23.

A Modern Media

23. Modern Media

Introduction: The term „media“ is a general term describing newspapers, magazines, radio and
television. It is also called „mass media“ because it brings information to the masses of people. The
media’s importance is rather simple – they are our source of information, easily available, complex
and cheap. Through newspapers, radio and television we can learn about the world around us,
important events, new technologies and unique achievements. The media plays an important role in
our society and some experts say they are too powerful and too influential today. How they present
information can decide about people’s lives and the development of our society.

You can buy newspapers and magazines from a news agency, newsstand or a kiosk. Most newspapers
appear daily or weekly. Magazines are usually produced weekly, fortnightly or monthly. In many
countries, the press is independent, and newspapers may be right-wing or left-wing. In some
countries, the press is controlled by the state and may be censored. There are different kinds of
newspapers:

Serious papers (quality papers, broadsheets)

Tabloids (popular newspapers)

Local newspapers

People who do not like reading newspapers or think it’s too expensive to buy a newspaper every day
and then throw it away, listen to the radio to be informed. The news is read by a presenter and there
is also a lot of good music. There is usually a variety of radio programmes to choose from – news
programmes and weather forecasts, chat shows, educational programmes, quiz shows, morning
shows, and phone-in programmes.

In Britain, radio and television are provided by the state-owned BBC (British Broadcasting
Corporation), which has a high international reputation for impartiality and objectivity. Besides BBC
there are also other radio and TV broadcasting services. Unlike the press, which is free in Britain,
radio and TV broadcasting have always been subject to some state control.

TV is a medium through which we can see amazing places and things. Most people use it for
relaxation and fun. But there are also educational channels like Discovery where documentary movies
can be seen, and commercial TV where they usually play sitcoms, shows, popular programs or live
broadcasts. There is a lot of advertisement. TV isn’t healthy for our bodies, especially eyes and it also
isn’t suitable for children because they can find there a lot of shows and movies with violence, strong
language, and gore, that can alter negatively children’s behaviour.

There is a wide choice of programmes: movies, TV shows, soap operas, news, weather forecasts,
sports programmes, live broadcasts of sports games or other events, music programmes, games, talk
shows, quiz shows, special programmes for children, educational programmes, panel discussions, and
of course, a lot of commercials.

We live in a society that depends on information and communication to keep moving in the right
direction and to do our daily activities like work, entertainment, health care, education, personal
relationships, travelling and anything else that we have to do. Young people are in a stage of life
where they want to be accepted by their peers, they want to be loved and be successful. The media
creates the ideal image of beautiful men and women and tells you what the characteristics of a
successful person are, you can see it in movies and TV. It’s a subliminal way to tell you that if you are
not like them you are not cool yet so it’s time to buy the stuff they buy and look like they look.
Another negative influence on teenagers that has grown over the last years is anorexia and obesity.
There are millions of adolescents fighting obesity, but at the same time, they are exposed to
23. B Modern Media

thousands of advertisements for junk food, while the ideal image of a successful person is told to be
thin and wealthy.

Also, more women are obsessed with losing weight even when they are not obese, many thin women
want to look like supermodels and thin celebrities so they engage in eating disorders which leads to
severe health issues and even death. Like children and youth, mass media influences adults as well,
although perhaps not that much. Most adults with a platonic view of things will resist the temptation
of being consumed by what the mass media has to offer. While men usually find it difficult to hold
themselves back in the face of the sexual lure. Other subjects which also appeal to men are financial
security and a luxurious hassle-free lifestyle. Women on the other hand are more tempted towards
products which guarantee immunity from ageing and not just what the previous generation called
“ageing gracefully”. Mass media can yet be used constructively to teach adults about the importance
of insurance, financial education and how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

They have also a huge impact on society and public opinion. They can shape public opinion in
different ways depending on the objective. For example, after the attacks of 9/11, the media gave a
huge coverage of the event and exposed, that Osama was guilty of the attack as they were told by
the authorities. This shaped the public opinion to support the war on terrorism, the same happened
with the war on Iraq. The problem is that if the media received inaccurate information then the public
opinion supported a wrong cause, this is the power of public opinion influence. Other ways, how to
influence are with polls and trends, especially in political campaigns. The candidates that can pay for
more TV and media exposure have more influence on public opinion and thus can receive more votes.

The latest technological contributions to media development are the Internet and e-mail which tend to
replace classical media – newspapers, television and radio and other means of communication such as
telephones. All of the main newspapers and magazines now have websites, and TV and radio stations
as well. These “new media” are starting to get similar numbers of readers as the “old” media, forcing
publishers and broadcasters to think seriously about making money and reaching audiences in the
digital world. Nowadays you can be online all the time throughout the day thanks to the rapid
developments in cellular networks and the wide availability of internet connection either optical or
other metallic and wireless technologies. The youth can become more and more invested in the world
inside their smartphones, often ignoring the world around them. This also allows to creation of so-
called NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training). NEETs are people shut in their homes
isolated from society and many of them because of the internet. All they need for life is some basic
income, food, a computer, the internet, and a place they can hide in. There is no unified solution to
prevent these pathological conditions. And it is often pretty hard to get someone like that back into
society.

Social media has played an important role in the lives of everyone in the past fifteen years, and now
people cannot seem to remember a time when social media was not an everyday present force. Most
people go throughout their lives not knowing of the dangers that lie within various social media
platforms. Social networking threatens society because it encourages unfavourable habits and
despicable behaviours. Social media can encourage sedentary lifestyle habits where people become
glued to their screens and cannot function without them. Social media can also allow people to taunt
and bully other people by providing various avenues for them to be hurtful. Furthermore, it can also
lead to predators finding children online to satisfy and fulfil their twisted needs. Social media can be a
blessing sometimes, but the evil of it cannot be overlooked and when people only focus on the
relaxation that it gives them it makes them become an easy target for the threats to make an
appearance in their own lives.