What kind of positive or negative effect does the media have on society?

Question

Daughter of the King - I agree with you wholeheartedly. The media is influenced by liberals. They answer our own questions about what we want to watch.

Answer 1

Positive: We obviously get some important information on the news regarding politics, weather, disasters, etc. Media can be used in a good way to teach morals, life lessons, etc.

NEGATIVE: The media constantly scrutinizes celebrities wanting them to be "perfect". Calling celebs too FAT too Skinny this has a negative impact on our children causing many eating disorders and anorexia. The media also can teach that violence is okay, WWE advertised to children but contains adult content.

Answer 2

The media keep the public informed if the reporting is not slanted or biased with opinion and irrelevant commentary. Being informed is a positive thing.
The media can have a negative effect when news is inaccurately reported (things are added that are not factual or left out that are factual and relevant) or when opinions are added to reports that should otherwise, be omitted. People can also react differently when information is reported following some other event that may already have had a great impact on their environment or living conditions (such as a report of a domestically hijacked airplane followitng the 911 attack on NYC).

Answer 3

I don't think that there is a lot of positive effects at the moment. I guess the spread of information is positive. Plus, news makes us aware of problems in both our country and others. It also makes discussion about important issues possible by presenting the info.
Then there's the negatives. Teens are easily influenced and look at the behavior of some role models, such as Britney, Lohan, & Paris. The media perhaps inadvertantly makes it seem as though their behavior is glamorous, even if their actions sometimes has dire consequences. Even news of current affairs can be depressing. News items about murder, drugs, & terrorism are rampant. We are seeing negative news everyday. How does that affect us? Maybe that's why anti-depressants are so popular!

Answer 4

It seems they are always influenced by the liberals.

The media spends way too much time telling us about celebraties that we don't need to or want to know. Do you really care who was seen with who or who went into rehab or who wore an ugly dress to the Grammy's?? This teaches children how to dress or act to gain attention...is that the right message? I don't think so. I am sick of all these rich people invading the front pages with details on someone dating someone else's ex when there are so many much more important things they could (and should) be telling us.

Answer 5

If the information consumer has developed critical thinking skills and commands some healthy skepticism the media can be a good thing. If not we're in trouble because it's written for the lowest common denomo-thug.

Answer 6

It makes people stupid. If you know whether or not Britney Spears is currently in jail, or currently has a valid driver's license, or even care what happens next in the continuing story of OJ Simpson, you probably shouldn't be allowed to vote.

Perhaps you only keep up with political events. Well, if you care more about popular opinion showing that "everyone" hates George Bush than you do about why the NY Times literally gave away the advertising space to slander a US soldier, then the media made you stupid. If you fail to note a connection between the "Betray Us" ad and the phony "George Bush was AWOL" memo, the media has made you stupid. If you think the USSC appointed Bush in 2000, the media made you stupid. If you think about the Scooter Libby case without a thought to Sandy Berger's theft of classified government documents, the media has made you stupid. If you can accept Hillary's vague ten page proposal to nationalize health care without any government involvement without recalling her massive effort to take it over in 1992, the media has made you stupid. If you can hear about anything Congress is trying to do about Immigration without hearing "Press one for English", the media has made you stupid. If you remember the blame that Congress tried to lay on the White House for the attempted sale of ports to a Dubai company, but don't know about the pending sale of the software manufacturer who makes the firewalls for the Pentagon to a Chinese company, the media has made you stupid.

If you don't know whether I'm suggesting that this is a positive or a negative, don't blame the media for making you stupid, they aren't to blame for that.

Answer 7

It really depends on what is reported - and how. A negative story (say a crime) can be presented in such a way as to make the viewer feel pain and sadness or, less often, can be presented in a way that informs the viewer without manipulating their human nature.

Answer 8

Positive: The dissemination of information and the spreading of knowledge and opposing points of view.

Negative: Studies show that people who watch a lot of TV are more likely to overestimate the crime rate, and feel that other people are always looking to take advantage of them, as compared to people who watch TV less.

Answer 9

In an ideal world, the media would enlighten us about anything good and bad that's going on that would affect our lives.
In the real world, the front page tells us that Pam Anderson just remarried. 8-(

Answer 10

All kinds!!!