Popular Press vs Research in Relationship Advice - Essay Example

Popular Press versus Research in Relationship Advice The media has been known to disseminate information to the public with ease and convenience. Some of the most popular information that has been trending on magazines among other popular media platforms has been information about relationships. Some of these platforms have been praised for giving accurate and helpful information. However, some of the information in the popular press is biased and lacks any scientific backing hence seemingly having psychologically imposing certain aspects of personal beliefs about relationships into the entire community. Research is a bottomless pit that continues to grow day in day out. Several studies have brought forth certain truths about relationships, these have enhanced the way counsellors’ approach various aspects of relationships as well as helping individuals cope with difficult relationships. In order to elucidate the precise meaning of certain behaviour in a family or workplace setup research based conclusions have predicted adoption of certain measures in order to combat the situations. Research should be respected and embraced, because the awareness and beliefs adopted about relationship behaviour of people propagated through the media becomes the truth. The public is very thirsty for information on relationships. The media has continues to fill this gap by providing this coveted information. A careful evaluation of the information propagated by the media indicates some reasonable disparity with the research based findings. The observable trends are that there is a tendency by the popular press to incline their attention on romance with very little focus on other type of relationships. This is because romance has been a topic that captures the attention of many hence translating to more sales. Therefore, the strategy is to make more money without a sincere concern of the impact the information given generates to the masses. Stereotyping has been a common misconception the media platforms have propagated. Holmes and Johnson (p 2) points out that the media has created the misconception to the public that continues to brand men as autonomous and easy to back off intimate relationships while women as emotional and anxious. Research indicates that despite the presence of gender differences are superseded by other aspects of an individual such as their personality, attitude, emotional intelligence, and beliefs among others. Therefore, the common notion propagated of the character and behaviours cannot substantively explain relationships. However, stereotypes may have their place but they should never be used to generalize relationships. The featuring of controversial icons has raised eyebrows on how relationships should be handled. Some of the prominent people have been implicated with various relationship-based evils such as domestic violence among other heinous acts. These individuals become even more famous and get to have even bigger coverage. To the minds of the people especially young people who are learning from the environment may be tempted to embrace what their favourite “star” is doing. Such information becomes are references to some individuals on what is done, information that they try to connect with what they know and conclude on what should be done on such situations. Such behaviours strengthen stereotypes, makes individuals to conclude on what is culturally acceptable, and that which is unacceptable. The media has created a mental picture that certain aspects of relationships are normal while research indicates otherwise. Divorce has been on the increase with couples calling for separation even days after marriage. Research has suggested several ways of avoiding divorce, mechanisms that have been highly beneficial to many relationships. Research findings have shown those individuals who divorce live depressed lives with little satisfaction and more health problems compared to their married counterparts (Amato and Previti 607). In contrary, the media has placed very little weight on the possibility of having lasting marriages and has brought out divorce as good alternative the focus has instead painted a mental picture to the public that relationships are hectic. Despite this, some magazines have seriously engaged in disseminating credible and research-based information that has been of great help to many families in the verge of collapse. The media has shaped many perceptions about the parent and children relationships. Some parental magazines have been credited with giving information that has helped many parents shape their children. Such materials in most cases have adopted scientifically researched approaches hence enhancing unity and acceptable behaviour in a family. Some lasting impression created by the teen magazines has helped shape perceptions of teens and young adults in embracing what is acceptable in the society. However, some magazines have propagated immoral behaviour among young people by publishing pornographic materials that in the end contribute ruin of young minds. Media is seen as a good platform to create perceptions to the society hence making a positive or a negative contribution to the community. Overemphasis on the disparity between sexes has created a big rift between research and what is reported in the popular press. According to (Holmes & Johnson 2) self help materials such as “How to get a guy by thinking like one” and “How to talk to women” creates a division between the male and females creating a line of thought that men have particular intentions different from those of women. Such materials have very appealing titles such that the buyer will imagine that the material provides an instant solution. It is evident that the writers try to manipulate the truth so that it can appease the reader. The essence of such materials is not self-help as they purport but it seems a strategy to mint more money. They mislead by purporting that through certain undertakings you can be able to win the person of the opposite sex. Some of these aspects are based on psychological research that to greater extent cannot sustain a relationship The media advice is deficient of honesty and communication that is based on research and not preconceived thoughts. The popular press