Category: Media

Mass media has changed the social landscape since its origins; with growing technological advancements and the digital revolution, the way in which we communicate as well as interact with society as individuals has been largely shaped by the media we consume. As globalization has interconnected our society economically, culturally, and socially; the media has also been shaped by the processes of globalization. With the advancement of technology came the accessibility of such media through the globalization process, which in turn has brought about great change and influence on society. As of now, with the emergence of digital convergence, it is easier than ever to access news, social platforms, online banking, and more which would not have been possible before the digital revolution and processes of globalization. The essay will structure itself thematically. There will be a consideration and analysis of whether we are living in a ‘global village’ that shares global culture and issues, how social movements have been amplified by the new media, and how this has changed our understanding of the global media and its relations to the ‘sociological imagination’.

Firstly, to measure how the global media has contributed to the ‘sociological imagination’ and globalization, it is important to understand and reach a definition of those concepts. Developments in technology have led to a digital convergence whereby on one device many types of content can be reached such as audio-visual and a higher amount of interactionally can be seen on all platforms including the news and social media platforms. Before the digital revolution and the ability of media that travel across transnational borders almost instantly, media outlets had a one-way system of communication. What is meant by this is that media co-operations were largely centralized, regulated, and mostly nationalized. They provided the duty of communication by speaking to the world rather than having the interactionally that we can now as a result of these technological advancements. The global media is in simple terms, mass communication on a global scale that allows people from across the globe to gain access to the same information. As (Flew, 2008) finds ‘In the twenty-first century, we find that social media, carried through digital networks and the global Internet are enabling a highly diverse array of individual, groups, organizations and movements to produce and globally distribute media content. This presents new challenges to show how we understand the media.’ To elaborate, the global media has allowed individuals from all over the globe regardless of characteristics such as social class, race, sexuality, and so on to become media distributors and producers and this presents new challenges in how we define the new media as well as measure the effect of the global media on social issues.

The Sociological imagination is a term coined by sociologist C. Wright Mills, the author describes the sociological imagination as enabling ‘us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society.’ (C Wright Mills, 1959). The sociological imagination allows the individual to be aware of the concept that many of the problems faced within society have social roots. It enables the individual to connect and understand that concept in the context to wider society. Exploring the definitions of the two concepts of global media and the ‘sociological imagination demonstrates that social issues can now be seen as a result of the global media and globalization through a global lens. An example of this would be how the global media has changed social protest in the twenty-first century.

Social protest has been present in history for centuries even without modern-day technology, however, with technological advancements and the revolution of analog forms of media to digitalized forms of media – concepts of social issues are accelerated and discussed on a global level beyond their transnational borders. Philosopher Marshall McLuhan developed the concept of a ‘global village’ to explore the idea that as a result of advancements in technology, the world would become connected and share a ‘global village’ that allows individuals to share a global culture. Therefore, the argument stands that we can now share social issues as a global force. McLuhan describes that ‘As we begin to react in depth to the social life and problems of our global village, we become reactionaries’ (McLuhan, 1964). Evidence suggests that as a result of the new media and processes of globalization, societies from across the world can share social issues. An example to draw upon is the increase in discussion for the Black Lives Matter Movement. Protests broke out after a video of George Floyd, an African American man, was killed by police brutality. The video was recorded and posted on social media by an onlooker, and it spread globally as the discussion of the social issue of police brutality towards African Americans. This is a direct link to how as a result of the global media, more specifically social media, social protest from all around the globe was formed. In fact, research showed that social media had a huge role in sparking the discussions of social media and changing their opinions on certain social problems – ‘Roughly a quarter (23%) of adult social media users in the United States – and 17% of adults overall – say they have changed their views about a political or social issue because of something they saw on social media in the past year.’ (Perrin, 2020). Overall, it is clear to see that the global media in some senses has led to the transparency of societal issues, it has arguably given individuals the freedom as their own media distributors and creators to shed light on issues that may be avoided by more centralised and controlled media platforms.

However, some argue that we do not live in a ‘global village’ as McLuhan suggested, especially not with one shared culture. Smith (1991 as quoted in Flew, 2018) argues that ‘If by ‘culture’ is meant a collective mode of life, or a repertoire of beliefs, styles, values, and symbols then we can only speak of cultures, never just culture. the idea of a ‘global culture’ is a practical impossibility.’ Whilst the idea of a ‘global village’ can be seen, on the basis that as a result of technological advancements and the interconnectedness of the world through the processes of globalization, there has been an increase of culture being shared through the global media. It can also be argued that there is not just one shared culture, but many cultures are shared as ‘villages’ rather than a ‘single village’.

Additionally, some have concerns over the effects of cultural globalization on societies as a result of growing global media. There is a relationship between co-operations and the global media; one in which means there is a higher concentration of conglomerates dominating the mass media. Large competitive conglomerates such as Walt Disney, News Corp, Sony, and more are among those who dominate the industry.

As the process of globalization of the media is connected to global corporate expansion, cooperation can grow in influence in a global media market. Only a handful of corporations produce the majority of the mass media. Technology has been accelerating globalization and globalized media as it allows fast communication and enables a wider reach into mass markets. Multi-national media companies use vertical integration and the benefits of globalization to capitalize on a global marketplace rather than a local marketplace for their media products. This supports the work of (McChesney, 2001) who stated ‘economic and cultural globalization arguably would be impossible without a global commercial media system to promote global markets and to encourage consumer values.’ The argument therefore stands that, being as many of these co-operations have their roots in the West and more specifically America, a process of dominant American ‘ideologies’ or ‘culture’ such as the value of consumerism is being inflicted onto developing countries. Cultural customs from around the globe such as food, music, dance, and more are being shared via new media, however, there are still American customs such as fast-food chains like McDonald’s that can be seen all around the globe. It is then questionable that to some extent globalization has in some ways created a ‘global culture’. There are fears that this will lead to the fragmentation of traditional cultures.

