This was originally for an assignment today during my Faith and Media class (we had a sub as the teacher wasn't there). It's was originally talking about the church and I've posted it in other places too. Anyway, what I wrote in the course of about fifteen minutes about media's influence on ALL of us and not just teens and kids as the original assignment asked.
The medias of television, internet and entertainment buy and sell teens to make a quick dollar by influencing their young minds to buy the product, or in some cases votes. The world today is full of big corporations who sponsor certain politicians and television entertainment companies. It is the greed that corrupts today’s world.
Ads are everywhere, be it for voting for a politician to buying a new product. Commercials or ads on the internet and television attempt to brainwash kids and teens into thinking they should lose weight, buy a certain toy, or vote for someone in government. Many companies also use lies to appeal to an audience, like an ad for cigarettes stating that they are healthy, which has been proven by science otherwise to cause cancer and other ailments.
Teens can stand up to the media giants by boycotting some major media corporations, even if fully avoiding them is impossible. They can also ignore the media’s influence and be themselves if they can.
We can educate teens on the media’s influence and its effects. We can also note how the media’s influence can be bad. The more we can educate them the better.
What do you think of the media's influence on society? How should Christians respond to the effect of media?
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Comments (10)
Media is the plural of "medium". Any mode of communication is a medium. The Bible is a medium. The point of me saying this is that it seems fashionable to talk about how terrible "the media" is, as if somehow only MTV and reality tv shows count as "the media". "The media" is one of those nebulous things; the term only seems to apply to mediums that people disagree with. To political conservatives, "the media" is terrible and "liberal"; apparently Fox News doesn't count as "the media". To Christians, say a Catholic, apparently EWTN doesn't count as "the media". Televisions programs, movies, books, magazines, radio shows, and newspapers exist because someone watches, reads, or listens to them. "The Media" only influences people to the extent that people allow it to influence them; it does not exist in a vacuum nor do Christians live outside its sphere of influence.
@scrambledmegsntoast@xanga - I never thought of it that way, but enjoyed reading your comment and logic of your point of view. Not sure what I say now. lol
I believe that TV has lots of influence in my household of people who are 74, 76, 95 and 97. I think the ads affect us more than we would guess. My family chooses to watch primarily wholesome TV shows. I guess the news stations is an exception. I like the old standards--NBC, ABC and CBS. The gals here seem to like Fox News the best. They like the old movies and sitcoms of past years. I am more inclined to watch a PG, TV14, and some R's If the scenes get too sexual, I change the channel out of respect for the gals.
I think teens are under lots of influence and parents need to educate their children as to the motives behind the ads and shows.
We are all Christians in our house and try to be careful. Sometimes my wife calls the satellite company and complains about lack of Christian programing and them showing too many 'bad' shows. II don't think it does any good.
I don't watch that much TV on TV anymore. With all the stuff going on these days, at least those of us that know the Truth know that it will prevail over any lies mass media is trying to get at us.
Also Thank You to the editor team for making this my first post on the main page :D and for fixing up what needed to be fixed up :) :D
@HeatherF - Aw, Rebecca (the editor) rules! Congratulations on your first front page! You should submit more posts to them.
@scrambledmegsntoast@xanga - Excellent clarification!
Your awareness that things are often sold on false premises is important but it's not an issue limited to any one religion or philosophy and dishonesty affects us all. Am I going to get the ultimate girlfriend if I drive a Ferrari and I wear Armani suits. Most likely I'm going to get a girlfriend who, if I suddenly lose those things, will run away faster than I can say Darryl Hannah dropped Bud Fox like a hot potato in the movie Wall Street. Dishonesty in business is a potent virus that spreads quickly. One company boosts sales by selling its product based on false pretenses and its competitors soon do the same in order to compete, both for customers and for employees to want to work for them because the money is as good. Unfortunately we've experienced what happens when that is done on Wall Street...buying and selling bad derivatives that will make some people money because insurance taken out on them by those very people will pay off big when they fail. It's like taking out insurance on a restaurant then selling the restaurant to someone else, knowing it's going to burn down tomorrow due to faulty wiring. I was shocked to learn that the Wall Street firm I worked for had taken out a life insurance policy on me. Makes me think they were trying to give me a heart attack.
What it comes down to is personal responsibility on everyone's part and as a society we are a long way from that happening, as simple and logical as it would be to do so. We're still too much a wild west "screw you jack. I've got mine" society.
Congratulations on your first front page post!