Media-dangerous weapon

Mass media influences us greatly from the childhood. Parents and teachers agree that young people growing up with the media learn from it more than the adults wish them to. And this is a cause for alarm.

The media can be divided into print and electronic. The print media — newspapers, magazines, books, pamphlets, catalogues, circulars, brochures, anything you read —dating back to the invention of the printing press. But it is less harmful for children than the electronic media- TV. It may be psychologically addictive. The idea of becoming addicted to television brings up questions involving subtle conditioning and brainwashing that could be friendly or vicious, altruistic or self-serving. In a commercial society the media’s ability to stimulate motivation to buy — almost as though people were puppets on strings — builds other people’s power. It can be power for good or power for bad, but it is always power for control. (-)

So media can be a dangerous weapon. It can influence human minds, especially empty TV- like MTV and other channels that produce only degradation. Very often teenagers come into the house and just flop down in front of TV. It is not a simple entertainment, it is a non-stop barrage of western pop culture making small-screen addicts of kids. Many Asians worry that they will loose their identity in favor of western way of life. As MTV and other empty channels are the latest in hip to its fans and the latest in hype to its foes. And while MTV appears to be turning the generation gap into a chasm, some countries have taken steps to beat back its march. They restrict ownership of satellite dishes and censor broadcasts. (-)

There have been many reports and studies on the effects of TV on society. And the results showed that these effects are mostly negative. People tend to spend the rest of the evening like beachcombers goggling at the box.

But researches are especially concerned about children. They say, that watching TV intensively leads to a drop in the children’s creativity. (-)

What’s more, there seems to be a particular risk of television bringing a sense of unreality into all our lives. Most people, it is probably true to say, would be horrified to see someone gunned down in the street before their very eyes. The same sight repeated nightly in the comfort of one’s living-room tends to lose its impact. What worries many people is that if coldblooded murder - both acted and real means so little, are scenes of earthquakes and other natural disasters likely to have much effect either? (-)

Although most studies showed the negative influence of TV, there are some positive aspects- there are a lot of excellent educational programs especially for children. Some schools have children watch certain programs in the classroom. It makes them enjoy the study. In the last few years there have been a vast increase in educative programmes, from the more serious Open University, to Yoga and the joys of amateur gardening. (+)

TV exposes children to different people and places. A little girl who had never seen a ballet before watched a famous ballerina on TV. This program got her to decide to become a ballerina herself. (+)

TV also increases young people’s understanding of other people's views of life. (+)

Television, arguably the most important invention of the twentieth century, is bound to be exerting a major influence on the life of the modern man. The idea of a machine able to broadcast both sound and vision goes back to 1875. But it wasn’t until 1926 that a Scottish engineer

turned the idea into a practical reality. Now, his invention dominates the modern media. Its inventions: satellite TV, cable system, which provides a great number of channels, HDTV that offers a more realistic and clearer picture. So more channels, more choice, more clarity.

All these negative aspects of growing up with the media need consideration, at the same time you are enjoying the positive aspects of immediately knowing what’s going on in the world, sharing great entertainment and historical events.