In conclusion, the process in which globalization has transformed the global media as well as how the global media has helped accentuate the process of globalization have changed the way in which we communicate and use our ‘sociological imagination. The forms of global media such as social media platforms have helped to give voices to all socio-groups within our societies across the globe- accelerating and discussing on a global scale societal issues and fighting against injustices such as the use of social media in the BLM movement. Some are skeptical of the effects of the globalized media arguing that it has fragmented local cultures through the domination of Western media outlets that control much of the global media. Overall, the conclusion can be made that the global media can contribute to society for some in an effective and helpful way, whereas in others, it can cause corruption and fragmentation.

Parenting can be challenging, especially for younger parents. Teen pregnancy is not a new issue, In were close to 200,000 babies born to those between the ages of 15 and 19. The issue of teen pregnancy seems to be glamorized more and more every day on TV shows such as ‘Teen Mum’, ‘And Sixteen and Pregnant’, and also by young celebrities on social media such as Jamie Lynn Spears. When it comes to the serious issue of teen pregnancy being portrayed in such a fantasized way, where do we draw the line? There are many causes of teen pregnancy, such as peer pressure; however, many teen pregnancies can be influenced by television shows and celebrities on social media. This is because they make the issue of parenting at such a young age seem simple by dismissing many of the challenges that come with it and replacing them with the idea of being able to make money from young pregnancy or even being able to be like your favorite celebrities. How absurd is that!?

It could be argued that TV shows discourage teen pregnancy, as they show many of the disadvantages and challenges of having children at such a young age, such as financial issues. Around the time that ’16 and Pregnant’ was first shown on screens, there was a sharp decline in teen birth rates which suggests that these shows did do their job. However, sometimes it’s hard to believe that TV shows such as ‘Sixteen and Pregnant’ and ‘Teen Mum’ are made to discourage teen pregnancy as many critics of such shows have stated that, ‘Even though many challenges of being a parent at a young age are shown, there are also some cases in which it is suggested throughout the show that getting pregnant was for the best.’ After these types of shows became a hit, parents and educators became increasingly worried that they were beginning to show the teen mum’s life as ‘cool’ instead of showing the challenging side. Studies show that more than 50% of teen mums never finish school. Another study reported that teen mothers face significant levels of stress that can then lead to increased mental health concerns. In addition to higher rates of postpartum depression, teenage mothers have higher rates of depression and these health issues can have a significant impact on those around us such as family members, friends, and educators. Personally, I believe that these shows don’t cover these issues as much as they should; these issues are mostly brushed under the carpet during these shows which is not good enough!

Most reality television shows and movies give an illusion to young, expecting mothers that they are ready to be responsible parents when really they are far from it. Getting pregnant young prevents you from experiencing many great things that you just can’t do with a baby. I mean, would you really want to throw your life away and stop yourself from having fun in your teen years, just to sit at home and look after a baby? I know I definitely wouldn’t! Teens should be running around and having fun, doing crazy things like a pack of wild animals. These shows ultimately create a false fantasy about teen pregnancy which takes away from the concepts of ‘planned parenthood’. Popular movies about pregnancy such as ‘Knocked Up’, paint a picture that teen pregnancy will be fun and will end happily with a good support system from family and friends. However, there is much more to it in the real world: overwhelming responsibilities, stress, anxiety, and much more. These shows do attempt to educate teens on the struggles that come with parenting, however, fail to do so as they glamorize it and do not show the real responsibilities of being a teen parent. Due to the media giving teens the silly illusion that they are actually mature enough to become a parent, if they do decide to have a child, there are many long-term consequences that can effect the child; The child may become a young parent themselves; they could go into foster care and they may even get involved in crimes or drug use due to being neglected by their unfit mother. For example, studies have shown that children of teen mothers are 50% more likely to repeat a grade due to lower performance on standardized tests and that sons of teen mothers are 13% more likely to end up in prison.

MTV’s teen pregnancy shows spread the message that you can make money from having a baby, and because of this many teens have actually tried it. Such as Farah Abhrams, who stars In ‘Teen mom’ and ‘Sixteen and Pregnant’ who is now always on the cover of tabloids for her shocking plastic surgeries and has a net worth of £1 million! This can result in teen girls thinking that getting pregnant will magically be broadcast on TV and they will become a famous celebrity swimming in money. It’s absolutely ridiculous how such a serious topic is being made a joke out of thanks to these types of movies and TV shows.

Sure, It’s great that MTV wanted to spread awareness of teen pregnancy; however, the way they are going about it isn’t helping in the slightest. Some of the young watchers of these shows end up having the mindset of ‘she may have a child but she has a family to help, she still goes out with her friends and has fun’, and that mindset leads to carelessness when it comes to sexual intercourse and many other responsibilities. Even if MTV does show some of the struggles of teen parenting, teens are getting the wrong message and it is so unbelievably unfair to make them believe these things when in reality the situation is so much different. Teens are given the message that they can earn money and become a star for getting pregnant at such a young age. For example, one of the cast members Janelle Evans from ‘Teen Mom 2′ and ’16 and Pregnant’, her friends got pregnant shortly after her as they saw the fame she gained from it and wanted to be just like her. Because of this, they were labeled ‘copycat moms’. This kind of message encourages teens to get pregnant for fame when really most teen mums can hardly work enough to earn the money to take care of their baby properly. For example, The U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated that single parents living on low income need close to $10,000 just to take care of the baby in the first year. Working enough to earn this amount of money is tricky as many teen mums have to balance school, work, and looking after their child.

Jamie Lynn Spears was a Nickelodeon star and many teens will view the shows that she stars in, because of this you may think that she would be a good role model. Not so. You thought wrong. Spears became pregnant at 16 and took to social media stating ‘Amazing; being a mom is the best feeling in the world’, now, this may be true for the people who are ready to be a mother and also may be true for young celebrities who have the money to support themselves, however, this is hardly the case for other teen mothers. The image that celebrities spread is influencing young girls to make the wrong choices as they believe that their experience will be the same as people such as Jamie Lynn Spears, it’s crazy if you ask me.

Overall, it has been shown that MTV did start with good intentions when first releasing these shows but, unfortunately, the message they have tried to spread has been taken over and watered down completely. The same goes for the young teen mum celebrities. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great that they are enjoying their lives with their children, however, the way they show their lives on social media as simple with kids instead of showing the challenges they face can make young girls think that their experience would be the same. It has been proven that once again the glamour and unrealistic fantasies of social media and TV have won over many young girls’ hearts and shoved the true and hard reality of the topic to the side!

