Mass Media Influence But who owns the media, which are the These are the effects
h are the These are the effects of mass media in
In the last 50 years the media influence has
grown exponentially with the advance of
technology, first there was the telegraph, then
the radio, the newspaper, magazines, television
and now the internet.
We live in a society that depends on information
and communication to keep moving in the right
direction and do our daily activities like work,
entertainment, health care, education, personal
relationships, traveling and anything else that
we have to do.
A common person in the city usually wakes up
checks the tv news or newspaper, goes to work,
makes a few phone calls, eats with their family
when possible and makes his decisions based
on the information that he has either from their
co workers, news, tv, friends, family, financial
reports, etc.
What we need to be aware is that most of our
decisions, beliefs and values are based on what
we know for a fact, our assumptions and our
own experience. In our work we usually know
what we have to do based on our experience
and studies, however on our daily lives we rely
on the media to get the current news and facts
about what is important and what we should be
aware of.
We have put our trust on the media as an
authority to give us news, entertainment and
education. However, the influence of mass
media on our kids, teenagers and society is so
big that we should know how it really works.
How mass Media Influence works
Of all the media distribution channels the most
influential has been the television, we are
constantly exposed to thousands of images of
violence, advertising, sex, celebrities and much
more, in fact a its known that a child is exposed
to about 40,000 ads a year.
companies or people that shape our values,
beliefs and decisions? The media is basically
dominated by five major companies they are:
 Time Warner
 VIACOM
 Vivendi Universal
 Walt Disney
 News Corp
Those 5 companies own 95% of all the
media that we get every day. They own the
major entertainment theme parks,
entertainment movie studios, television and
radio broadcast networks and programing,
video news and sports entertainment.
They also own integrated telecommunications,
wireless phones, video games softwares,
electronic media, the music industry and more.
Years ago there was more diversity in
companies, but they have merged so now they
are just a few and they have the power to shape
the opinion and beliefs of us and our kids. So its
important to be aware of what your kids are
exposed to every day and you should also try to
look at things from different perspectives and
not just from the one the media gives you.
How does mass media influence young
people?
The media makes billions of dollars with the
advertising they sell and that we are exposed
to. We buy what we are told to be good, after
seeing thousands of advertisings we make our
buying decisions based on what we saw on Tv,
newspapers or magazines to be a product we
can trust and also based on what everyone else
that we know is buying and their decision are
also base don the media.
teenagers, they buy what they see on Tv, what
their favorite celebrity advertise and what is
acceptable by society based on the fashion that
the media has imposed them.
There are some positive and negative
influences in young people.
Here is a positive influence example, if there is
a sport that is getting a lot of attention by the
media and gains popularity among your friends
and society, you will more likely want to practice
the sport and be cool with all your friends. The
result is that you will have fun with your friends
and be more healthy because of the exercise
your are doing.
However a negative influence in teenagers is
the use of cigars by celebrity movie stars, the
constant exposure of sex images, the excessive
images of violence and exposure to thousands
of junk food ads.
Young people are in a stage of life where they
want to be accepted by their peers, they want to
be loved and be successful. The media creates
the ideal image of a beautiful men and women
and tells you what are the characteristics of a
successful person, you can see it in movies and
tv. Its a subliminal way to tell you that if you are
not like them you are not cool yet so its time to
buy the stuff they buy and look like they look.
Another negative influence in teenagers that
has grown over the last years are anorexia and
obesity. There are millions of adolescents
fighting obesity, but at the same time they are
exposed to thousands of advertisements of junk
food, while the ideas image of a successful
person is told to be thin and wealthy.
Also more women are obsessive with losing
weight even when they are not obese, there are
many thin women that want to look like the
super models and thin celebrities so they
engage in eating disorders which leads to
severe health issues and even death.
Effects of violence in the Media
When we watch Tv or a movie we usually see
many images of violence and people hurting
others. The problem with this is that it can
become traumatic especially in our children as
we see it more and more. Our kids that are
starting to grow and are shaping their
personality values and beliefs can become
aggressive or they can lose a sense of reality
and fiction of what they are seeing.
In the past years there have been some cases
of kids carrying a gun at school and even
hurting others with it. Those kids have been
linked to excessive use of violent video games
and war images.
Another problem is that real war is used as a
form of entertainment by the media, we should
make our kids and teen aware that war is not a
form of entertainment and that there is no win or
lose like in video games, in real war everyone
lose.
How media influence public opinion
As i have said above, the media has a huge
impact on society and also in public opinion.
They can shape the public opinion in different
ways depending of what is the objective.
For example, after the attacks of 911 the media
gave a huge coverage of the event and
exposed Osama guilty for the attack as they
were told by the authorities. This shaped the
public opinion to support the war on terrorism,
the same happened with the war on Iraq. The
problem is that if media received un accurate
information then the public opinion supported a
wrong cause, this is the power of public opinion
influence.
