Mass Media: the Negative Effects

844 Words4 Pages
With the exponential growth of technology in the past century, mass media has become increasingly influential on our society ultimately in a negative way. It all began with the simple telegraph, then newspaper to magazines to television, and now the most influential of all, the internet. There are so many negative influences around that we are unaware of. From advertisements, to social media, we are constantly being remodeled into a society that we do not want to become. We depend on the media for news, entertainment and education, yet we are not aware that we give the media way too much credit. For example, you probably watch your local news channel at least several times a week. You are simply just wondering what is going on in your area or waiting to hear the headline news. What are you mostly seeing on the news? Most of it is negative. It is very rare we are being educated on the “good things” that are happening in the world. Every time someone is finished watching the news, they feel very negatively about the world and in turn they feel angry or sad. This output of negativity is destructive to our society’s mental health as we should constantly be reminded of the positive things happening and not the negative occurrences. Yes, we should be aware and warned of the dangerous things that are happening, but the news broadcasters take it too far. Take a second to look around where you are. I am willing to bet money there is some form of advertisement nearby. Did you know, according to The America Academy of Pediatrics, the average young person or adolescent views more than 3,000 advertisements of any sort in just one day? (Strasburger, 2006). These young minds are not capable to comprehend the pervasive and potentially dangerous threats these advertisements pose for them. They influence what we buy, how we feel, and what we think we need. Whether we are aware of

More about Mass Media: the Negative Effects

Open Document