Introduction
Mass media remain one of the single most influential facilities in the society today. The media cultivates certain matters into people’s normal lives to the extent that most people have become indoctrinated by different media facilities. In all spheres of life, the media continues to be the most trusted element (Baran, 2009). People would rather have information factual or otherwise, without interrogating the essence of the information provided. Mass media models people’s perceptions and way of life either positively or negatively.
As information hub, the media provides information on different fronts. From political to family issues, the media has become instrumental in shaping peoples mentality on how people are to react or behave with respect to prevailing circumstances. In the society, there are several issues that people endeavor to confront. Some of the issues are violence in the society, discrimination, morality, and different forms of addiction. While the society has improvised different ways and means of dealing with the respective issues, the media may provide a different view of the prevailing circumstances in the society (Baran, 2009).
People tend to believe the media more than any other source because it is believed that it is a mirror to the society. While this argument could be valid to some extent, a larger portion of the media content gives unrealistic expectations of the audiences. Talk shows, documentaries, reality shows, soap operas and fiction stories give the audience some stage-managed approach to dealing with issues. More often than not, respond to life issues or debates on different fronts are nothing, but elusive. The modeling of people’s perceptions and lifestyles, mass media creates a precedent that makes it difficult to cultivate values that are beneficial to the society (Singhal, Wang & Rodgers, 2009).
Soap operas that are aired on both television and radio are used to model relationships. This means that people would ordinarily want their relationships to look like what happens in the soap operas. What people do not know is that what happens there is nothing, but stage-managed. The media never takes an initiative to make it known to the people what the stories are all about and the context in which they are to be used. This assumption by the media has modeled the society to the extent that people believe the mass media more than anything else (Segrin & Nabi, 2002).
Violence in the society has been perpetuated by the mass media on different platforms. While it is an individual’s choice to pay attention to the content of the media, the media has a responsibility to vet what is aired. Action movies and other fiction stories cultivate violent perceptions in the minds of the audiences. While the media could be airing such programs to entertain their audiences, what they do not consider is that some people may not consider those movies as entertainment options. To this extent, the media sets a bad precedence to the society (Jalihal, & Veerabhadraiah, 2007). Those in business use the mass media to advertise their products. At times, the advertisement sets unnecessary expectations of the people. Some over spend their resources based on what they see or hear from the advertisements. The disillusionment by the advertisements happens right in the face of the mass media without any intervention (Baran, 2009).
Conclusion
The mass media should be a tool that shapes the people’s lifestyles in a positive manner. As a mirror of the society, the mass media should provide valuable alternatives that inform decisions in the society. Control of the media content as well as providing reality checks are important in shaping the role of the media in the society. The mass media should, therefore, provide positive incentives to the audiences other that planting negativity.
References:
Baran, S. J., & Davis, D. K. (2009). Mass communication theory: Foundations, ferment, and future. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Jalihal, K. A., & Veerabhadraiah, V. (2007). Fundamentals of extension education and management in extension. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.
Singhal, Arvind, Wang, Hua & Rodgers, Everett. M. (2009). The rising tide of entertainment education in communication campaign: The entertainment-education strategy. Press
Segrin, Chris & Nabi, Robin L. (2002). Does television viewing cultivate unrealistic expectations about marriage? International Communication Association. Copyright.
