...is reasonable to assume that it has its effects on people. The topic discussed in this paper is the impact social media has truly had on society. Focusing on the main factors that cause an influence to the general well being of people in modern society, this paper will discuss how the effects of media are determined and explore what is believed to be the two main categories in which media affects today’s society: mental illness and body dissatisfaction. In reviewing the literature on the different effects that media has on society as a whole, ten pieces of literature that discuss the effects that media has on the psychological well being of society will be shown, and that ultimately what is at stake in this conversation is the health of our society. In reviewing the literature regarding the health impacts of social media on society, the authors used in this paper discuss either mental illness or body dissatisfaction. Authors such as Dohyun Ahn, Sheri Bauman, and Sandee LaMotte discuss the mental illnesses in their articles (“Is the Social Use of Media…”, “Associations Among Bullying…”, and “The Health Risks of Cyberbullying…” respectively. The remaining seven authors who focus on body image and how it is influenced by the media can be separated by three subcategories. First, authors Stefanie C. Gilbert, Gemma Lopez-Guimera, and Monique L. Ward focus specifically on the cultural standards of body image in their articles (“The Media’s Role…”, “Influence of Mass Media…”, and “The...
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...is reasonable to assume that it has its effects on people. The topic discussed in this paper is the impact social media has truly had on society. Focusing on the main factors that cause an influence to the general well being of people in modern society, this paper will discuss how the effects of media are determined and explore what is believed to be the two main categories in which media affects today’s society: mental illness and body dissatisfaction. In reviewing the literature on the different effects that media has on society as a whole, ten pieces of literature that discuss the effects that media has on the psychological well being of society will be shown, and that ultimately what is at stake in this conversation is the health of our society. In reviewing the literature regarding the health impacts of social media on society, the authors used in this paper discuss either mental illness or body dissatisfaction. Authors such as Dohyun Ahn, Sheri Bauman, and Sandee LaMotte discuss the mental illnesses in their articles (“Is the Social Use of Media…”, “Associations Among Bullying…”, and “The Health Risks of Cyberbullying…” respectively. The remaining seven authors who focus on body image and how it is influenced by the media can be separated by three subcategories. First, authors Stefanie C. Gilbert, Gemma Lopez-Guimera, and Monique L. Ward focus specifically on the cultural standards of body image in their articles (“The Media’s Role…”, “Influence of Mass Media…”, and “The...
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...surprise that 82% of women apply makeup to increase their self-confidence (Cash, 1989, p.351). This depressing statistic means that only 18% of women do not need to apply makeup to increase their self-confidence. In today’s American society, we are constantly bombarded by images of flawless, perfect figured girls in the media. The media is allowed to set the beauty standard, and its presence can become harmful towards women, and society as a whole. The media reinforces its message through a number of outlets such as: advertisements, social media, and magazines, ultimately making its influence inescapable. Although it may be too late to change the media’s grip on our generation,...
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...The Harmful Effects of Media on Teenage Girls’ Self Image Media is one of the most effective tools in the world. People learn more from the media than any other single source of information. No matter where people look, they are constantly assaulted with images and ads, whether it is online, watching television, or even walking down the street. Because of the media’s ease of accessibility, it is vital that America understands the subliminal messaging behind the entertainment and advertising, not necessarily for the adults’ sake, but for the sake of their children’s impressionable minds. With the average teenager spending 10 and a half hours a day absorbing the media’s messages, it is imperative that parents become aware of the negative effects it is having on their child, especially young teenage girls. The media has targeted this demographic and the results are tragic. The average teenage girl spends 31 hours a week watching TV, 10 hours a week online, and 17 hours a week listening to music. (Kaiser Family par. 13) With that much time spent doing these things it’s a safe assumption that the media has a huge influence on teens and takes up a majority of their free time. Drew Altman, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation said, “When children are spending this much time doing anything, we need to understand how it’s affecting them – for good and bad” (par. 7). With the media imposing so much influence over young America, it is crucial that action be taken...
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...conducted for research. The first was called “Coping with Stressful Life Events” and is conducted by Claire Jones, University of Exeter. The purpose of this study is to identify strategies people use to cope with life’s difficulties emotionally. The participant is given scenarios and asked how they’d feel about the situation and/or themselves in each situation. Before the study, there is a page giving an overview of the study as well as guidelines, inviting anyone over eighteen years of age who used English as their first language to take part. There is a consent form at the beginning of the survey that participants are directed to before the study begins. This study looks at the link between the participant’s current feelings and thoughts about themselves in relation to difficult life experiences. This subject matter is touched on throughout the text – it is examples of nature-nurture when life events influence our behavior (nurture). This study looks more specifically at life events and their effects (p.395-396) in regard to self esteem and, more accurately, self concept. (Defined p.395) Overall, the survey was clearly explained and well executed. Before beginning this survey it assured complete privacy and anonymity. It also warned that focusing on negative life events could cause emotional discomfort. Upon completion it reiterated that focusing on negative life events could cause emotional discomfort, usually short lived and temporary. In the event that more serious...