Socialization

Socialization is a procedure by means of which culture is transmitted to more youthful age, also men become familiar by the guidelines as well practices of social gatherings to which they have a place. So by this procedure, a youngster figures out how to carry on throughout everyday life and take an interest in a gathering in public area. Every general public form an official structure inside which socialization of teenager happens.

Agency and Agents of Socialization

Agency alludes toward someone or something through which control is applied or an end is accomplished. Agents of socialization are the people, gatherings, or establishments that encourage us what we have to know so as to take an interest in public eye, We remain presented to numerous specialists of socialization all through our lifetime; thus, we have an impact on those mingling agents and associations. Individuals who go about as socialization’s specialists incorporate relatives, companions, instructors, businesses, religious pioneers and mass media. They all add to an individual’s convictions, sense of life, qualities and view.

Mass Media

The term mass media alludes to the channels of correspondence (media) that exists to contact an expansive open gathering of people. Mass media incorporates papers, magazines, comic books, computer games, motion pictures, TV, radio, and all the more as of late, the Internet. It advises individuals about occasions that they would somehow or another think minimal about. Mass media correspondence is typically fast, in light of the fact that the media will report a vital occasion as fast as conceivable after it occurs.

Mass Media-Agency of Socialization

The Mass media, which fill in as the medium of communication, is one of the agencies of socialization. Through the mass communications, people can learn and embrace new ways of life and practices which, toward the end, turn out to be a tradition in the public area. A case of this is Fashion.

Mass media present an altogether diverse type of socialization than some other, on the grounds that they offer no open door for communication.

Media Function as Socializing Agent

The media work as mingling operators in a few different ways:

1. They illuminate us about occasions
2. They acquaint us with a wide assortment of individuals
3. They give a variety of perspectives on current issues
4. They make us mindful of items and administrations that, in the event that we buy them, will as far as anyone knows help us to be acknowledged by others
5. They engage us by giving the chance to live vicariously (through other individuals’ encounters).

Mass media and Socialization

Sociologists have come to see the mass communications as an powerful agent of socialization. It has the ability to manage how we find out about what is happening on the planet, just as how to fittingly connect with each other. It associates individuals to different social foundations. For instance, amid decision years the media gives full inclusion of the discussions notwithstanding displaying master investigation of these discussions. Therefore, voters might be all the more effectively influenced by what they see and hear in the media than by what they find out about the applicants through going to town lobby gatherings or perusing their battle writing. The procedure is comparable with other intervened occasions, for example, pro athletics—editorial and examination runs connected at the hip with the real occasion.

The Mass media is a noteworthy power in current culture. Sociologists allude to this as an intervened culture where media mirrors the standard of conduct of certain people inside a general public. Media are the diverse procedures that encourage correspondence between the sender of a message and the recipient of that message. It might likewise be characterized as any correspondence—regardless of whether composed, communicate, or spoken—that contacts an expansive gathering of people.

Applications on Children

To say mass media as powerful agent, is consistent with some degree since now youngsters are investing more energy before the TV than blending with their folks and other relatives. along these lines broad communications assumes an essential job in the socialization of youngsters.

Impact of Internet

The Internet has turned into a fantastically open medium that empowers people to trade data and feelings by means of steady visual and sound streams.

Impact of Television

In any case, in spite of the Internet’s fame, TV keeps on being an incredible medium, too. The individuals who work in the broadcast business are extremely talented at figuring out what will speak to the mass market and controlling messages to urge purchasers to get tied up with thoughts and items. For instance, in spite of the fact that in earlier decades a great many people got along fine without mobile phones, today numerous adolescent trusts that they are a need. Sociologists who receive Marxist points of view frequently refer to the mass media as a ground-breaking agent in the upkeep of industrialist social orders.

• Drawbacks and Usefulness

What’s more, Television is known to be the medium with the best socialization impact, outperforming the various media by a long shot in its effect on the youthful kid. The very truth that TV isn’t an intelligent specialist is enormously critical to the improvement of youthful youngsters. While watching, youngsters have the inclination that they’re interfacing, however they’re most certainly not. That is one of the drawbacks of TV as a socializer—it fulfills social needs to some degree, yet doesn’t give youngsters the social abilities (or the genuine practice in those aptitudes) that enable them to work successfully with individuals. Since the normal kid watches 3 to 4 hours of TV daily, the time left to play with others and learning social aptitudes is radically decreased. Indeed, even babies normal around 90 minutes of TV seeing multi day between the time they are conceived and age 2 (Wright et al., 2001). Obviously, guardians can control the time their youngsters spend staring at the TV, yet many don’t. They can screen the choice of projects, however some enable their kids to watch whatever happens to be on. A few guardians don’t think about how they can utilize TV to encourage basic leadership. They neglect to influence youngsters to know about the way that when one program closes they can either gauge the different benefits of the following contributions or turn the set off. A few kids, particularly those with a remote control close by, flick through the channels intermittently, haphazardly ceasing at whatever gets their enthusiasm right now. Youngsters likewise find out about current subjects and issues, both from reports and shows—issues, for example, abducting, the destitute, and the spread of AIDS. The majority of these issues and topics are disturbed ones, and many are exceptionally unnerving, particularly when kids watch programs that are expected for grown-ups. That is altogether different from basically analyzing alternatives and deliberately settling on one. This is the place parent instruction could be compelling. A few guardians who grew up with TV themselves haven’t given much idea with the impacts of that medium, and how to diminish these impacts.

In any case, there are a few projects which are useful with bunches of data for the kids. For instance; there is a decent program called ‘Dora the traveler’. Youngsters can figure out how to communicate in Spanish and furthermore do things, for example, singing, standing up and articulating words in English. There is additionally another program called ‘Blue’s Clues’. In this program, kids figure out how to think, sing and find hints. At the point when youngsters watch these projects, they are not similar individuals any longer since they can turn out to be increasingly educated. These projects are extremely great since they change youngsters’ brains and make the kids unique in relation to what they were previously.