does not elucidate the truth since some of it does not attract the attention of the readers, instead the truth is sugarcoated with perceptions that people have come up based on stereotyping and personal reflections and experiences. On the other hand, they have created a mindset to the public that relationships can be operated in certain ways and not others. Research has disregarded these fallacies and has widely recommended open communication as a strategy to dealing with a problematic relationship. Communication creates mutual understanding between individuals hence the right perception of an individual as per their character and personality. Research has indicated that media usage varies greatly with age and gender. Young women take media broadcasts to be real and accurate largely compared to their male counterparts. In addition, women tend to approve certain behaviours geared towards to maintaining relationships such as protecting one’s husband contrary to men who are not very much shaken by threats. (Ward, Gorvine, & Cytron, 99). The young seems to embrace a lot of what they learn while the older utilise their experiences. The media has targeted these disparities to articulate various aspects to a specific target group. This relationship indicates that the media is in touch with research but on certain frontiers they utilise research for the benefit of their companies. In the major magazines targeting relationships at workplace, research has been prioritized a great deal. In order to understand well how to relate with the customers and fellow employees it has become a routine that new employees are required to be inducted for a certain period. The material used by many organisations has synchronised with what some popular press give. This indicates that they engage in evaluating research findings and come up with the most acceptable strategies of enhancing relationships in a workplace. Research has indicated that a workforce with good relationship patterns from the top most to the basic units of an organisation is very productive. In addition, individuals get to stand for each other therefore enhancing continuity in the organization. Sexual behaviours are learnt a great deal from the media. The media influence the young individuals who are developing perceptions and beliefs about sexual behaviours. Most magazines and self-help materials have discouraged early sexual relationships in an effort to put a point across that they stand for a moral society. The information put across has lacked evidence based on scientifically proven research findings. Most of the writers rely on their own experience and the experience of others, to the extent that they use imaginary stories to communicate to their audience. This is a poor approach for it disregards research giving weight to a biased personal experience. Advice related to family relationships in most instances has depicted synchrony with developmental research findings. The relationship between an infant and the mother has well been elucidated with professional advice based on verifiable findings put across so that mothers can be at a position of understanding their Child’s behaviour. Massive knowledge about the relationship between the parents and the older children has been well documented, Parents have banked on such information leading to very healthy families. Despite the practicability of most of the information, some trending topics such as homosexuality have brought in controversies in families. The popular media has been used to communicate current affairs about relationships to the public. Because of the urgency to produce the material, minimal research is done resulting into biased conclusions. The writer may leave the reader to conclude for himself or herself or they may draw their own conclusions. Either way the conclusions may fall apart with the research findings on such topics. Current affairs are viewed as the direction the world is taking. It has become apparent that such relationships as homosexuality are acceptable in the society. Therefore, media has been used to propagate such thereby, fostering a societal shift from the old way of thinking to the modernized approach. According to the cognitive social learning theory, imitation of behaviours from individuals who goes unpunished is quite prevalent. The media has featured incidences where a person has committed acts that are detrimental to relationships. Such incidences should be condemned and disregarded. Magazines as well as other forms of media should embrace credibility and be positive in the delivery of their information. Positivity can influence the society in a positive way while negativity imparts to the minds of individuals lasting negative perceptions (Bandura 75). In this view, it is important that the mainstream media understand the information disseminated in public, sieving content that may be offensive and that which creates a negative perception. Research has its place in the society. It helps us to act for the good of the entire society since it is based on ethics. Some sections of the popular media have taken research lightly resulting into personal conclusions on how relationships can be managed. Research based arguments succeeds in providing permanent solutions. These shallow remedies look good on the surface without a long lasting impression on the relationship. However, some of the sections of the media have maintained quality standards in terms of the content they deliver to the public. The information is always verifiable and can be relied upon for implementation. Works Cited Bandura, A. Social Cognitive Theory of Mass Communication. Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research (pp. 61-90). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Holmes, B.M., & Johnson, K.R. Advice; Self-help and media advice about relationships. 2009. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Paul, R. A. & Previti,D. People’s Reasons for Divorcing:Gender, Social Class, the Life Course, and Adjustment. Journal of Family Issues. The Pennsylvania State University:sage Publications. 2003 Ward, L. M., Gorvine, B., & Cytron, A. Would That Really Happen? Adolescents' Perceptions of Sexuality According to Prime-Time Television.. Sexual Media (pp. 95-124). 2002. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Read More