Arthur Miller
Media Politics & Society
Professor Andrews
Research project
12/1/2010
The Negative Influence of Media
Living in America, we are one of the most lavished societies in the world. We have access to all kinds of advanced technology. Televisions and computers, have replaced many quiet reading and outdoor activities. Our society is desperate for knowledge of our surroundings, world, and culture. This need to be driving on the information highway, has caused our society to become more exposed to and dependent on sources that generate and disseminate educational and social content. Americans watch more television and browse the internet at an alarming rate.
These two fast-growing media producers deliver current events, foreign and domestic issues and “reality shows” right into our homes. As the increase in media flow continues, there has also been an increase in the negative feelings that American have about themselves, others and the world around them. Teachers are crossing student-teacher lines, students are coming to school and killing classmates, committing cyber-bullying induced suicides and the new diet trend has swept the nation. Before my focus group study, I hypothesized that this infiltration of information and images shown by the media have a negative effect on the lives of people that watch, read and follow their content. After reading the results of my study, I positively believe this to be true. The following is a summary of the results of my study.
Study participants:
15 people -- 4 African-Americans, 2 Mexicans, 1 Chinese American, 1 Japanese American, 1 Arabic, 6 Caucasians. 13 heterosexual and 2 homosexual participants. 8 women and 7 men. Ages ranging from 10 to 60 years of age.
Questions and Data:
1. How many hours a day to you have media interaction (t.v., internet, magazine etc.)
a. 0 – 4 hours
b. 5 – 10 hours
c. 11 – 15 hours
d. More than 16 hours
2. What types of television programs do you watch (listing names of shows is ok)?___________________________________________________________
3. What are your feelings toward watching the news?
a. Happy
b. Content
c. Sad
d. Scared
4. What websites do you access? _______________________________________________
5. How do you feel about yourself when using media (tv, internet, reading magazines)?
a. Happy
b. Content
c. Sad
d. Disappointed
6. How do you feel think most Americans feel about themselves when using media (tv, internet, reading magazines)?
a. Happy
b. Content
c. Sad
d. Disappointed
7. Do you believe that the media has a positive effect on adults’ lives?
a. Yes
b. No
8. Do you believe that the media has a positive effect on the lives of teens?
a. Yes
b. No
#1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 | #7 | #8 | |
Participant #1 | C | Various* | C | Various** | A | A | A | B |
Participant #2 | B | Various* | D | Various** | B | B | B | B |
Participant #3 | C | Various* | B | Various** | B | C | B | B |
Participant #4 | C | Various* | B | Various** | D | C | B | B |
Participant #5 | D | Various* | C | Various** | C | C | B | B |
Participant #6 | B | Various* | B | Various** | B | A | A | B |
Participant #7 | D | Various* | B | Various** | C | D | B | B |
Participant #8 | C | Various* | C | Various** | A | B | A | A |
Participant #9 | D | Various* | D | Various** | B | C | B | B |
Participant #10 | A | Various* | B | Various** | C | C | B | B |
Participant #11 | A | Various* | C | Various** | B | C | B | B |
Participant #12 | C | Various* | B | Various** | C | C | B | B |
Participant #13 | B | Various* | D | Various** | B | D | B | B |
Participant #14 | D | Various* | C | Various** | B | C | B | B |
Participant #15 | D | Various* | B | Various** | C | C | B | B |
*True Blood, Hells Kitchen, Lie to Me, Snapped, Entourage, Fraiser, Friends, Conan, The Big Bang Theory, Survivor, Dancing with The Stars, Monk, Will and Grace, How I Met Your Mother, Family Guy, The Simpsons, America’s Next Top Model, Walker Texas Ranger, Seinfeld, Angel, Law and Order, Undercover Boss, Real Housewives of Atlanta/New Jersey, Jersey Shore, The Kardashians, Big Brother, Amazing Race, The Biggest Loser, Burn Notice, Psych, Jay Leno, Big Love, CSI and Glee.
**www.hbo.com, http://www.facebook.com/, http://www.twitter.com/, http://www.google.com/, http://www.yahoo.com/, http://www.espn.com/, http://www.wikipedia.com/, http://www.cnn.com/, http://www.ktvu.com/, http://www.nationalgeographic.com/, http://www.msnbc.com/, http://www.youtube.com/, http://www.myspace.com/, http://www.rapsody.com/, and http://www.limewire.com/.
Looking at the results of my survey, it seems that not only are the participants in my survey adversely affected by media influences, but they believe, as I do, that mass America (including our youth) is also negatively affected by the media. As a society we indulge in the media view point of different members of our society, take those images and project them out onto others we see and ourselves. As Americans, we are dependent on media sources to bring us information and sustain our connection to the world around us. It seems though that this life line is killing us. This survey and others like it are only the tip of the iceberg. Find ways to bring positive images and messages into our lives and those of our youth is the only choice we have to have a more positive America and a more positive future.
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