Research additionally proposes that youthful kids acquire significant political and social data from TV.

Conclusion

To date, most research has examined the impacts of visual, sound, and print media like TV, radio, papers, and magazines. In any case, Internet that can possibly at the same time reach and impact numerous societies has been added to this rundown. In synopsis, one could contend that the media helps shape human collaboration. Besides, a large portion of the data individuals accept is presently founded on what they see and read in the media, as opposed to on close to home understanding. Furthermore, correspondence media has a critical impact in urging people to help the current standards and values or restrict or transform them. They are the instrument of social power. They impact us with their messages.

References

1. Briggs, Asa & Burke, Peter (2010). “Mass media and Socialization Polity Press”. p. 10-15.
2. Newhagen, J.E. (1999). ”The role of mass media and the television”. In Kent, Allen. Encyclopedia of library and information science, Volume 65. CRC Press. p. 210.
3. Pavlik, John, McIntosh, Shawn (2017). Converging Media: “A New Introduction to Mass Communication”. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 75.
4. Splichal, Slavko (2006). Agent of Socialization. In Berry, David & Theobald John. Radical mass media criticism: a

This investigation will evaluate the question: To what extent did media coverage affect American public opinion of the Vietnam War? This exploration will focus on media reports during the Vietnam War and analyze the implications that news coverage had on public support for the war in the United States.

The first source that will be evaluated is Walter Cronkite’s editorial “We Are Mired in Stalemate” from his CBS Evening News report on February 27, 1968. The origin of this source is a summarizing report by Walter Cronkite, an American journalist and news anchor during the Vietnam War, of his findings in Vietnam after the Tet Offensive. The origin is valuable because Cronkite was very popular and was dubbed “the most trusted man in America” because he had built a reputation of objectivity as a news reporter. Consequently, when he shared his personal opinion on the Vietnam War, the American public was deeply impacted and grew doubtful of the reality of the war. The origin is also valuable because Cronkite had personal experience of what the war was truly like because he traveled to Vietnam to personally cover the Tet Offensive. His firsthand experience legitimized his opinion of the likely outcome of the war because he had accurate information to base his perspective on. However, the origin is limited by the fact that Cronkite was not a war strategy expert, so he may have misinterpreted the situation. The content of the source includes Cronkite giving a special report during the CBS Evening News called Report from Vietnam: Who, What, When, Where, Why? summarizing his visit to Vietnam. He ended his report with an editorial now known as “We Are Mired in Stalemate” where he explained that he believed the war was unwinnable. While Cronkite was in Vietnam, he was perturbed by what he was seeing in Vietnam conflicting with what President Johnson was reporting back home. The source’s purpose was to convince the American public that the Vietnam War was unwinnable and to persuade the United States government to instead look to negotiate an end to the war. This is valuable because it illustrates how the media portrayed the war, which influenced public perception of the war. However, it is limited in value because it only portrays what one media outlet was reporting during the war and it does not address any successes of the war. It is also limited in value because it does not portray media coverage before the Tet Offensive which limits the range of opinion to the second half of the war.

The second source that will be evaluated is George Moss’s 1990 book Vietnam: An American Ordeal. The origin of this source is valuable because Moss is a history professor at City College in San Francisco, specializing in United States History, and has written numerous books about America during the twentieth century which shows that Moss is well educated on the Vietnam War. Additionally, the book was published in 1990 which makes it valuable because Moss had access to an extensive range of sources, such as public polls, military stories, and actual media from the war, so he could generate a comprehensive analysis of the effect of the media during the Vietnam War. The origin is strengthened in its value by Moss being alive during the Vietnam War. He experienced media coverage of the war as an American citizen, which indicates he knows how the American people were affected by the press. However, Moss experiencing media coverage during Vietnam is also a limitation because he would have formed an opinion back then which suggests that his analysis of the media may be subjective. The content of this source includes Moss arguing against theorists who believe that media coverage caused the U.S. to lose the war in Vietnam. Moss asserts that public opinion was negative towards the war before news coverage became critical after the Tet Offensive. He states that the media changed its perception of the war to match public opinion rather than try to shape it. The purpose of Moss’s book is to provide a comprehensive record of the Vietnam War, which entails an examination of media coverage during the war where he argues that media coverage during the war did not significantly affect American public opinion. The purpose is valuable because it covers the entirety of the Vietnam War so Moss could make connections on the trends of American public opinion throughout the war. But the purpose is limited by the fact that Moss was writing a narrative of the Vietnam War and not specifically media coverage so he did not examine the media as extensively as he could have.

Social media was created in 1997 and since then it has been one of the most pervasive forms of control over the public’s perceptions of crime. The press has shaped and influenced the public’s perceptions of crime for decades now as the public learns about crimes from many different sources, such as: the news/newspapers, magazines, movies, TV shows, books and many other forms. Usually these sources don’t present the complete reality of those crimes. ( Media, Process and the Social Construction of Crime – Gregg Barak) Violent crimes are more often presented as the ‘norm’ by the news, TV shows etc. This provides the public with daily doses of information about murder, kidnapping, rape and many others. This impacts the societal views negatively, thus resulting in heinous crimes such as murder and rape being classified as normal.

‘Moral panic: it is a reaction by the majority of the population based on false or exaggerated perceptions that are fuelled by the media who amplify or overstate antisocial actions.” (– Stanley Cohen 1972) For example, the “Watts family murder” case, it has been widely broadcasted even landing its own documentary. The case was reported by many news channels such as ‘The Sun’ in these news reports, it was presented that Chris Watts murdered his wife and two children because he had a mistress who he wanted to begin a new life with but he didn’t know how to end things with his wife.

