The Media and Its Effects on Americans
by Society in the United States is dependent on the media. A common person in the city usually wakes up, checks the T.V. for the news or reads the newspaper, goes to work, makes a few phone calls, eats with their family when possible and makes his or her decisions based on the information that they have acquired.
Many times, this information is beneficial, but more times than enough, it has caused the people of America to go astray from what many would consider to be “moral.” The influence of the media can be good, but only if those in charge of it are responsible with what they decide to show.
In the past 50 years, the media has rapidly grown due to technology. It started out as a telegraph to relay messages back and forth in code, soon advancing to the radio on wireless signals for the first time ever, then the distribution of news through newspapers, magazines, and the television. It has been awhile, but now everyone gets their share of the news and gossip from the internet. With 85% of American’s having access to the internet from their own houses, anything put on the media can be widely dispersed and distributed easily. What get’s distributed though, is another question with a simple, yet complex answer.
Of all the media distribution channels, the most influential has been the television, although the internet is definitely catching up. Americans are constantly exposed to thousands of images of violence, advertising, sex, celebrities and much more. In fact, it’s known that a child is exposed to about 40,000 ads a year. What is shown on the internet and television can be compared to an analogy; the boy who makes the game makes the rules. 95% of the media is currently owned by 5 top corporate leaders: Time Warner, VIACOM, Vivendi Universal, Walt Disney, and News Corp. These companies own theme parks, entertainment studios, radio broadcast programs, video news and sports entertainment. They essentially are what Americans watch and listen to in their normal and daily lives.
The media makes billions of dollars off of the selling of advertisement space for various companies to promote their products or values. Americans trust a good majority of what they see and hear on the media. They make purchases based on what they have seen advertised, hoping to make the best decisions on obtaining the best product at the best affordable price. This in turn brings about two different issues from two sides of a coin. Certain promotions of advertised products are excellent, but a good majority of them are not in the favor of youth.
The way American youth is influenced is based on what the popular trend is. Celebrities, such as musicians, pop culture entertainers, and stars on reality, dramatic, and comedy shows, are one of the biggest influences on many of America’s youth. What they wear, what they eat, but most importantly, what they do overall is shaped because of what these individuals or group of individuals choose to do. America’s youth is willing to change who they are to fit in what we call as society. The majority of decisions that the youth make are based greatly on what the media has to say.
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