - Essay Example

? Negative influence of mass media The topic under consideration is mass media and its negative influence. Mass media is developing fast, thus the problem of negative influence of mass media is very relevant and actively studied. The given paper will list the negative effects of mass media and explain the reasons why they occur. Introduction In the modern world the views of individuals are highly dependent on mass media. The development of media is rapid and it is a very powerful tool as it forms public opinion. On the one hand society can’t do without media as it provides people with necessary information. The more mass media resources we have, the more needed information we can receive. New resources of mass media appear every day and the old ones are developing to help us receive important information any time we need. On the other hand, the negative influence of mass media is obvious as the promotion of violence takes place very often. Such a promotion prevents people from normal development and influences negatively the individuals’ behavior in the society. Now mass media imposes a great influence on people. Actually, we can’t hide from this influence as mass media penetrates all the areas of life. Furthermore, the development of the modern culture is closely connected to mass media because the role of mass media in the formation of people’s views is very important. In this view the impact of mass media may be very negative as we can see much violence on TV or in newspapers (Bagdikian, 2000). The influence of mass media on people is increasing and the number of negative consequences of this influence is also growing dramatically. It is no need to mention that violence damages psychological development of people as the cruelty people see in films or read about in newspapers causes aggressiveness. In any case the violence in media negatively influences the development of children and spoils our future generations. In the articles “Effects of Mass Media on Young Generation” it is stated that: “Media strongly affects youth culture. The media executives are quick to defend their role in youth violence and bullying while selling millions of dollars in ads focused on youth. TV producers, network executives, motion picture companies and others in the media deny any impact of their programs on the attitudes and actions of youth” (Effects of Mass Media on Young Generation). When people frequently meet violence in media, they get used to it. It happens inevitably and the process is gradually affecting people’s psychology. Slowly but surely violence becomes something like everyday issue, people start to perceive it as something normal at the same time as violence certainly represents an abnormal and awful phenomenon. It causes aggressive behavior that is also already treated as a norm by many people in the modern society (Josephson, 1995). The main problem is that mass media contributes to positive perception of violent acts that is absolutely unacceptable. Jarred explains: “There are those who believe that violent programs contribute less to violence in society than do other recognized elements. The media in general has been identified as portraying lifestyles that are beyond the means of many people, particularly for those who are unemployed. Such lifestyle portrayals are seen by some as being more likely to encourage violence and crime than violent television programming by encouraging materialistic attitudes and a reduced intolerance to delays in attaining a desired lifestyle. Even media coverage of unemployment and homelessness is viewed as engendering feelings of hopelessness and bitterness that can result in anti-social behaviour” (Jarred, 2001, p.28) There is such a term as “happy violence” that was generated as a result of violence promotion. Such violence seems to be humorous and funny and this results in increasing of number of violent acts in real life. Under the influence people can’t control their behavior properly and they start commit violent acts. Violent behavior is perceived as an effective tool used, for example, to prove or explain something to other people or to make them act in a certain way. Certainly, such a perception is especially dangerous for children as they can’t distinguish between good and bad behavior due to their young age. Thus, if children see “happy” and “funny” violence, they start to treat it positively. The behavior of favorite heroes children see on the screen is perceived by children as an example of their own behavior. This inevitably results in imitating this behavior and often leads to committing violent acts in the real life. It is already proved by many experts that people, especially children and teenagers tend to use the behavior of their favorite heroes as a pattern for their own behavior (Klein, 2000). They usually prefer to repeat what they say, learn their gestures and want to do like they do not even thinking about if it is good or bad. This problem is now studied by many scholars, the opinions are different but the conclusion is the same, Jarred states: “There is wide opinion amongst social researchers that it will probably never be shown that there is a direct correlation between the level of violence portrayed in the entertainment media and the level of recorded violence in the community. However, there is at the same time, a widely held opinion that media violence is at least a contributing factor to the level of community violence as it has raised violence to a level where it enjoys social acceptance” (Jarred, 2001, p.29). Furthermore, in the modern world there are new resources of mass media that also contribute to violence promotion. Now all the people, including children have an access to internet that represents a powerful resource of information. Here we meet another danger that is even more serious. The trouble is that when we watch TV we see only heroes, which are created by actors’ play and many of us still understand this fact. Here we are still able to understand the difference between real life and what we see on the screen. Internet is quite a different thing. In the web we see real life, communicate with real people and there is a risk that these people may represent danger to adults, who are susceptible to influence, and our children. There are many criminal cases, which happen as a result of internet communication. When we get acquainted with people through internet, we can’t be sure whom we get acquainted with as we can see only his/ her photo at best. Those individuals who prefer to blindly trust other people can be deceived or appear in danger (Curtis, 2012). Many people lose their money in the internet sending it to unknown people. Money is wheedled out of people under the pretext of providing services or selling goods. It is no need to say that there is no many ways to return this money and in most cases people remain cheated. However, it is not the most dangerous thing that can happen with people who prefer to trust strangers in the internet. Many criminals use the internet in the purpose of committing crimes. They got the necessary information about their future victims and then can penetrate their houses to commit theft offence. Trusting strangers in the internet people risk their wealth, health and even life! Unfortunately, a great number of murders are committed after internet acquaintances as people do not know exactly who they get acquainted with and usually can’t imagine what danger this person may represent. This fact should make people take care about their security and the security of their children. Another negative feature of mass media is the violation of people’s rights. Almost all the people now are registered in social networks, where they place photos and show their private life to everybody. Consequently, their private information can be used by evil-wishes. Their photos can appear in many places they even do not know about. This leads to court cases and many other troubles. Now every person can be found in web by many people, even by those he/she does not want to communicate with. This can cause many troubles and make people go through unpleasant moments. Conclusion Modern world can’t exist without mass media, it became an integral part of our life and penetrated all of its areas. It provides us with information, new acquaintances and even new jobs. Many people are working through the internet and make big money. Old friends, who did not communicate for long, can easily find each other in web and renew their friendship. Children and adults can enjoy playing games and watching TV. Mass media is a whole world that brings a lot of positive moments but at the same time it contains many dangers and promotes violence. Too much of a good thing is good for nothing, we should always remember this and do our best to minimize the bad influence of mass media. Everything depends on us and if we are able to develop mass media, we are also able to minimize the risks, which are connected with it. References Bagdikian, Ben H. (2000).The Media Monopoly, Sixth Edition, Beacon Press; Effects of mass media on young generation. (2008). Retrieved May 26, 2013 from http://www.articlesbase.com/article-marketing-articles/effects-of-mass-media-on-young-generation-562352.html; Klein, Sage N. (2000). Advertising and Popular Culture, London: Routeledge; Jarred, Wayne. (2001). Violence in the Mass Media: Are There Negative Consequences? Queensland Parliamentary Library. Retrieved May 26, 2013 from http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/explore/ResearchPublications/researchBulletins/rb0401wj.pdf; Josephson WL. (1995). Television Violence: A Review of the Effects on Children of Different Ages. Ottawa: National Clearinghouse on Family Violence; Curtis, Anthony R. (2012).Mass Media Influence on Society. Mass Communication Department University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Retrieved May 26, 2013 from http://www.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/Courses/ResourcesForCourses/PDFs/Mass_Media_Influence_on_Society.pdf Read More