However, ‘The Sun’ and many other news articles failed to present the martial problems that were occurring between Chris and his wife such as: his wife being extremely controlling. This impacted the societal views of this crime extremely as the press failed to authentically portray the unseen and unheard ongoing issues between Watts and his wife, in addition influencing the public to believe that the murder of both his wife and two children was a spontaneous act of rage with no real reason behind the murders. While there is never a reason respectable enough to justify a murder, it is important to recognise that Watts’ murder rage was fuelled by his marital problems that he felt he could not escape. However, this does not aid the public in any way to believe Watts’s was right in committing these murders but, it does provide essential background information deemed critical to his case. In the long run, information like this can help people form their opinion on worldwide cases as such. Given that sources such as ‘The Sun’ do not depict the case with false information or, leave out information which hinders the validity of the details open to the public eye.

Media on numerous distinctive events has contrarily impacted the public’s sees of police officers’ violent experiences with African American men but they have not set up wide-ranging contributing variables. This also impacts the societal views negatively as a high number of media associates crime with a certain race. Specifically, when it comes to protests a few media outlets tend to present these as ‘looting and rioting’ . The case of George Floyd is an example of a distinctive event including a police officer and an African American man.

In todays society with a wide-ranging mix of complex issues, there are multiple cultures all developing with dominant values. This system is never homogenous; Instead, entails constant modifications and adaptions of dominant ideas and values (Brake 1985:6). The introduction to social media to the young has both a positive and negative effect on the growing culture. The convenience of enhanced communication means friends don’t have to be face to face to communicate. According to Lievrouw (2011:222), the rise of new media had led to shifts within communication. Kear (2010:31) argues that “a significant difficulty with online communication is that participants don’t always get a very good sense of other people in the group”. Although wonderful for keeping in contact with friends and family, it can be argued that this form of communication is developing an anti-social generation. In the present day, cyberspace has invaded the minds in public (Simmons 1995: 147). The media portrays that this form of cyber interaction, where we are limited, told what is trendy and popular and defines what is important in our daily lives. Stuart Hall suggests that, ideas are dependent on effects of the conclusively determining levels in the construction of society (Morley and Chen 1996:29). It could be said that this is the normal platform for social media to condition the minds of the youths and their way of interacting and general lifestyle today. Due to this, youths are struggling to comprehend and interact in the normal world and with real people. Brake (1985:6) defines youth culture as the way adolescents live, and the norms and values they share.

Youth culture is seen everywhere because it is the way that adolescents live their lives. Youth culture can be seen through the values, norms and practices people share or have in common. According to ACT Youth Culture (2019), culture is the shared symbolic systems, and processes of maintaining and transforming those systems. Youth culture is different from the culture that is involved or seen in the older generations because of the difference in age and how they have been brought up and what they have seen, and what they think is normal. Youth culture includes what we believe, how we behave, styles and fads and similar interests. Although youth is defined by culture, its greatest influence is social media because everyone these days use social media. Social media can define a whole culture by its own development and the use of the culture upon it. The more the youth culture feels that social media is important then the more power social media has in developing every aspect of the evolution on youth culture. We see this massively since the development in social media increased over the past 30 years. Never has a whole culture been so reliant on the interaction with social media to the extent of social behaviour and interactions changing massively. Everyone does simple things using social media instead of going into the real world to do the same things. Laziness is becoming more and more usual because you can do simple things like doing the grocery shopping on your phones and getting it delivered to your house.

A showing aspect of the problems with social media is the way youths change, update and enhance their virtual profiles, trying to find consent and approval by their online peers. This triggers massive problems as the reality of themselves is dependent on how virtual people see them. They are removed from the everyday world and its realities and the virtual world grows more and more important as a new ideology form. The media presents the virtual world and its need for the youths to partake in it as they sell the much need communication and communication in which young people crave and enjoy. Overtime, youths have become so attached and used to having social media around, they think their lives would be very different without it. This has led to addiction of social media. Lessnoff states that ‘Man was born free; and everywhere he is in chains (1990: 108)’. Todays youth think its normal to check their phones the second their eyes open in fear of missing out on some event or just to reply and see what messages they have received. The more messages a person receives, the more valued and accepted they feel.

The social media controls and challenges the ideological meaning of the youth’s everyday life. McLellan (1986: 1) argues that ideology is the most unique concept in the field of social science and questions the originality of our most important ideas. In the individual within the collective, the virtual ideology and the realization of collective principles controls and constructs lifestyles. Jan Fernback illustrates ‘cyberspace as an arena of power (1997: 36)’. The amount of time a youth communicates in the virtual world, with not only their peers, but also at the forefront of ideology for the age group, shows the power and importance the youth feels social media has over them. Lessnoff states that ‘Man was born free; and everywhere he is in chains (1990: 108)’. Entertainment plays a vital role in ideological meaning and control within youth, as a cultural entity. Music as a brand of entertainment is perceived to have the ability to greatly impact its audience. Athique outlines that; audiences create particular structural forms in relation to the media around it (2013: 54).

The digital revolution has brought about a shift from a mass to a virtual society. Social media has led to youths trying hard to fit in and do what everyone else is doing, as well as seeking online approval by friends and peers. As a way of seeking friendship, youths engage in this platform. Social media present youths with the idea that, they do not need to go into the public for this purpose making youths social interaction skills go down. It does this by providing a wide audience for youths to interact globally at any time without making plans to catch up.

In July 2018, Channel Seven presented a report on ‘African gangs’ in response to a riot that had recently taken place in the Melbourne CBD. This event triggered a rapid increase in racialised reporting and racial profiling in Australian media, that would have a detrimental effect on the South Sudanese community of Melbourne. Political researchers found that the words ‘Sudanese’ and ‘african’ were used in relation to the word ‘gang’ in around 130 news stories in Melbourne’s papers the two years following the riot, with only four stories as such in the two years prior. Seven news titled their report ‘African gangs’, but Africa refers to an entire continent, not only the sudanese community. The number of crimes that were reported as being committed by sudanese, or African gangs increased rapidly, and following these publications not only people of Sudanese descent, but members of the wider african community as a whole began to find themselves unable to walk the streets without receiving side glances and wary looks from passers-by. Through the association of gang violence with an even wider community, a bias is created against anyone who looks somewhat ‘african’, if that can be defined as an adjective.

A teenager living in Sunshine Victoria described the ostracism that followed the reports, “Sometimes if I’m walking with my friend, I’ll notice people crossing the road to avoid me.“You shouldn’t stereotype people based on their looks, and you can’t judge a book by its cover.”

