Do you think young people are influenced by the media?

Question

Every now and again some incident happens where a young person commits a terrible crime or offense and some people try to link it to their love of a particular movie, group or tv show. Immediatly this gets shouted down as nothing to do with the media's influence.

Much as I'd like to believe this I think it's a nonsense. The whole point of being a rock star, for example, is to 'be' the part and hopefully have enough young people be drawn to you that they buy your music and even emulate your style so how can these same people suddenly stand back and say it's nothing to do with them and they are just expressing their artistic opinions and nothing more when impressionable young people have read something into their 'package'. Or another example maybe being the increase in 13 year olds getting pregnant since Coronation Street broke the taboo by making it seem acceptable on prime time tv and what a relatively easy ride Sarah Platt has had since in un-reality.

What are your thoughts?

I just want to add that it's so hard to condense my thoughts down on here. I hope you get my drift. I'm not saying the media are always guilty by any means but I do think sometimes it's too easy to put out shows or music that are knowingly controversial and then just simply back away washing your hands of any consequences of what you've put out there.

Answer 1

Media influence is one of the most powerful forces in society today. Technology, a wonderful tool, can also serve as a powerful weapon in social engineering. That's what's happening before our very eyes.

We are like the proverbial bullfrog. Place a bullfrog in a pan of boiling water, and it will jump out immediately. Place it in a pan of cool water and gradually heat it up and the bullfrog will stay there until boiled to death.

The media strongly influence society as a whole. We are in the water and just about to have our good sense boiled out of us.

Answer 2

I do think some kids are easier influenced than others. And when I see on TV : the ultimate fighter, I can see why some kids have become violent. Some shows are promoting violence on prime time TV. the same goes for rock stars. A well balanced kid knows its all make believe, however there are kids that maybe have a little problem and take it the wrong way and adopt the behaviour.Why do we have now more bullies in schools, more shootings, it has to come from somewhere.
I am not blaming the media as per say, because the family unit is practically non existent anymore. Nobody has time for the children, when I see a woman going shopping at 11 pm with little children in tow, I have to shake my head. These kids should be in bed, children should be in bed by 8 pm. So, therefore parents are to blame also.

Answer 3

I believe everyone is influenced by the media. We now live in an age where we can hear about everything in the world within seconds of it breaking as a story. The problem with this is we don't really have selectivity of what we're given. The world has always had these problems but now it's over-saturated and whilst the majority of media stories are nothing new to humanity, the ability to hear mostly shock stories creates a world of fear, promotion or a society of conforming.

Everything from politics to popular culture are aware of this and so the media can become a gateway to popular opinion even if the information later turns out to be false.

Young people may be influenced more by culture media aimed at youth audiences whilst magazines like heat, closer and any gossip related magazines perpetuate a culture where people compare what and where they are in life to the seemingly exciting life of the celebrity and feel disappointed with their own life.

Answer 4

Think back!

Remember when you'd rather die than wear the "wrong" clothes. Maybe you had to have "the" purse or "the" shoes that were in style at the time. For me it was Levi's jeans. Mom always wanted to buy the cheaper Wranglers.

Teenagers have a need to fit in with their peers. It is just part of growing up. Their main concern is how others perceive them. Appearances matter and that includes the type of music they listen to, hairstyles, and behaving in a way that will cause them to fit in with a particular group.

They may feel a need to fit in with the kids that participate in sports and cheer-leading OR they may desire to be in the group that epitomizes "street," drug use, and toughness. There are very few who wish to be invisible.

Music, TV, and any other portion of pop culture are likely to be emulated. After all, if 50 cent, and other pop stars do it, it must be hot.....at least in their minds.

Answer 5

Not only D young but even D old people ar easily influence by mass media . Who would want 2 believe a TV station or a newspaper would dare carry lies 2 people who trust them? Since I've been in newspaper business for 22 years, I always tell my friends not 2 believe 80% of what u read. Why do u think politicians always want 2 control D media business?

Answer 6

i applaud you goldfish for bringing up and having this point of view. i am currently a student on a media studies degree so i know first hand the arguments and some understanding surrounding this issue because i did a project on media violence and media effects during the first year. personally, i think the young are influenced by the media in many ways and through various mediums such as tv, film, radio, newspapers etc. though i too think it is so typical and too easy to blame society's ills on the media itself. if someone who watched a violent film ends up killing someone, its not the actors, the writers or the director who is to blame for this- but the person committing this evil crime. if he/she is insane and i would act stupid enough to take on board every word that character of person says and the things they do, then to me they are the ones who have the problem. not the producer, director, actors.

and you're right when you said the reason why we have rock stars for example is for them to show to us that regardless of your background- be it age, race, gender, sexuality etc- if you work hard and believe in yourself you can achieve and fulfil your dreams and aspirations. of course many people believe otherwise by saying the media is bad in many ways but it is ridiculous that the media is having to defend itself from every accusation, slur, attack every time a crime takes place and people start making direct links with say real- life violence to those movies, tv shows, rap songs etc.

Answer 7

It's chicken and egg isn't it? Does the media merely reflect social issues or does their "reflection" increase the problem?
I also think that the media has a tendency to over simplify things, eg anorexia is always talked about in relation to the images in girls magazines, and yet many anorexics talk about how another girl called them fat and upset them, not about how they wanted to be as thin as Kate Moss. The pressure to be thin doesn't come from magazines alone but from the value consensus in society in general, social prejudices persist in telling you that it isn't ok to be fat. I do think that there is a growing culture among young people to feel entitled to be famous for fame's sake though and not because they have a talent and have worked hard to succeed, and we can blame the media for that.

Answer 8

This is an excellent question! My personal opinion is that in this busy busy electronic day and age of instant news and media blitz's every minute of everyday people just don't have the time to do the actual research themselves.....hence they believe what they hear and believe what they are told..... there is an age old quote which is TRUER today than it was when it was created....

"Believe 1/2 of what you see and 1/4 of what you hear"

:^)

Answer 9

it is a tragedy to "Believe 1/2 of what you see and 1/4 of what you hear". Yes this is true. All people are influenced by the media not just young people.

Answer 10

Of course they are influenced by the media. It's not just young people either. We all form our opinions of government,foreign countries and society as a whole from the media. If we didn't have any media we wouldn't know much at all.