Impact of Mass Media on Children Essay

Too much media attention foc offices on the strike of elicit and abandon on children. The assumption seems to be that if the media stopped show sex and violence on television and in filmsand now film games be the culpritthe world would be a better place. sometimes the argument goes further. If the media sooner presented quality family and religious programming, children would grow up to be moral people.Both of these ifs be based on the premise that the media makes us do things that we dont want to do. The scenario in the 1950s vie discover like thisWe take on two better teenagersThey listen to contention N Roll musicThe music stimulates their animal instinctsThey shake up sex. They didnt want to the music make them.Today the scenario goes like thisThe boy is frankThe boy plays video gamesThe boy becomes a crack shotThe boy goes to school and shoots his class opposesHe didnt want to violent video games made him.I agree that the video games and the music hold back an impact on children. From the video gamesand televisionand films, the child learns the signifiers of violence. Similarly, the media t distributivelyes us the signifiers of sexuality. Once those signifiers become signifieds stored in our memories, that learning cigarettet be unlearned this side of ugly a brain injury. However, no single signifier stands alone. Individuals interpret each signifier as wear of a mental schema.The final becharm for a given unmarried to choose antisocial behavior whitethorn be the video game or the music. Or it might be the chocolate doughnut. With billions of people in the world, somebody somewhere is likely to be motivated to action by just about(predicate) either(prenominal)thing.To blame the media for respective(prenominal) behavior is missing the point and simplifies the issues. Just getting the bad messages out of the media is not going to create a good society.The media is an influenceThe media does have an influence on children the same im pact it has on all(a) of us 1. The media teaches us the signifiers of the culture and what they mean.2. The media sets an agenda which directs our attention to the issues that the media managers think are important.3. The media teaches us ideology by offering us tooth roots to binary star oppositions.Let us look at each of these points separately and see what the impact could be on children.Here are two typical sets of signifiers found in our culture.The images of Jennifer Anniston from Seventeen (August 2000) teach the signifiers of sexuality, feministic and gender. Whether those signifiers have a positive or detrimental impact on a given individual counts on individual past experience. One soul may read her images as ethnical definitions of cute. A victim of sexual abuse may interpret the signifiers as an invitation to arouse notice. A person who knows the signifiers of pornography may read the images as indicating availability.The CD cover to the right teaches the signifiers of gender and maleness. The images create an association of masculinity with violence and weapons.Both images put signifiers into the culture, set an agenda and offer solutions to binary oppositions to the children to whom they are targeted.Teaches signifiers. From watching violent films, television, and playing violent video games, we all learn how to be violent. Similarly, we learn the signifiers of sexuality and what those signifiers mean. How we interpret those signifiers is going to depend on our own past experiences. Children who are sexually abused are going to read sexual signifiers differently than children whose parents demonstrate a loving, care relationship and explain sexual behaviors to their children. Similarly, children who were physically abused or who stand firm in violent neighborhoods also will bring their past experiences to any media experience. In short, the past experiences of children help determine what impact the medias images have on children.What this means is that the media cant make mass murderers or schoolyard shooters, but if a child decides to go in that direction, the media helps teach them how to do it.Sets the Agenda. An analysis of mass media becomes a bit scary at this point. What are the three dominant topics presented in the media? Sex, Violence and The Consumer Culture. This is what we are telling children is important.Offers Solutions to Problems. immediately things become really scaryat least to me. Lets look at this media effect in three ways1. The media perpetually presents the binary opposition of good vs. offense. This is particularly true in umpteen cartoons, such as Batman or G.I. Joe, or some other superhero scenario. In each case, society is held hostage by evil. The average person can do nothing. Only the superhero can defeat evil through the use of violence. But, theres a limit to what even the superhero can do. If the good guys destroy evil, then the premise of the cartoon is over. The heroes win but evil continues. Here are the lessons being taughtEvil exists to destroy good and so the world is a conflict between good and evil. Most of us cannot do anything against evil therefore, we are easy victims. We must give reassure over to superheroes who can wage war on evil. Violence is the solution to problems.2. True love is the solution to all ain problems. Remember the Jerry MaGuire lineage You complete me? True love means notwithstanding one person in the world exists for each person. The current cliche soul mate sums up this way of thinking. Here are the lessons being taughtIf there is only one person for each person, how do you explain an attraction to other person? Todays economy constantly puts men and women together in high pressure, stimulating circumstances. We are psychologically and physiologically pumped-up(a) to respond to members of the opposite sex. Sooner or later, most people in our culture will be placed in an interpersonal circumstance that can easily as sume the feelings of love because body chemistry is responding to the liberty of the other person.If a person needs someone to complete that individual, what happens when the part that needs completing feels incomplete again? The fault lies with the relationship. No incertitude all of us need someone some of the time, but a person with serious, unresolved personal issues is probably incapable of forming a well-preserved relationship in the first place. When the first partner fails to fill the personal hole, then the incomplete person will go in seek for another completer.Is it any wonder that so some failed relationships exist? Is it any wonder that so many teens engage in premarital sex since love is the solution so often offered by the media?Why is the media drug-addicted on love? Love motivates us to purchase so many productsfrom toothpaste to diamondsso that we can offer our ideal selves to another person instead of the actual people we are. Plus, it is easy for the media t o connect sex and love. What was the name of the conk out new movie you saw where sex didnt follow at once the lead male and female fell in love? As Maslow argues, sex is a strong motivatorstrong enough to move people to spend money to acquire sexual attractiveness, and, by extension, love.3. Finally, the media offers violence as the method chosen by men. The movie industry presents us with Tom Cruise, Wesley Snipes, Al Pacino, James Bond, and the list goes on and on. In sports, we have Sunday football and Wednesday wrestling. The History Channel presents the heroes of World War II. A & E and Discovery channels prove the power of cops through their programming. match to the media, such men are heroes. They protect their families. They are honored by those around them. They are rewarded with the most attractive women available. Any boy backward to engage in violence can not be a man. Girls also have something to learn. They need a man to protect them from bonnie victims of rape and violence. As cheerleaders stand on the sidelines cheering on the team, they are taught to reward the guys who prove they are men.ConclusionsThe media teaches children the signifiers of sex, violence and consumerism. The media tells children it is important to think about these three things because these are the topics the media most often places into the agenda. Finally, either sex, violence or a product offers a solution to every problem.