Other ways to influence are with polls and • Violent crimes in this country were on the rise.
trends, especially in political campaigns. The
candidates that can pay for more tv and media • We were at war. 
exposure have more influence on public opinion
and thus can receive more votes. •A president (John Kennedy) was assassinated.
Mass Media and Society •A presidential candidate (Bobby Kennedy) was 
assassinated.
Media Effects
•A civil right leader (Martin Luther King) was ass
Sex and violence in the media assinated. 
One of the more controversial areas of study of  • There was an attempt on the life of the Pope.
the media is what effect the media have on us. 
This  There had to be a cause. Why the sudden incre
ase? To some, the media ‐‐especially television
is particularly timely as eyes are on Hollywood a seemed a good candidate. After all, in the 1960
nd the violent and sexy movies it makes.  s we had the first American generation raised o
n television. And if you looked at the fare on tele
•Does all the sex in the media, particularly the  vision, you saw all kinds of cop shoot‐em‐up sh
movies and television, have anything to do with  ows. Movies, threatened with extinction thanks t
the sexual mores of society?  o television, had responded by including more v
iolence and sex.
• How about violence in the media? 
A number of long‐term studies were conducted t
•Does it have a relationship with the increase in  o determine what, if any results, all that media 
violence in our society? 
violence was having on us. Four major results c
•Does the media just mirror the sex and violenc ame from these studies. A fifth one has evolved 
e in society, or does it influence society?  over time.
Remember the theme for this class that we disc Catharsis Theory
ussed the first week (go back to themes lecture 
for a refresher.) The first of these theories suggests that rather t
han be harmful violence in the media actually h
There have been countless studies trying to find  as a positive effect on society. The central assu
out. Some of the most famous were the Payne  mption of the Catharsis Theory is that people, in 
course of daily life, build up frustrations. Vicario
Studies in the late 1920s that looked at the imp us participation in others' aggressions help rele
act of movie violence on children. And starting i ase those tensions.In other words, every day w
n the  e frustrations in us build up. Without a release v
alve we risk the chance of becoming violent, or 
1960s people started looking for a cause for the  at least aggressive. You do poorly on a test. Yo
increase of violence in society. u have to park to far away from the classroom. 
Some jerk cuts in front of you on the freeway. Y
ou get home and your significant other, or a chil e conditions, model its behavior.If there are 50  ease the likelihood of violent or aggressive beh
d, starts demanding your attention. You snap ba ways to leave your lover, then there must be at l avior for those who accept violence and aggres
ck by yelling or hitting. That counts as violence  east 49 ways to be violent or aggressive. And w sion as normal. It will decrease the likelihood of 
as much as shooting someone. It is only a matt atching violent media portrayals will teach you n aggression and violence for those brought up to 
er of degree.The Catharsis theorist would say th ew ways to be violent.Ever watch a whodunit, s believe that violence is bad. Violence merely rei
at by watching violence in the media you releas uch as a Columbo episode, where you spot whe nforces prior beliefs.Instead of looking for blame 
e some of that tension and are less likely to be  re the criminal makes the fatal mistake? Ever ca in a violent media portrayal, the Reinforcement t
aggressive or violent. But can you say the same  tch yourself saying, "If I ever committed a murd heorist would say that if you want to predict an 
thing about sex in the media? er I would not make THAT mistake?" What? Are  outcome, look at the viewer's background. Look 
you suggesting there is a circumstance where y at the person's cultural norms and views of soci
Aggressive Cues Theory ou would kill someone?Or, how about this? Ima al roles. If person grows up in a crime‐ridden nei
gine walking down a dark alley and someone st ghborhood, then violent portrayals are more like
Then there is the opposite view, that violence D eps out in front of you and makes a threatening  ly to lead to violence.Obviously, selective perce
OES have an impact. Probably most prevalent  gesture. What would you do? Anyone think of s ption (go back to the communication lecture) is 
of these theories is the Aggressive Cues Theory  ome kung fu/karate moves you might make to d going on here.But the Reinforcement theorist w
that has as its central assumption this: Exposur efend yourself? That's a pretty aggressive/viole ould point out that there is going to be the exce
e to aggressive stimuli will increase physiologic nt thought. And you learned it by watching a me ption to the rule. You are going to run across th
al and emotional arousal, which will increase th dia portrayal.So the Observational Learning the e gentle old man who everyone believed would 
e probability of violence.In other words, all that  orist says that not only would the media violenc never hurt a fly who whacks his family into a tho
violence gets the adrenaline juices in us flowing  e increase the probability of the viewer committi usand pieces one day. Or you are going to find t
and makes us more edgy, increasing the chanc ng an aggression or violence, it teaches the vie he gang member who one day recognizes the f
e that we'll be more aggressive or more violent.  wer how to do it. Does media mirror society or d utility of violence and turns to the priesthood.
Aggressive Cues theorists are quick to point out  oes it influence it? (The answer is both.)Further, 
that watching violence does not mean we'll alwa the Observational Theorist hedges his bet by po Cultivation Theory
ys be more aggressive or violent, but it increase inting out that you will not automatically go out a
s the chances.And the way in which the violenc nd mimic the violent act, but you store the infor A final theory on the effects of violence in the m
e is presented will have an impact on us, too. If  mation away in your brain.Again, think about se edia has evolved out of more recent studies. It i
we can relate to the protagonist committing the  x instead of violence. Does watching sexual por s the Cultivation Theory. Rather than predict tha
violence, or if the violence is presented in a justi trayals  t we will turn to or from violence, it looks at how 
fiable way, we can be led to aggressive behavio teach you new ways to think about sex and per we'll react to the violence. The central assumpti
r.If a bratty kid gets spanked in a media portray haps engage in sexual acts? If you see that sle on of the theory is that in the symbolic world of 
al ‐‐clearly an aggressive and violent act‐‐ it sen eping with someone on a first date is normal, aft media, particularly TV, shapes and maintains a
ds a message that corporal punishment is acce er a while you start believing that everyone mus udience's conception of the real worldIn other w
ptable under the right circumstances.If steelwor t be doing it, so you should, too. ords, the media, especially TV, creates fantasy 
kers see a show where steelworkers drink and  world that is mean spirited and dangerous. It als
brawl after work every day, they are more likely  Reinforcement Theory o creates stereotypes of dominant/weak folk in 
to accept that drinking and brawling are normal  society. For instance, imagine a bank robberwh
behavior. One theory says that media violence decreases  o is big and mean. Is your imaginary bank robb
the probability of violence by the viewer. Two ot er of certain race? Are all people that look
Observational Learning Theory hers say that it will increase the probability of vi like this bank robber actually mean back robber
olence. And then there is the Reinforcement Th s?Or how about this? You are starting to show s
The Observational Learning theorist would take  eory that debunks both.The central assumption  ome signs of age with gray hair and wrinkles ar
the Aggressive Cues theory a step further. This  of this theory is that media portrayals reinforce  ound your eyes. If you are guy in the media, tha
theory says that people can learn by observing  established behaviors viewers bring with them t t is good. It shows a maturing. If you are woman
aggression in media portrayals and, under som o the media situation. Violent portrayals will incr , that is bad, it just shows that you are getting ol
d and less vital. A male can be dominant and be  humor, yet there it is when our little ones are
looked up to. A woman who is dominant can be  still up.
a bitch. All lawyers are crooks. All journalists ar We need to evaluate the trends of
e seedy (as in "The Front Page"). All media ster today. Does the influence in our family’s lives
eotypes!And the media tell us that it is a mean  build stronger healthier families? Or do the TV,
world out there. Driving freeways is unsafe beca Radio, Magazines, Internet, and Games tear
use of drive‐by shootings and spectacular police  down what we are trying to establish, a good
car chases. Crime in the neighborhood is rampa moral home place, family values that are taught
nt if you look at the nightly news. Some people  and learned at home. Is what we see, what we
who live vicariously through television feel it is u are about to become? How much does what we
nsafe to leave their home or apartment and bec see stay with us? These are all questions we
ome shut‐ins. recommend you keep in mind as you visit our
site.
The effect of Media on us today is a
stealthy thief. As we read our dailyNewspaper,  
the advertising sometimes takes up the whole
page. We search for the rest of the article,
hidden back beneath the ads. When we turn
the Radio on during the ride to work, verses of
songs can overwhelm us with the vulgarity and
crudeness, casting us into a foul mood for the
rest of the day. As we drive down the road we
are still being contacted by advertising.
The Billboards tell us where to stay, where to
shop, and how to get to the
racetrack.  The Magazines we read now have
articles we would not want our children to read.
The racy and risqué now is commonplace,
causing our children to grow up with way too
much information. Our children and teenagers
have used Games and gaming to such an
extent that they now feel violence is normal and
acceptable. The games children play with on
theInternet seems to be destroying the value
system we desire to teach. When we go online
to surf the web we are bombarded with
inappropriate Internet pop-ups and emails. Buy
this, play the casino here - we will even give
you money to start. Then, when we get home
our place of peace, yet the Television is on,
inciting our children, and toys there are. On TV
they age can watch the ill manners of the Bart
Simpson show, playing at a time that is not
appropriate, the dinner hour. This show is adult