These phrases are well known and used often, but it becomes difficult to adhere to them when the news tells people that their lives are in danger. Many people are easily influenced by media that too often targets minorities in order quickly assign blame, and avoid dealing with the deeper issues in our society. By including the race of an offender in media, journalists imply that the race of the offender is related to the crime, creating a prejudice in our society against entire communities of people, and creating stigmas within our society that support a culture of fear and condemnation of any cultural minority that is assigned blame.

“These kids are born in Australia, but they’re South Sudanese,” says a father of two. What do we define as Australian? Often what truly defines a person is not their passport, or their citizenship, but their own self identity. How can second generation Australians define themselves as Australian when they are constantly referred to as South Sudanese? With the addition of being referred to as criminals and gang members, the self identity of these individuals becomes blurred and unclear. This ostracism could be a reason that the stereotypes persist, and possibly a factor in the crime committed in the community.

Looking back at the arrival of first generation Australians from South Sudan, they were escaping war and gained citizenship in Australia as refugees. At first the focus of the government was humanitarian, the public urged that these people should have safe settlement in Australia. However, this soon changed as research was released to the public, stating that Sudanese people had low IQ and were therefore more prone to crime. At the same time, the number of crimes being reported as committed by Sudanese people increased, along with the labelling and stereotyping, the assumption that Africans were more prone to crime than other cultural groups grew virulent.

Although the level of education of these first generation Australians was much lower than other groups of refugees, the causes of crime are numerous and complex. The factor of socioeconomic status plays a large role as a cause of crime, and is not exclusive to immigrants, and immigrant children. Looking at the treatment of another minority group, Muslims in Australia have faced similar ostracism, stereotyping, demonisation, and isolation. Terrorist attacks by radicalists in Australia, and all over the world led to the fear and distrust of Muslim Australians.

Through the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century media has played a substantial role in shaping the minds of today’s youth. There has been an increasing belief that violence in the media poses a threat to public health due to the suggested increase that media has the ability to cause violence and aggression. There are three main forms of media which are regularly viewed and used within studies to determine the different effects they may cause, these include video games, television and video. Many sources suggest that their research has found that this form of violence contributes to a number of short and long problem in the minds if young viewers (Huesmann & Taylor, 2006).

However, there are a number of research articles and researchers who have studied the relationship between violence in media and violent behaviour but have not yet been able to prove any form of relationship to suggest that exposure to violent media can cause an individual to commit violent crime. Instead, there is a risk that exposure to media violence will increase the likelihood of subsequent aggressive behaviour, which could be increased or decreased through a number of factors such as family life or mental state (Brown, 1996). Although, in order to prove whether or not exposure to violence within different forms of media could subsequently result in the ability for people to commit violent crime, more research may need to be done. One form of violent entertainment includes video games, which has been investigated in order to help prove if there is, in fact, a relation to violent crimes people commit. This is due to the increasing concern amongst communities that players have been becoming more aggressive as a result of violent games or have been becoming desensitised to the violence.

Although, there is very little evidence that proves the relationship between playing violent video games and becoming violent in real-life (Brown, 1996). Some researchers depict that a link between video games and aggression is likely due to a suggested ‘third’ variable in relation to an individual’s family environment or innate aggression, although this lacks research and remains unaddressed (Ferguson et al., 2008). One research article examined the effects of violent video games by separating them into two categories, correlational and experimental. An experiment was done testing the relationships between violent game playing and self-reported violent crime among 227 undergraduate students. Results from this correlational study show that a relationship between violent video games and violent crime exists, third variables, such as innate aggression and gender have the ability to possibly influence such relationship. This is seen through a genetic predisposition, which develops from a potential violence-prone personality resulting in an aggressive personality through maturation. Meaning that as a child grows there is a possibility of more violent behaviour if they have more exposure to more violence and aggressive behaviour.

However, violent video games have the opportunity to act as a stylistic catalyst, through which an individual high violence prone environment decides to act violently, this person will then model violence seen in the media. Although, the violence would still occur in another form if the video game had been taken away from been removed from the individual (Ferguson et al., 2008). Television is a high regarded necessity within every household within the western world, with a statistical number of Australians watching around 21 hours of per week. This large amount of viewing time creates many potential effects of more violence seen within the media, compared to videos and video games (Brown, 1996). A study that tests early exposure to television, meaning the exposure of violent media to children, draws upon many theories. These theories include the social-cognitive observational-learning theory, desensitization theory, and social comparison theory, which were tested in order to examine and determine the longitudinal relationship for aggressive behaviour for both males and females (Huesmann, Moise-Titus, Podolski & Eron, 2003).

Researchers were able to gather data involving a range of childhood TV-violence viewing, identification of aggressive TV characters and behaviour, judgments of realism of TV violence, and intellectual ability. While also considering the parents socioeconomic status; which educational level is highly regarded and measured, aggressiveness, parenting practices and attitudes. There was also a follow up study which included 329 of the participants from the original study (Huesmann, Moise-Titus, Podolski & Eron, 2003). This study found a link between early exposure to TV violence and aggressive behaviour following in adult years, however there were no overly significant effects such as violent crime. These findings have also been supported by another research article which also investigates and discusses the same belief of early exposure to violence within the media may possibly result in violent crime. However, in both circumstances their hypotheses were proven incorrect, showing only a relationship between early exposure and aggression in future adult years based on results from a Meta-Analysis (Savage & Yancey, 2008).

Videos are another form of media violence which is thought to most enhance the problem of violent crime. This is due to them being easily accessible and containing more explicit, violent content which is easily accessible 24 hours a day, while still remaining within regulatory guidelines. Videos contain a range of content which stem form being family friendly, to “X” and “R” rated. This is thought to adhere to the problem, due to the young age-groups who are more than likely viewing such mature scenes that in turn shape their minds. There is a study that suggest the viewing “X” and “R” rated content can lead to a ‘copy-cat’ phenomenon. This phenomenon involves the imitation of violent murders or suicides from viewers to undertake a tendency of sensational publicity. It is seen to apply to videos to explain horrific events as, for example, the killing of a toddler in England by two ten-year-old’s, who had apparently watched the movie Child’s Play (Brown, 1996).

