Effects of Mass Media Essay

Effects of Mass Media”

In the 20th century alone, there have been numerous developments that have taken place in mass media. At the beginning of the century, the media consisted mainly of newspapers and magazines. These sources of communication dominated the media and were heavily relied on during this time to provide information dealing with world events. Also during this time, the production of cinema was introduced to the public. These types of media, through films were known as still images through motion pictures. These images created the illusion of movement when shown on screen. Radio was also a popular mass media outlet during the early 1920s. The early days of radio were “a glorious opportunity for the advertising man to spread his sales propaganda” (Briggs and Burke 2005). During this time, this media was a main form of entertainment for broadcasting information over wireless airwaves. In the 1940’s radio became the dominant form of media mainly during and after World War II. It provides the public faster information than newspapers on current situations dealing with families overseas during the war crisis. In the 1950s, television became one of the main sources of entertainment through mass media. By the beginning of 1955, there were 36 million television sets in the United States (Briggs and Burke 2005) Television brought for the first time the best of both radio and print; pictures and sound. This form of media gave the people moving images you could actually see of what was happening throughout the world at that time. A few decades later (1990s), a new source of media was introduced called the internet. This system would soon dominate the evolution of the mass media and is what we mainly use today. Through computers, laptops, smartphones, etc…, the media’s is no longer controlled by multiple stations and publishers. The people have the option to retrieve the information through multiple sources which enable them to determine the information they truly desire.

Media constantly influences the American culture. Each day we wake up and check our smartphones, read the newspaper, listen to the radio or turn on the TV to see or hear what is going on in the world today. The impact it has on our daily life is immeasurable. Media is influential on the way people form their opinions, both positive and negative. This depends on the severity of the subject at hand. For example, political influence on media can change the opinions of people only exposed to that particular type of media. In today’s society, children are more vulnerable to the media because this is all they know. Media influences every facet of life from fashion to where you live. From the food you eat to the religion you practice. Before the internet blew up and became the main source of media, one would actually have to go out and explore different areas to obtain the information they were looking for.

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