The Effects of Mass Media on Modern Youth - Essay Example

The Effects of Mass Media on Modern Youth The mass media has a significant influence on people of different ages but youths are the most exposed to the mass media. In lack of good socializing places, youths turn to social networks which are not only available, but also very cheap. Fortunately, the current world is full technological development. However, the environment created by advancement in technology constitute of good and evil, charity and violence as well as beauty and ugliness. The effects of media on youths range from the common ones to those more understated. In most occasions, people do fear about the content of media. This is as a result of media being associated with wrong things such as violence, lawlessness as well as breakdown in moral values. In tandem to this, the paper will expound on the impacts of mass media on youths. It will detail on both the negatives and positive contributions of mass media to youths. The internet is the leading when one talks about the influence of media on youths. The other media such as television and newspapers are less influential but also present youth’s share of daily activities. During their growth and development age, youths try to talk, behave as well as talk like popular TV and music celebrities. They also choose the types of groups to belong to, and friends to interact with. If a youth wants to keep in touch with the current advancement in technology, he or she must join Facebook, twitter as well as MySpace. Most youths of ages below 18 currently ignore sport activities and access to their education in order to have more time with their computers. As a result of this, majority of the youths do not develop or grow properly and they often have health complications. The effects of violence as portrayed on television greatly influences the character traits of youths. Majority of the youths have the tendency of emulating what they see on the television. This is evidenced by the trial that took place in Miami, Florida; a 15-year-old boy by name Ronney Zamora was accused of killing an 82-year old neighbor because of the influence of media. According to the defense attorney, the boy was innocent because his addiction to violent television programs had led to his insanity (Jacobs, 1992). Youths’ view on things, opinions as well as attitudes change so much too. They have a tendency of copying styles of famous people leading to them forgetting who they really are. They try their best to look like celebrities and forget to work hard in school for good marks. The internet enhances a mode of style, behavior and fashion that leads to youths looking alike and behave similarly. This internet influence leads to social segregations; rich youths of the age between 15 and 18 slur poor ones. Unfortunately, this leads to crop of uncouth social practices. The negatives portrayed by the youths in the society are a result of the willingness to awaken people about them. For instance, the negative effects of addiction are spread through advertisements. Newspapers, internet and TV are used to pass social messages. But sorry to say sometimes, the message conveyed is misconstrued. The ‘awakening often does not reach everyone as intended or it reaches the public in the wrong way (Jacobs, 1992). As such, there are a proportion of youths that is influenced by media while there is another proportion that takes the message in the wrong way. Media influences such youths negatively; depiction of the bad influences them to behave wrongly. Media overloads youths with lots of information. It is so addictive that once a person is glued to it, he or she tends to forget everything else. In most occasions, when youths are not watching television, they are surfing the internet, when they are not on the web, they are probably reading newspapers, and when they are not reading anything, they are likely listening to something. Therefore, all the time, youths are stuck to some form of media. The media bombard them with diverse content, news, and information as well as expose them to everything it has (Romanucci-Ross, Tsuda & Vos, 2006). It links them to some things important and some other things that one could wish to ignore. As described above, media is so addictive. Its negative effects are portrayed by the change of the youths’ mental setup as well as the decline of the quality of the lifestyle. As a result of oh-so-alluring media, most of the youths spend their time on the television, internet reading celebrities gossip or roving purposelessly on the internet. Young female youths with petite bodies as well as Barbie figures are always considered more attractive than overweight youths in all areas including media. This perception leads to a notion that thin ladies are sexy and fat ladies not (Resnik, 1990). When this thought ringers in the minds of youths, they take to turn plastic or cosmetic surgeries in order to get perfect bodies. The craze for actress and actors portrayed by media make youths want bodies and facial characteristics like theirs. Additionally, media has led to the general perception that size-zero is the right size whereas fat and chubby are worthless. Media also results to health problems. It affects the physical and psychological wellbeing of youths. Youths that spent hours in front of television or internet surfing develop eye problems. Lack of physical activities on the other hand results to obesity problems. Media contribute also positively to the youths. It has managed to change youths’ outlook towards life. In addition to enhancing social cohesion, media has enabled free flow of information regarding the occurrences in the world. It has also enabled youths to share ideas and opinions about life. Debates and discussions held via media also motivate and persuade youths to doing some important things in the society. Apart from enhancing cultural promotion and providing entertainment, media also enhances support for youths’ education. In conclusion, media impacts the lifestyle of youths in many ways. Apart from enhancing social cohesion and cultural interaction, it also leads to advancement of negative characters in the society. It also leads to self-denial. References Jacobs, N. (1992). Mass Media in Modern Society. New York: Transaction Publishers. Resnik, H. (1990). Youth and Drugs: Societys Mixed Messages. New York: DIANE Publishing. Romanucci-Ross, L., Tsuda, T. & Vos, G. (2006). Ethnic Identity: Problems and Prospects for the Twenty-first Century. New York: Rowman Altamira. Read More