Electronic Media Critical Analysis - Research Paper Example

Module Electronic Media Critical Analysis INTRODUCTION Television has been proven to be the worst inventions in the contemporaryworld. This is because it has a huge impact on public opinion, behavior and culture in society (Sparks 7). Yet, most of the Americans spend most of their time watching TV. Watching TV is entertaining and tells stories that people can easily relate to. Conversely, there are major negative outcomes resulting from watching TV shows (Harris 327). Broadcast TV shows are programs based on a real life situation or a person’s work. Broadcast TV shows such as Big Brother, The Simpsons, The View and Family Guy have gained increased popularity over time resulting to unconstructive impacts on the social, political, educational and religious scenes. This essay discusses the negative impacts of Broadcast TV shows by exploring the key areas it touches on. Stereotypes and Prejudices. Broadcast TV shows have been observed to contribute highly in the perpetuation of prejudice and negative stereotypes in the American society (Shaffer 413). Although such shows use this as a form of humor, it has a huge impact on the way society views certain groups of people. Nearly every broadcast TV shows portrays Black males as drug dealers, thugs or criminals. This impacts negatively on the way society view Black males. On the other hand, Muslims are depicted as terrorists which was facilitated by the 9/11 attack. Society is influenced to view them as bad people who are a threat to security. These two examples show how Broadcast TV shows promote stereotypes and prejudices in society resulting to tension between racial groups in society. Social Effects. The first social problem arising from watching Broadcast TV shows is lack of originality among the population. People are likely to imitate the TV stars mode of speaking, dressing and personal style which is a common problem among teenagers. Teenagers should strive to seek their own identity and discover their own talents with the help of their parents. This also leads to increased peer pressure as teenagers will strive to dress and act like their friends. Secondly watching TV Broadcast shows leads to the development of anti- social behavior (Clarke 413). This is because individuals tend to spend too much time watching TV and have no time for family, friends or fun activities. Such people tend to be withdrawn and cannot communicate effectively with other members of society. These shows lead to the propagation of negative behavior including violence, crime, premarital sex and drug abuse. The content aired by these shows has violent scenes that affect the audiences’ thought in a negative way (Gentile 70). Watching these shows has be a major contributing factor to the rising levels of violence mainly among the young people (Gentile 70). Some scenes have been known to encourage drug and alcohol abuse since they illustrate it to be ‘cool’ and highly appealing to the audience. Some of these shows contain sexual scenes that lead to the high occurrence of teenage sex and pregnancies. This is because such shows depict this behavior to be fun and acceptable. Generally speaking, Broadcast television shows provide the wrong idea about certain practices and make them believe that they are totally fine. Watching these shows is highly addictive hence people do it for many hours in a day. Recent studies have revealed that there is a relationship between the length of time that is spent on watching TV and obesity. Watching TV for long hour’s leads to a sedentary lifestyle since it is an inactive activity that requires minimal physical and mental activity. People are advised to undertake in physical and mental tasks that stimulate their brain and body to ensure mental and physical fitness. These shows contribute to emotional and physical problems linked to self esteem and weight loss (Shaffer 413). TV stars are represented as having perfect body shapes and flawless skin. Women and young people in society are affected by these images and tend to feel like they are not good enough. Additionally, those who are affected by such shows dietary issues such as maintaining harmful dietary plans which result to development of health complications such as bulimia and anorexia. Religious Effects. It is pretty much obvious that Broadcast TV shows are contrary to religion. In fact they have been known to mock religious practices and evens such as Christmas and Jews holidays. This creates a negative mentality to how society views religion and they tend to take it as a joke. Religious shows are considered to be boring by a vast majority and attract a limited audience. This explains the reasons behind the mounting popularity of TV shows that propagate secular themes such as sex, money and drugs (Clarke 132). Broadcast TV shows have been known to appeal to the secular left over the years as evidenced from their content. The messages and images transmitted on these shows are considered to be secular and target the worldly audience who has an open mind towards issues such as drug abuse and sex (Clarke 132). Educational Impacts. To start with, Broadcast TV shows are highly