Does the Media Control Our Minds?

Opinion

Does the Media Control Our Minds?

Hannah Stefanoff – February 8, 2011

With the ability to connect to the world in so many ways, there is a huge possibility we are being affected more than we know.

Now, as we are more connected to the world than ever, the media has become one of the most influential aspects of life. It can have a positive impact on us by providing us with entertainment, new discoveries, and incoming weather. We should also be aware of the negative toll it may take on our views of the world and people.

We may think that we will not allow the media to influence our opinions, but most of the time its effects go undetected. There are many attempts by the media to influence us without us knowing. We may be watching a movie and at dinner everyone is drinking a Coke. Now we are thirsty and craving a Coke without even being aware of the television making this decision for us.

In order to be aware of the impact of the media, it is important to know some specific ways it influences decisions. Repetition of the same message is a common tool of influence. Political messages are often presented in this way because over time we are more likely to decide on a particular political message if we here it multiple times a day.

Using experts, or what seem to be experts on a topic or product, also tends to sway opinions on things. We are in search of a fast-acting acne medication and before we know it we are buying ProActiv because Jessica Simpson says it's the best. If someone else chooses a product for us we feel more comfortable than choosing alone.

Sometimes signs or ads are presented to us for a product we have been wanting for a long time. If the ad tells us it is a limited edition or the ad suggests it is time sensitive, then we feel the urge to buy it now rather than save up until we really have the money.

Although it may seem like the media tends to influence mostly just our consumer choices, it also may affect our opinions about the world or specific people and races. There are certain aspects of the media that focus in on one aspect of a race. Often the media that does so is targeted to a younger demographic, who can be more easily influenced.

MTV plays a large role in possibly causing viewers to negatively view a certain group of people. The hit show, Jersey Shore, does just this, and has been raising criticism around the country. Although it has gained popularity the past two years, it may be showing derogatory stereotypes.

The show allows us to see how young people in there twenties spend their summer in Jersey Shore. Their time is spent partying every night, tanning every day, and drinking at noon. This group of people just happens to be Italian – Americans.

Jersey Shore has raised controversy from many places, including the National Italian American Foundation and Unico. Both of which are Italian American service organizations.

With the growing popularity of shows like Jersey Shore or Cut off, we should be more aware of the amount of time that young people spend watching TV.

Currently, the youth is more likely to watch television during primetime than any other time and this is when the more inappropriate shows come on. By starting the intense media usage early on, the bad habits are only being encouraged.

Since 99% of households in America have at least one television and 66 % have three or more, it is getting easier every day for the media to reach us. We are also not helping the cause by allowing children to start this excessively media influenced life by allowing the average child to watch 1,680 minutes of television per week.

The statistics are out there and the control has begun. Before deciding to go along with the average trend of Americans and have our TV on for almost seven hours daily, we should think about the outcome. Where will the next generation end up because of this mass media molding our minds?