There has also been at least eight other murders and other crimes linked to the movie Oliver Stone’s 1994 film Natural Born Killers, which manifests that there is a relationship between media and violent crime, even though is remains partly elusive (Phillips, 2017). Although, there is a challenge in being able to discern between what a copy-cat crime actually is in relation to the individual who commits it. The challenging part of being able to define this particular type of crime is due to the limited amount of research conducted in order to measure its concept or how it actually occurs. One particular researcher, Jacqueline Helfgott, had suggested that factors such as the individual characteristics, the characteristics of media sources, their relationship to media, and their cultural factors are influential to the way people commit crimes. For instance, it is believed that the presence of media more often influences the how aspect of crime, rather than why someone commits a crime (Phillips, 2017).

In summary, the controversial belief that exposure to violence conveyed within the media can in turn cause some individuals to commit violent crimes has not been proven correct, which can be seen through broad research this has been conducted. This is due to limited investigations and evidence being found or conducted in order to prove this statement. Instead researchers have found evidence proving a relationship between media violence and aggression, as well as, a relationship between the what type of media individuals watch and the crimes people commit and the way they commit them.

Some historians argue that the broadcasting of the Vietnam War and the effect that that had on the American people was the reason for the Americans losing the war. Daniel Hallin, Professor of Communications asserts, ‘What was the effect of television on the development and outcome of the war? The conventional wisdom has generally been that for better or worse it was an anti-war influence: The argument has often been made that any war reported in an unrestricted way by television would eventually lose public support.’ Hallin correctly identifies that the role of the media was the reason for American failure.

Attached is a picture that was taken at My Lai on 16 March 1968. The picture depicts the bodies of those killed in My Lai. My Lai was an American-led search and destroy mission in the Quang Ngai region of southern Vietnam. Charlie Company in the early hours of the morning entered My Lai and in the following hours somewhere between 300 and 400 civilians (mainly women and children) were killed. The search and destroy mission had been to uncover Viet Cong soldiers however, no Viet Cong was found not only that but only three weapons were recovered meaning that the Vietnamese did not fight back. The My Lai massacre as it became known shocked the American people as it gave them an insight into what was going on in Vietnam. The My Lai massacre broadcasting supports Hallin, this is because when the American people saw the images from My Lai, they were shocked and disgusted. ‘The horrors of war entered the living rooms of the Americans’ this extract from a blog called The Warbird’s forum describes how the American people also felt it illudes to how the Vietnam War also became known as the war fought from the living room.

In conclusion, Hallin is correct when he says that television would eventually lose public support. If the American people had not been able to see what was happening in Vietnam, then they would not have protested. The anger the American people felt began to spill from the living rooms to the streets this is where America lost the battle. The police and army were needed to break up riots and fights. This in turn meant that forces were needed at home as well as in Vietnam. The fights and protests spread American resources to much meaning to stop all the American people from rebelling against the government America had to pull out of Vietnam to stop the fighting at home.

The role of the media affected people’s perceptions of the Vietnam War this, in turn, links the theme of the role of the media and the anti-war movement. Melvin Small argues that by 1967 nearly half of the American civilians had turned their back on the war in Vietnam, ‘As 1967 began 32 percent of those polled thought that intervention had been a mistake. By the end of the year, that number rose to 45 percent: throughout 1967 as the movement continued to promote a wide variety of imaginative national and local activities, increasing numbers of politicians, journalists, and other public figures began to express their opposition to American intervention. One person who spoke out against the Vietnam War was civil rights leader Martin Luther King. The picture attached shows Martin Luther King at the March on the Pentagon. The March on the Pentagon took place on 21 October 1967 it was an anti-war attempt to storm the Pentagon. There were approximately 100,00 protesters there that day however, they were stopped by US Marshals. More famously though was King’s speech at the Riverside Church in Harlem, New York on April 4, 1967. Here King delivered a speech called ‘Beyond Vietnam’ In this speech he said, ‘We were taking the black young men who had been crippled by society and sending them eight thousand miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in southwest Georgia and East Harlem. So, we have been repeatedly faced with the cruel irony of watching Negro and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for a nation that has been unable to seat them together in the same schools. So, we watch them in brutal solidarity burning the huts of a poor village, but we realize that they would never live on the same block in Detroit.’ King’s speech highlighted the racial problems in America and argued that if they did not fight for his rights then why should he fight in a war for others’ rights? This feeling of inequality was already being felt this is shown by groups such as the black panthers who used violence to get their point across. Many people turned out to listen to King’s speech his words in turn were able to spread across America and unite people into turning against the war this is shown by the statistics in Small’s quote. With the American government facing a united front at home there was no way they could win a war this is because they would have no way to fund and fuel the war. If people disagreed with what they were fighting for they would just refuse to go on in the case of some soldiers stopping taking orders from the commanders and start killing them instead of the Viet Cong.

In conclusion, Small is correct in saying that the American people had begun to turn against the war. Not only do statistics show this but the year in which they apply was when the anti-war movement was at its highest. If the American people agreed with the war and had not fought against it there is a high chance, they could have won. The American soldiers were not losing big battles only the small ones. However, the American people were sick of a war that in their eyes had no end and was just a waste of not only weapons but people as well.

In society, media has a unique place that helps in shaping the image people have gained about social and political issues. Currently, media coverage impacts the public by how it characterizes specific events and provides reliable information relating to numerous topics touching society, such as technology, the environment, and risks. According to Herman and Chomsky, media provides potential information and opinion for readers, through the internet, television, radio, magazines, and newspapers (1). The public gains its knowledge base about issues such as science through mass media (Herman and Chomsky 1). While mass media delivers essential information to the public, people can shape it to deliver injustice and misrepresentation through biased coverage of pertinent issues.

