Running head: Living in a Society influenced by the Media

Literature Review: Living in a society influenced by the media

Daniel Sigala
The University of Texas at El Paso
RWS 1302

Living in a Society Influenced by the Media

Abstract:
The media serves a pivotal purpose in our world, a purpose so large that the average
human cannot take on the days tasks without the help of the media. The purpose of this research
paper is to inform the reader about the influences of the media on our society through the use of
primary and secondary research. The reader will learn the true functions of the media, how it
influences society as a whole, what impact it has on the youth and adult lives in our world today
and whether it has a positive or negative effect on our society.
Keywords: Media, influence, society, decision making.

Living in a Society Influenced by the Media

Introduction:
The media has been shown to have the ability to impact our lives and our perceptions
since it was created. Whether its audio, video, or text, the media has the power to change the
way we think about the world.
At the beginning of something that is so called, Technological Revolution there was an
innovation for our post offices called the telegraph, then along came the radio, the newspaper,
magazines, television, and now the internet. For the last fifty years, the media and its influences
has grown exponentially with the constant advancement of technologies. The influence of the
media consists of three basic functions: they are providing news/information (not always the
correct news/information), entertainment and education. Now, these functions affect everyone in
our lives. From the toddler watching cartoons, to the elderly reading up on current events.
People need news/information for various reasons: it can be used to socialize and to make
decisions and formulate opinions. Entertainment is the other function of the media where it is
mostly used by the masses to amuse them in a stressful environment. Lastly, education could
possibly be the most important function of the media (depending on the person). This function
serves to educate the masses about their moral, social and religious obligations.

Research in this topic will answer the following research questions:

1. How has the media influenced society as a whole?
2. In what way does the media influence adults?
3. In what way does the media influence the children and youth?
4. Does the influence of the media portray a positive or negative effect?

Living in a Society Influenced by the Media

How has the media influenced society as a whole?

In our world today, the majority of people in society depend on information and
communication to remain connected with the world and perform daily activities like work,
entertainment, health care, education, socialization, and travel and so on. A common person
usually wakes up in the morning, checks the TV news or newspaper, goes to work, maybe
answer a few phone calls, and socialize with friends and/or family. Also, the average adult will
make close to 35,000 decisions everyday and 90 percent of these decisions were made based off
the information given to them either by family, co-workers, TV news, financial reports, etc.
Based on this information, a study was performed at the University of Texas at El Paso, which
proved that this phenomenon is true. A total of 100 students/professors were asked at random, if
they made any decisions based on something they heard or saw on any type of media.

Figure 1:

As a

A simple pie chart

showing more than
90% of people on
UTEPs campus are
influenced by media.

society, we have
become blind so
to speak to the media. We have given the media trust and authority to give us news,
entertainment, and education. However, the influence of the media on society as a whole is so
big that we should know how it really works. The media makes billions of dollars with the
advertising they sell and what we are exposed to at all times. In this case, we are told what to buy

Living in a Society Influenced by the Media

by the media. After seeing thousands of ads, we make our buying decisions. These are the effects
of mass media especially in teenagers, they buy what they see their favorite celebrity or athlete
wearing or using (eq. Beats by Dre, iPhone 6s). This makes society view products as something
truly special. On the other hand, adults take a similar effect to the media portraying new
products. These products arent always appealing to the younger members of society. These
products include new innovations in medication or maybe even insurance. All in all, the media
influences society as a whole through the use of appealing advertisements.

In what way does the media influence adults?

Adults in our world today are, quite frankly easily sold or manipulated if you will. Many
factors come into play when addressing the way mass media influences adults in our society.
These factors include: politics, health, and even pop culture.
Living in a country where democracy is the backbone of the government, makes politics
a very important issue to nearly every living adult in the country. According to Green- Pedersen
and Stubager (2010) The mass media are often perceived as constituting a central force in
modern democracies. Mass media is seen as a malign force in politics, and their increased
importance is see as potential problem for democracy. At this point in our time, many politicians
(adults) use the mass media to get their points across.

Living in a Society Influenced by the Media

Figure 2:
This is a political
cartoon showing
how the media
spoon-feeds the
public with
information.

There is a vast appreciation that the mass media has had an influence on adult health
behaviors. the perception among public health advocates that this impact is primarily negative
such as tobacco use. (social marketing blogs) The media advocates these issues through the use
of advertising. Advertisers use the total weight of evidence, from multiple types od studies,
conducted by investigators from different disciplines demonstrated a casual relationship between
tobacco advertising and promotions and that of increased tobacco use. This means that if the
amount an adult views these advertisements increases, the use of tobacco related products also
increases. This proves that adults are substantially influenced by the media.

