Let us for example look at all those promises that advertisements make us today. They let us believe that we can make our lives better. Instantly and effortlessly if we just do what they suggest. For every target group they use certain techniques, all containing the same messages: methods to be more successful. Humans are naturally hungry for success, so this it what the media takes advantage of. It could just be that winning lottery lot, that right selected fund, that great fashion makeover, the fact that you lost weight, got tighter abs, that you have purchased that right car or soft drink that made all the difference.
By pressing the belief on us that such transformations are possible, that we also can be more successful, just by doing these simple things, the media does indeed get to influence our lives a lot. We are tempted to buy more stuff, to keep dieting and most of all to read fashion magazines, which give us the same information over and over again.
Now let us take a look at the one of the most important target groups of mass media, the youth. Every day teenage boy and girls are being exposed to a lot of advertisement. These children are an easy target for big merchandising businesses, because of the peer pressure that rules among them. They are just more likely to copy things they see and hear around them.
Likewise, advertisements with famous people starring in them, are almost a certain guarantee for good sale numbers. This is because young people often have idols with whom they want to be identified and who they try to copy. So when they see their heroes wear certain clothes, drink certain drinks and use certain objects, it without doubt affects their behavior and their views on right and wrong. In their eyes these idols stand for success and just as I said before people want to be successful. There were for example a lot of children who wanted to master the arts of combat, after films such as ‘Kill Bill’ with actress Uma Thurman had stormed the cinemas. The influence of this sort of advertising ought not to be underestimated. For bad advertising can have terrible consequences, for example increase of aggression, discrimination and violence among teens.
Mass media also plays a big role in politics. America is a good example of that. Think of all those commercials at every presidential election. Most recently it was the struggle between George Bush and John Kerry. As they both tried to get hold of as much supporters as possible, the media was their way to get attention. Idealistic commercials, in which both candidates were sketched as great personalities, as well as mean gossips and made-up scandals were shown to the people. Soon it simply turned out in a unfair competition in who was better at spreading the most dreadful information about the other, while in the meantime presenting oneself as a hero. The people didn’t get a fair chance to form their opinions. They were just being indoctrinated by the media slogans. It all resolved in the fact that Kerry was portrayed by the Republicans as a person who changed his mind a little too often and George Bush got hold of the throne for four more years…
I hope that these examples show just how people are influenced by mass media, even more that they realize. In conclusion, it can be said that the mass media in our society, with its cunning advertisements, will always find her way to influence us in our daily pursuance of success.
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