Is the Media Really Causing a Bad Influence on Society?

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Harmful effects of media
Benefits of media
How media adversely affect teenagers
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

Manohar (par 1) asserts that media is an inseparable constitute of the life of many teenagers. The forms of mass media that are an inherent part of teenagers’ routine life are many; including music player, mobile phone, computer, and television.

The author further argues that owing to the current effects of media, the society needs to appreciate the contribution of media in forging teenagers’ opinions. Media has both adverse and beneficial effects on the general public. However, this issue poses many questions in respect to the adolescent group of the society. This paper seeks to explore on the influence of the media on the teenage boy or girl.

Harmful effects of media

Concerns have been raised by parents, social scientist and politicians about the unprecedented amount of violence, vulgar language and sex portrayed routinely in TV shows, movies and recordings obtainable to teenagers (Clark, par. 1).

For instance, consider the woman on Bless this House who proclaims that she “was out in the hall taking a leak” (par. 2) and so forth. In fact, the co-director of the Center for Media and Public Affairs, Robert Litcher, (qtd in Clark, par. 6) upholds that TV presently portrays “a lot more foreplay than gunplay.” He said this referring to the amount of sex issues shown on TV.

Violence has continuously gained a niche in the media. This conviction is supported by the enduring splatter of firearms, wound, and car-chase scenes, especially in cartoons, cable movies as well as movie previews. Clark (1993, par. 1) claim that because of the expansive time the American children watch TV (average of 27 hours per week), the American Psychology Association (APA) stipulates that a typical American child is in a position to watch 8,000 murders and 100,000 work violence prior to completion of the elementary school.

In deed this is the major reason why the Congress is arriving at enacting a policy requiring new television sets to be fitted with a mechanism to enable parents to block out inappropriate programs (Clark, 1995, par. 8).

Benefits of media

On the other hand, media cannot be entirely viewed as a curse on the society. Media like many other social industries have some benefits. The media can be credited for the ease with which the youngsters have learned to accept technology, such as computer, internet and ipods (Manohar, par 2).

Also, media can be attributed for the increase of the teenagers’ awareness of their environment. Moreover, it has lead to improved general knowledge and appreciation of curriculum subjects due to the broad information resources provided by the media. Thus if supervised appropriately, it can be useful in generation awareness in teenagers about concerns such as sex, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) pregnancy, smoking , alcohol and drugs.

How media adversely affect teenagers

Teen sex

Teenagers are increasingly turning to “hook-ups” which refers casual sexual intercourse at clubs and parties between teenagers who are not emotionally involved with each other. Friedman (764) attributes this rising trend to new technology, such as the internet and cell phones, which abolish the “first date” that involves a boy picking up a date at home and meet the parents of his date, which social scientist upholds it promote responsibilities.

It is widely accepted that sex-obsessed media provide uncouth messages to teenagers, including soap operas such as the “OC” and one “One Tree hill,” which argues Friedman (764), are spattered with demonstration of early and promiscuous teen sex. The May 2002 Kaiser Family Foundation survey revealed that two thirds of American television shows contain certain sexual aspect.

Teen Pregnancy

Sex on TV has developed through the previous few years. This is can be supported by people who have had the opportunity who watched the preliminary episodes of 90210, which involves a couple of students indulging in oral sex (Park, par. 1). This belief is supported by a research by the Rand Corp. who found that teens that have the most access to sexual content on television are twice at risk of getting pregnant compared to their counterparts who have less access to such material before the age 20.

According to Chandra (qtd Park, par. 2), despite the contribution of other factors associated with teenage pregnancy, the relationship between access to such kinds of TV shows and the risk of forthcoming pregnancy still averagely stands. This consistency has partially accounted for the reason for the doubled teen pregnancy in the United States compared to other industrialized countries.

According to Friedman (764) prevalence of teen pregnancy were highest in the south and southwest states, with New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona topping the list. Conversely, the lowest prevalence were reported in the Northwest and upper Midwest, where N. Dakota, New Hampshire and Vermont reported the least prevalence.

Sexually Transmitted Disease (STDs)

This concept is directly related with teen sex that has been attributed to the increased number of sex oriented TV shows. Thus, increased teen sex gives rise to increased prevalence of STDs among the teenagers. According to Friedman (763), 4 million youngsters contract a STD every year.

Conclusion

Because the aforementioned problems link to unrestricted access to untailored TV shows, which expose teenage to absurd scenes, the solution to these problems lay in the restrictions of media producers. The federal government should pass laws which limit the content of the information showed on TV, and the internet. Also other strategies such as abstinence education would help a great deal. Parents can help greatly by dedicating their time more on their children.

Works Cited

Clark Charles, S. TV violence: Will Hollywood tone down – or face regulations? CQ Researcher Volume 3, Issue 12, 1993. Web.

Clark Charles, S. Sex, violence and the media: is it time to crack down on TV and Movies? CQ Researcher Volume 5, Issue 43, 17, 1995. Web.

Friedman Jane. Teen sex. CQ Research , Volume 15, Number 32, pp 761-784, 2005. Print.

Manohar uttara. Media effects on Teenagers. Buzzle. 2011. Web.

Park Alice. Sex on TV increases teen pregnancy, says report. U.S. Times, 2008. Web.

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Teens, sex and TV. [Author]. 2002. Print.

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