In what way does the media influence the children and youth?
The influence of the media on the psychological development of children and youth is
very profound. In a harsh society such as the one we are living in today, a child is exposed to
many factors that may not be appropriate for children and youth. Now, a child can be exposed to
media such as television, radio, music, video games, and the Internet.
Television has the potential to generate both positive and negative effects, many studies
have looked at the impact of television on society particularly on children and adolescents.

Living in a Society Influenced by the Media

(Pediatrics and Child Care 2003) An individual childs developmental level is a critical factor in
determining whether the medium will have positive or negative effects. With television being the
way that it is, not all television programs are bad, research shows that negative effects have been
spotted in children whom were exposed to violence, inappropriate sexuality and offensive
language. There is a relationship between watching violent television programming and an
increase in violent behavior by children. Excessive television watching contributed to increased
childhood obesity and had a deleterious effect on learning and academic behavior, also on a more
personal level, children were also encouraged to partake in irresponsible sexual behavior.
Unbelievably, the average child in will have spent more time watching television than time in the
classroom.
Some video games may help the development of fine motor skills and coordination, but
many of the negative effects include: inactivity, asocial behavior, and violence. This happens due
to excessive exposure to video games. Violent video games portray war as having a winner and a
loser. Now this may seem true in reality, but as we know in warfare there is neither a winner or a
loser. The effect of violent video games has been a public health concern for many years.
The Internet can give both a positive effect and a negative effect of the youth, given that
there are both a positive and a negative side to the internet. The internet can be used for a wide
range of functions: entertainment, education and communication. In our world today the youth
have access to everyone of these functions, either at home school or with their friends. Given that
the youth arent as mentally inclined as the adults in society, they are much more easily
manipulated. Peer pressure is something that can affect the youth in such a way where
irresponsible decisions are made. Such as, pre-marital sex as well as alcohol and drug abuse.

Living in a Society Influenced by the Media

There are also many horrifying factors that can affect the youth, such as pedophilic activity and
pornography. These factors affect the youth in a very negative manor.
Teens and youngsters in our society are at a point in their lives where they want to be
accepted by their peers, they want to be loved and be successful. The media in this case creates
an ideal image of beautiful men and women with all of the ingredients of a successful person. It
is a subliminal way to persuade the masses that if you want to be successful and look like them
you must purchase this particular brand or product. With this said advertisers use this as
ammunition for portrayal of a product. To put both internet and violence together many
advertisers will use a well known celebrity depicted with guns and ammunition, the constant
exposure of which would seduce the teen to replicate the same behavior in real life.

Does the influence of the media portray a positive or negative effect?

In our society the media portrays both a positive and a negative effect on society. The
positives include entertainment and education. This effect touches base on every one influenced
by the media. The entertainment and education is positive due to the fact that it can be edifying
to whomever may experience it. However, there are some misconceptions that portray a negative
effect. With the younger members of society, they are negatively affected by the way the
successful person is portrayed in the Internet, movies, and TV shows. This causes self
consciousness and a lack of confidence. This particular factor may also give off a positive effect
as well, this leads to a increase in motivation to achieve success.

Living in a Society Influenced by the Media

Conclusion:
The media is something everyone involved in society cannot avoid given that it is
literally everywhere we turn. The media has had an impact on politics, health, education, and
entertainment. Now there are both positive and negative effects and influences that may be a part
of our society. But, the truth of it is, as citizens of a great country and vast world, the media
gives us things that we cannot live without.

Living in a Society Influenced by the Media

10

Reference:
Brown, J. D. (2002). Mass media influences on sexuality. Journal of sex research, 39(1),
42-45.
Fisk, G. (1959). Media influence reconsidered. Public Opinion Quarterly,23(1), 83-91.
Howe, A., Owen-Smith, V., Richardson, J., Leydon. G., Chan, P. M., Lee. T. S., Lee S.,
Yip. S. F., (2003). Media Influence on Suicide. British Medical Journal.
Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2002). The Effects of Media Violence on
Society. Science, 295(5564), 2377-2379.
Pediatrics and Child Health (2003) Impact of media use on children and youth national
library of Medicine and Health retrieved from: www. ncbi.nlm,gov/pmc/articles/PMC27922619
Grogan, S. (2010). Promoting Positive Body Image in Males and Females: Contemporary
Issues and Future Directions. Sex Roles, 63 (9-10), 757-765.
Knauss, C., Paxton, S. J., & Alsaker, F. D. (2008). Body Dissatisfaction in Adolescent
Boys and Girls: Objectified Body Consciousness, Internalization of the Media Body Ideal and
Perceived Pressure from Media. Sex Roles, 59(9-10), 633-643.
Social Marketing Blogs. (ND). The Effects of Media on Health Behaviors: Evidence
from Tobacco Control. Retrieved from:
socialmarketing.blogs.com/r_craig_lefebvres_social/2008/09/the-effects-of-media-on-healthbehaviors-evidence-from-tobacco-control.html