addictive and people spend most of their time watching them rather than undertaking in productive activities (Sparks 73). This has had an adverse effect on the education sector since they distract students who should be concentrating on school work. There are numerous TV shows that lure the young people to spend some time while watching them instead of concentrating on their studies (Sparks 73). The more time one spends watching Broad cast shows the less time they have to study and do their homework which has negative effects on standardized tests and scores. Watching such shows does not stimulate the brain effectively and this affects one’s ability to process educational material. Therefore, dedicating a lot of time to watching these shows results to poor performance in school which leads to overall failure of the education system (Sparks 73). Additionally, it leads to conflicts at home as parents try to stop their children to stop watching Broad cast shows and dedicate sometime to study (Gentile 76). Children often rebel and this leads to disagreements in families. Political Impacts. Broadcast TV shows have been known to contain limited political content. However, they shape society’s thinking on various political orientations. For instance, the Republicans are portrayed as being conservative and traditional in their way of thinking and acting. On the other hand, the democrats are portrayed as being highly liberal and adopt a contemporary way of life and perspective to issues (Roebuck, 123). It is clear that the sole purpose of Broadcast shows is to entertain the masses rather than enlightening them on political matters. It is clear that the content air is biased as it is slanted towards the liberal approach. Broadcast shows do not have a particular political orientation and as they are independent and do not have any vested interest in politics. Moral Compass and Ethical Implications. Norms and ethics are important in society since they determine the direction of behavior and morals in society. Broadcast TV shows play huge role in the shaping social norms and behavior among the young people (Conradie 5). These shows contribute largely to how people talk, dress or relate with others. There has been an increase in the use of vulgar language and indecent dressing with the rising popularity of these shows. Young people want to dress and talk like the characters on these shows not knowing that it is simply an act (Conradie 5). They have been seen to have a damaging effect on morals in society as their content is known to promote negative ideas such as violence, crime and drug abuse. This affects the relationship with their peers, parents and society as a whole. There have been instances on teen violence and shootings amongst gangs all which can be attributed to the harmful influence of watching Broadcast shows (Conradie 5). There are many negative ethical implications linked to watching Broadcast TV shows. For instance, profanity and vulgar issues are put across verbally and visually which impacts on the way people talk and behave. CONCLUSION In a nutshell, Broad cast TV shows have been observed to have a negative impact on society. This notwithstanding, people continue to spend most of their time watching these shows as they are entertaining and addictive. These shows promote stereotypes and prejudices in society leading to racial and ethnic conflicts. With regards to education, excess time is spent watching TV shows and this has a damaging effect on the overall performance and participation in school work. Broad cast TV shows have been known to have a negative impact on religion. This is because it is involve in the perpetuation of secular content and makes fun of the religious practices. Although the influence of Broadcast TV shows on the political scene is minimal, some of its content can manipulate peoples thinking concerning certain political issues. The social impacts of Broadcast TV shows are countless and are known to have a negative impact on society such as promoting violence, vulgarity, drug abuse and crime. Broadcast TV shows have changed the moral direction of society and resulted to the promotion of unethical practices especially among the young people. Broadcast shows should be watched in moderation and under parental supervision in case of the young children as it has the negative effects on society as a whole. Works Cited Clarke, David. Pro-Social and Anti-Social Behaviour. Routledge, 2003. Print. Conradie, E. M. Morality as a Way of Life: A First Introduction to Ethical Theory. AFRICAN SUN MeDIA, 2006. Print. Gentile, Douglas, A. Media Violence and Children: A Complete Guide for Parents and Professionals. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003. Print. Harris, Richard, J. A Cognitive Psychology of Mass Communication. Taylor & Francis, 2009. Print. Roebuck, Kevin. Social TV: High-Impact Strategies - What You Need to Know: Definitions, Adoptions, Impact, Benefits, Maturity, Vendors. Tebbo, 2011. Print. Shaffer, David, R. Social and Personality Development, Cengage Learning, 2009. Print. Sparks, Glenn. G. Media Effects Research: A Basic Overview. Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Read More