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...Running Head: Mass Media in Elections Mass Media’s Affect on Voting Trends Arthur Gibford California State University California In today’s world, the news media reaches and affects every person in the United States. The question now is does mass media such as newspapers, television, and the internet affect the voting trends of the voters? The ownership of the media (Djankov, Nenova, McLiesh, & Shleifer, 2003), targeting specific demographics (Clinton & Lapinski, 2004), the implications of the internet (DiMaggio, Hargittai, Neuman, & Robinson, 2003) and how candidates use media (Aarts & Semetko, 2003) are all important aspects in determining whether a potential bias exists (Eveland & Shah, 2003) on the part of the news media. It is hypothesized that when the mass media displays certain biases leaning towards one party over the other, the populace tends to vote in the direction of the media. The following five scholarly literature reviews will attempt to demonstrate and support the hypothesis. According to Eveland and Shah (Eveland & Shah, 2003, p. 101)there is “a large percentage of the public (that) believes that the news media are biased, and the majority of these individuals consider the direction of bias to be against their own viewpoint”. This drives the question this paper attempts to answer. This article looks at media’s credibility and integrity in the eyes of individual people. The author’s give several hypothesis to provide multiple...
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...years people have been trying “to persuade schools and universities to discontinue the use of American Indian mascots. Still, it is estimated that nearly 90 colleges and approximately 1,200 high schools in the U.S. continue to utilize American Indian images and logo” (Chaney, Burke, & Burkley, 2011, p. 43). This is an enormous amount of colleges that house thousands of students. This is in the United States alone, so the effect it can have nationwide is tremendous. It is vital to realize that it is not only the names of these mascots that cause turmoil, but the logos and images associated with them. The logos and numerous images often depict an untruthful beliefs about an entire culture. These biases have affected limitless cultures for countless years and caused others to discriminate against someone based on their deficiency of valuable information on the topic at hand. There is a massive concern in today’s society associated with stereotyping and prejudice due to a lack of knowledge about these various heritages and the succession of racism and prejudice needs to end here. The first step to ending this cycle of offensive labeling begins by teaching students about the implications of discrimination and replacing controversial sports mascots with a more appropriate and politically correct symbol and name. The challenge associated with controversial school mascots is a difficult topic for many individuals due to the effect prejudice has on others. The controversy mascot names...
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...MASS MEDIA EFFECTS In partial fulfillment of the requirements of Theories of Communication (LAC 701) A paper prepared by Group Four John Fasisi (91817) Kalim Gazal (136615) Moyofade Ipadeola (95580) Nwachukwu Egbunike (147181) Oluwaseun Oti (168137) Seyi Bodunde (168139) Victor Eze (167521) And submitted to: Professor F. A. Adesanoye Department of Communication and Language Arts Faculty of Arts University of Ibadan November 27, 2012 ABSTRACT This literature-driven study examined mass media effects. The work peered into the history of the ‘powerful media’. An in-depth review of relevant theories of mass media effects was analyzed. Findings pointed towards both positive and negative impacts of mass media. However, there was no empirical evidence to substantiate a direct cause and effect relationship of mass media messages with the actions of the consumer of the information. Consequently we can only assert that the mass media impacts on society but does not necessarily have an effect since other factors also influence people other than information consumed from the media. As such, this study asserts that the mass media influences public opinion but does not necessarily cause it. Key words: powerful media, mass media effects, theories of mass media effects, impact of media messages INTRODUCTION The mass media involve organisations that are responsible for the dissemination of information to a large number of people. Basically, the mass media...
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...time we lay our heads down at night it seems that we are constantly exposed to some form of media, whether it’s through the radio, the television, magazines and/or newspapers. This assignment allowed me to gain an understanding about how much of an impact the media has on individuals in an undesirable way. Specifically, I was interested in the possibility that communication media had a negative influence on the body images of both men and women. Originally I was only concerned with adults but then I expanded and began looking for data representing young children and...
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...com/locate/comphumbeh The role of social media in higher education classes (real and virtual) – A literature review Paul A. Tess Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, 56 East River Road, Suite 250, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Available online 26 January 2013 Keywords: Social media Higher education Facebook Twitter Blogs Educational technology a b s t r a c t The ubiquity of social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) is no more apparent than at the university. Social media are increasingly visible in higher education settings as instructors look to technology to mediate and enhance their instruction as well as promote active learning for students. Many scholars argue for the purposeful integration of social media as an educational tool. Empirical evidence, however, has lagged in supporting the claim. Most of the existing research on the utility and effectiveness of social media in the higher education class is limited to self-reported data (e.g., surveys, questionnaires) and content analyses. This paper summarizes the scholarly writings as well as reviews the findings of empirical investigations. Some limitations are discussed, and future areas of research are proposed. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The growth of social media and other Web 2.0 technologies is unprecedented (Lenhart, Purcell, Smith, & