Does Media corrupts our society?

Does media corrupts our society?

Media, is a form by which information reaches us, be it entertainment, news or performances. Corruption would mean to me that something is altered from its original state, and often, seen in a bad light. Society is basically the whole community that we belong in, where each of an individual come together to form.

As media evolved over the years, it has turned from a means of transmitting information to an extent that it has the ability to alter mindsets of people. The influence of media, be it positive or negative, has reached a stage whereby people actually follow the stereotype set by it. Media becomes a platform for which we discern right from wrong and it plays a vital role in shaping our values.

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/index.cfm
The above website showcases the problems of stereotyping. It will handicap people’s ability to see differences in a group, as they are all lumped together under one category. This will also make it appear that certain perceptions are actually true. In the long run, it perpetuates social prejudice and escalates the problem of inequality. Providing specific examples, it examines the way media portray people. For one, there is stereotyping of gender, determining the ways male and female should behave. However, besides gender, there is a much bigger concern, as values of human beings are being threatened, as increasingly, violence has evolved to become part and parcel of our lives.
http://stmarys.ca/~evanderveen/wvdv/crime_media/crime_media_theories.htm

From this website, we learn the impacts of media. Point 7 states that postmodern cultural criminology has taken place, as there are enactment of crime and violence as pleasure or spectacle. This may seem to be an innocent act, purely for recreational activities, but the implications of this action is pretty drastic. This indicates that the people are satisfying their hunger to see injury, fighting scenes, and all sorts blood-thirsty situations.

The increased violence of people today is a huge problem. Instead of trying to deter people away from it, media is actually promoting it, by having wrestling shown on television, even during hours when children have access to it. Being young minds that may not have matured, kids fail to realize that the wrestlers have a technique to make it bloody, use relatively harmless. They assume that it is all true, and start a whole lot of problem in the society, by injuring their peers.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/news2001/may01/may21/2_tues/news6tuesday.html

All this is not without prove, as the above site analyses the impact of media on the future leaders of the society. There is a study carried out, and “it establishes a link between frequent wrestling viewing and various forms of violent acts and drug abuse,” as quoted from the article. The media has been giving the perception of norm, and produces mindsets of people. To these youths, since the media is also broadcasting wrestling, then it must be right.

As explained above, the media will form the stereotype and set the norm for people to follow. In the process, some who failed to recognize the power of media will unknowingly subdue to it. As media appears to be positive, they do not suspect that media has an impact on the way people perceive and distinguish right from wrong.

But of course, media is not all that bad. It is a medium by which information reaches people, as we learn about the latest happenings around the world through televisions and internet access etc. Media actually poses as a critical role in disseminating information. With proper regulations, and censorship, we can enhance its reputation, and eliminate those negative consequences as a result of undesirable programmes that are aired.

By looking at these illustrations, we realize that media has indeed impacted our society in a negative manner, corrupting it. Values have been altered, and mindsets changed, even the way we perceive issues and happenings seem to take on a different light. However, there are some good too, as we are offered a different perception in things. But still, whether or not we allow these things to set in out minds largely depends on our maturity and our willingness to accept the information.