Since the first television was invented, the media has played a significant role in shaping public opinion. We live in a society that depends on information and communication to keep moving in the right direction and do our daily activities. And with the advent of technology and social media, the media now plays a more integral role in shaping the public’s thoughts than ever before. One of the reasons that we so willingly accept the media is because it has become such a part of our daily lives. News outlets have access to billions of people, making it easy to access billions of people and get their messages out to the masses.
According to our textbook, Americans spend an average of thirteen hours a week on the Internet. TV also plays an important role in how people view politics and government. MTV started covering presidential campaigns as early as 1992 with campaigns to get young people out to vote including “Choose or Lose” and “Rock The Vote.”
In the most recent election, the media played a tremendous role in influencing voters. Many people even referred to the election as a “Social Media Election,” with the endless amount of campaigning done on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. According to an article written by Katy Bachman in AdWeek, nearly a third of registered voters (30 percent) had been encouraged on social networks by their friends or family members to vote one way or another. Among registered voters, 22 percent let others know for whom they planned to vote on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter; and 20 percent of people have encouraged others to vote for their candidate using social media platforms. Some even think that social media helped President Obama get reelected. A recent study by the Pew Research Center found that 79% of liberals use social sites, compared to only 63% of conservatives.
Though I do think that the media helps get important information out to the public, the media can also do harm. In the past news reports were highly limited to presenting the different facts and information surrounding a specific event. It was considered to be irresponsible for reports and news anchors to incorporate their own thoughts and ideas regarding a certain situation.
However, nowadays there are more and more anchors and news presenters already give in their own opinions and interjections, which can also strongly influence how one perceives a specific news item. Many news sources also lean either left or right, so someone’s perception of an event or candidate can be biased or skewed a certain way, depending on what news station they are watching. For example, someone watching FOX News could get a more Republican slant on their news while those watching MSBNC will get a more Democratic opinion.
However, mass media can also have a positive effect on people. It can bring feelings of pride and patriotism, especially during national catastrophes such as the recent Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy. Regardless, the media ultimately has a very large impact on how people get the message about a specific news item.
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