Living in a media-saturated society
Alfie Lovett questions the impact of the media on society today
No sociologist would deny that the media has had a huge influence on society, culture, and us as individuals. We all come into contact with it every day, from reading the news to checking our messages to bingeing the latest series on Netflix. But how does all this exposure to different opinions and views affect us?
Today, stories and articles are easily accessible and shareable. Unfortunately, the articles which are viewed most tend to be negative, with concerning yet compelling headlines. This is why the front pages are largely negative, talking about the shocking petrol or food shortages, or Covid concerns.
Just reading all these headlines has a long-lasting psychological effect. They increase stress, anxiety and pessimism as problems are over-exaggerated and we rarely see the good news stories of baby dolphins being saved. The news is highly influential through its deliberately opinionated expression; viewers believe what they see to be reality. This - combined with the ease of consequence-free internet publishing - has in turn led to the rise of fake news, especially across social media, where stories can be shared to millions of people at the click of a button, often without anyone bothering to check the facts.
Social media itself is the main thing younger people think of when someone says ‘media’. It’s such a big part of our lives now that a survey revealed that one in four people communicate more with people online than face-to-face*. Social media is notoriously good at making people feel like they ‘aren’t good enough’. Just one scroll through instagram can leave people feeling unsatisfied with their self-image due to the unrealistic portrayal of others - the so-called 'Compare and Despair' factor. The more we compare ourselves to these unrealistic standards, the more we pursue them, the less happy we become with ourselves, and this has led to countless cases of depression, anorexia and even suicide.
Another major form of media is TV shows and movies. Movies have a lingering effect - the emotions induced by them will stay long after the show’s over. This often causes children to copy their favourite characters from action movies. Many of these may be positive characters, but what it they are also seeing that violent and deceitful acts are okay if they win in the end? Video games can have a similar effect, desensitising people to violence, with kids coming to believe that violence may just be a bit of fun. Already newspapers are reporting how people are trying to make their own versions of one of Netflix’s top shows, Squid Game. According to the social media post, losers would be ‘shot in the face with a BB gun’*. The other big influence movies often have is over men and boys. Many TV shows portray gender stereotypes, reinforcing ideas of toxic masculinity, which have a negative impact on society. However, of course, it’s not all bad - many shows have successfully opened the viewing public's eyes to great diversity, making people aware of pressing social issues, such as racism, the gender pay gap, or in Squid Game’s case, shocking economic inequality.
The media has accelerated globalisation and adds to our 24/7 culture. Globalisation is the notion that the world is becoming increasingly interconnected, which is noticeable in our online sphere. In seconds, we can know the result of a football match in South America, or contact friends and family from around the world. We can also receive emails from work at any time of day or night, and this is where a further problem lies. We use our phones during downtime, but when we get an email from work, we’re increasingly expected to deal with it outside of work hours. As a result, an expectation that you should be available to work 24/7 has risen, no matter where you are or what time it is. This work culture is so damaging to our mental health, and employees shouldn’t be expected to respond to emails during their downtime, if that isn’t what the job entails.
It's essential that we're aware of these negative influences. If we can see that this is all they are, influences, the opinions of other people, then we are better disposed to deal with them. We won’t just assume everything we read is true and that doom is upon us. We'll remember to stop and triangulate information with reputable sources before we share it. Our self esteem won’t be lowered by social media, as instead of looking at ‘successful’ and ‘pretty’ people’s posts and comparing ourselves to them, we will know that we do not need to be like them to be successful or content. Being more aware of these influences transforms the media from a place of judgement and negativity to a place where we can be happy with ourselves and not take the opinions of other people as fact.
Sources:
*http://attentiv.com/we-dont-speak/
*https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/10/08/warning-real-life-squid-game-sees-losers-shot-face-bb-guns/
Alfie Lovett, Year 11
No sociologist would deny that the media has had a huge influence on society, culture, and us as individuals. We all come into contact with it every day, from reading the news to checking our messages to bingeing the latest series on Netflix. But how does all this exposure to different opinions and views affect us?
Today, stories and articles are easily accessible and shareable. Unfortunately, the articles which are viewed most tend to be negative, with concerning yet compelling headlines. This is why the front pages are largely negative, talking about the shocking petrol or food shortages, or Covid concerns.
Just reading all these headlines has a long-lasting psychological effect. They increase stress, anxiety and pessimism as problems are over-exaggerated and we rarely see the good news stories of baby dolphins being saved. The news is highly influential through its deliberately opinionated expression; viewers believe what they see to be reality. This - combined with the ease of consequence-free internet publishing - has in turn led to the rise of fake news, especially across social media, where stories can be shared to millions of people at the click of a button, often without anyone bothering to check the facts.
Social media itself is the main thing younger people think of when someone says ‘media’. It’s such a big part of our lives now that a survey revealed that one in four people communicate more with people online than face-to-face*. Social media is notoriously good at making people feel like they ‘aren’t good enough’. Just one scroll through instagram can leave people feeling unsatisfied with their self-image due to the unrealistic portrayal of others - the so-called 'Compare and Despair' factor. The more we compare ourselves to these unrealistic standards, the more we pursue them, the less happy we become with ourselves, and this has led to countless cases of depression, anorexia and even suicide.
Another major form of media is TV shows and movies. Movies have a lingering effect - the emotions induced by them will stay long after the show’s over. This often causes children to copy their favourite characters from action movies. Many of these may be positive characters, but what it they are also seeing that violent and deceitful acts are okay if they win in the end? Video games can have a similar effect, desensitising people to violence, with kids coming to believe that violence may just be a bit of fun. Already newspapers are reporting how people are trying to make their own versions of one of Netflix’s top shows, Squid Game. According to the social media post, losers would be ‘shot in the face with a BB gun’*. The other big influence movies often have is over men and boys. Many TV shows portray gender stereotypes, reinforcing ideas of toxic masculinity, which have a negative impact on society. However, of course, it’s not all bad - many shows have successfully opened the viewing public's eyes to great diversity, making people aware of pressing social issues, such as racism, the gender pay gap, or in Squid Game’s case, shocking economic inequality.
The media has accelerated globalisation and adds to our 24/7 culture. Globalisation is the notion that the world is becoming increasingly interconnected, which is noticeable in our online sphere. In seconds, we can know the result of a football match in South America, or contact friends and family from around the world. We can also receive emails from work at any time of day or night, and this is where a further problem lies. We use our phones during downtime, but when we get an email from work, we’re increasingly expected to deal with it outside of work hours. As a result, an expectation that you should be available to work 24/7 has risen, no matter where you are or what time it is. This work culture is so damaging to our mental health, and employees shouldn’t be expected to respond to emails during their downtime, if that isn’t what the job entails.
It's essential that we're aware of these negative influences. If we can see that this is all they are, influences, the opinions of other people, then we are better disposed to deal with them. We won’t just assume everything we read is true and that doom is upon us. We'll remember to stop and triangulate information with reputable sources before we share it. Our self esteem won’t be lowered by social media, as instead of looking at ‘successful’ and ‘pretty’ people’s posts and comparing ourselves to them, we will know that we do not need to be like them to be successful or content. Being more aware of these influences transforms the media from a place of judgement and negativity to a place where we can be happy with ourselves and not take the opinions of other people as fact.
Sources:
*http://attentiv.com/we-dont-speak/
*https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/10/08/warning-real-life-squid-game-sees-losers-shot-face-bb-guns/
Alfie Lovett, Year 11