Globally, mass media impacts civilization and a closer look at reputable media sources reveals multiple blatant injustices spread through the internet, print media, and TV networks. According to Kennedy and Prat, news media outlets disseminate biased news to respond to higher demand for such news or to fulfill the political affiliations of their owners (1). According to Warf, corporate consolidation in the telecommunication and global media has resulted in fewer prominent media companies (90). Consequently, the influence of media bias on economic and political processes largely depends on a media outlet’s popularity (Kennedy and Prat 1; Martin and Yurukoglu 2). For instance, Fox News has over the years gained substantial acceptance globally, and the news disseminated through this platform has a direct effect on its receivers. Biased news from Fox News has a significant potential to sway public opinion. As Meier indicates, the commodification of mass media has resulted in new mechanisms of exploitation rather than acting as avenues of liberalization (265). Thus, media bias has the potential to form opinions that criticize or praise specific events or issues.

News media networks shape the public’s interests in social and political arenas by making or breaking certain events or individuals. In many instances, news media networks present the people with the news they want to be delivered rather than unveiling the whole truth. For example, during a political rally, many issues happen, and the media only focuses on what they consider essential and overlook the rest of the problems. When the public manages to form a coherent, meaningful opinion from such information, adherents to these media outlets enjoy exclusive benefits over their opponents (DiMaggio 20). As Herman and Chomsky inform, the pressure on media giants from stakeholders, corporate communities, and prominent individuals “white knights,” among others limits their autonomy (6). With such limitations, these giant media houses orchestrate their news feed based on the demands given. For instance, DiMaggio indicates that for politicians supported by these influential individuals, remaining in the media spotlight provides them with the advantage of public persuasion (20). As Newman and Fletcher inform, what people receive from media networks determines the impression they make (5). However, when the public gets deformed news regarding specific policies or political issues, the perception determines the actions they take. It is crucial for media outlets, such as TV, radio, newspapers, and other media outlets, to deliver unbiased news. Nonetheless, many instances of biased news have been observed even from giant media houses (Kennedy and Prat 2). Therefore, the news disseminated by media houses should not only remain neutral but also provide all the necessary unbiased details to leave the news consumers to make impartial decisions.

The current wave of media consolidation shapes the extent of news coverage. With media houses falling in the hands of fewer corporations, business leaders dictate the kind of local and national news coverage priorities rather than journalists (Warf 96). The implication is that in light of the struggle for journalism to remain profitable within a society that embraces press freedom, corporate boardrooms make the financial decisions that affect the kind of news delivered by reporters on news networks. With such a landscape, many issues that the corporate world has no interest in remain uncovered while others deemed profitable and beneficial to the corporate world receive massive attention (Warf 99). The hegemonic theory indicates that media corporations advance the interest of the upper-class corporate world at the expense of democracy (DiMaggio 22). Therefore, by evaluating the existing interconnectedness between the media, powerful elites, dominant social institutions, and the market, media houses have a substantial effect on the political-economic elements that shape public opinion.

The advent of social media and online news has shaped the way people receive their news. However, Pew research indicates that 57 percent of the American population still rely on television, 25 percent of Americans rely on radio, and another 20 percent rely on newspapers as the source of news (Martin and Yurukoglu 5). These numbers indicate that a considerable population still depends on mass media to access their news. Moreover, large media corporations own most of the online news outlets (Newman and Fletcher 7). Further, there has been an increased onslaught in how journalists receive instructions on what they should prioritize in their news coverage. Since these journalists come from elite media companies, online news only has a small gap to cover, with a mild impact since they cannot manage to address the omitted issues adequately (Martin and Yurukoglu 6). Thus, with such gaps in news coverage, people tend to become skeptical about the news they receive from media outlets.

Politically managed news carries substantial dangers to a country’s social, political, and economic landscape. According to DiMaggio, the news reported by media networks provides a material basis for critical analysis and judgment from media consumers (21). However, media reporting molded by special interests only avails the information channeled towards achieving a particular goal. Moreover, the strong ties between the media outlets and the government often render media houses as government subjects (Herman and Chomsky 9). For instance, radio and TV companies require licensing, among other legal processing from the government. With such fundamental soft spots, these companies become potential subjects of harassment and government control (Herman and Chomsky 9). Thus, compromised media networks have become the avenues through which biased news can reach the public.

Distrust of mass media has both political and social implications. While to some extent, skepticism can be healthy for democracy, media presenting the public with distrustful news has the potential to create a higher level of cynicism and disaffection for essential life issues. The consolidation of media houses has played a significant role in creating continued distrust since it lays a foundation for centralized control of news reaching consumers. While the media plays a fundamental role in disseminating underlying issues and shaping a country’s democracy, biased reporting has the potential to create a strong distrust among recipients of the news from media houses.

Works Cited

1. DiMaggio, Anthony. The Politics of Persuasion: Economic Policy and Media Bias in the Modern Era. New York, State University of New York Press, 2017.
2. Herman, Edward, and Noam Chomsky. “A Propaganda Model.” Manufacturing Consent
3. Kennedy, Patrick, and Andrea Prat. “Where Do People Get Their News?” Economic Policy, 3 Apr. 2018, cepr.org/sites/default/files/events/papers/995_Where%20Do%20People%20Get%20Their%20News.pdf. Accessed 5 July 2019.
4. Martin, Gregory, and Ali Yurukoglu. “Bias in Cable News: Persuasion and Polarization.” Stanford University, 5 Apr. 2017, web.stanford.edu/~ayurukog/cable_news.pdf
5. Meier, Werner. “Towards a Policy for Digital Capitalism?” Digital Media Inequalities: Policies against Divides, Distrust, and Discrimination, edited by Jose Trappel, Nordicom, 2019, pp. 265-284, norden.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1299036/FULLTEXT01.pdf Accessed 5 July 2019
6. Newman, Nic, and Richard Fletcher. “Bias, Bullshit, and Lies: Audience Perspective on Low Trust in the Media.” The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, 2017, Reuters institute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2017-11/Nic%20Newman%20and%20Richard%20Fletcher%20-%20Bias%2C%20Bullshit%20and%20Lies%20-%20Report.pdf. Accessed 5 July 2019
7. Warf, Barney. “Oligopolization of Global Media and Telecommunications and its Implications for Democracy.” Ethics, Place, and Environment, vol. 10, no. 1, Mar. 2007, pp. 89-105.