Introduction
Mass communication, in its basic sense, can be defined as a type of communication which is broadcasted over a wide group of people through various ways such as print, television, radio, and internet (Obe, 2008). Nowadays it cannot be denied that mass communication is becoming prevalent in the social lives of the modern people. With the advent of the Internet and the rise of social media communication, more and more people are becoming more dependent on social media in order to stay connected not only with their loved ones but also to the happenings and trends happening all over the world. Aside from communication, social media has also found a niche in other aspects of the human lifestyle, such as marketing, politics, sociology, and the like.
There are many implications to the fact that social media is becoming invaluable nowadays, some of which can be seen as beneficial while others as upsetting to the progress of the human civilization. Some argue that social media has only increased materialism of people, making their perspectives on products and services narrow and based on shallow perspectives due to the fleeting nature of images. On the other hand, others maintain that social media is the key to developing what is called a global village—a phenomenon wherein cultures from all over are integrated into one so that people from different races can interact with each other regardless of origin. In my opinion, social media is a bit of both; it is unfair to focus on the positive aspect of media while ignoring its negative repercussions. In addition, both effects can be traced to a single source: the prominence of the negative aspects of American culture, which is predominant in social media all over.
Social Media and Materialism
As mentioned earlier, social media has a significant effect on how people view the worth of people. For instance, they judge people according to their looks, appearance, and wealth because it is how pop culture judges these people as a whole. In addition, social media provides images of seemingly perfect yet unattainable conditions, products, lifestyles, and body images, which gives viewers a feeling of dissatisfaction with their current status in life. In other words, social media is making people increasingly materialistic; they base a value of a certain thing by how the standards of others.
A study conducted by Richins (1987) found out that people who watch TV regularly have lower life satisfaction compared to others. This proves that the media really have a detrimental effect on making customers lean on being materialistic.
Social Media and the Global Village
On a more positive side, social media is bringing everyone closer, which accentuates the idea that mass communication may be the key to developing what McLuhan described as a global village. With access to the internet, people now have a large database to acquire information than ever before. In addition, communicating with people is so much easier, which facilitates in the breakdown of cultural barriers and helps people understand each other (Anthony, 2015).
Reasons of Effects and Conclusion
The materialism and the global village impact of social media can be traced to the influence of American culture in the media. Dixon (2009) notes that there is a very wide representation of American culture in the media, which is not only perpetrated by Americans but also other cultures such as the Chinese. This may account for social media instilling some of the perceived negativities in American culture such as materialism and pop culture obsession, among others.
All in all, social media can be a good or a bad thing depending on how one looks at it. Nevertheless, there is no denying that social media has a profound effect on our lives, and it is here to stay.
References
Anthony, F. (2015). How social media makes the world ‘global village’. Vanguard. Retrieved from http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/09/how-social-media-makes-the-world-global-village/
Dixon, V. K. (2009). Understanding the Implications of a Global Village. Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse, 1(11). Retrieved from http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/a?id=61
Obe, J. (2015). Introduction to mass communication. Nigeria: National Open University of Nigeria
Richins, M. (1987). Media, materialism and human happiness. Association for consumer research. Retrieved from http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/6720/volumes/v14/NA-14
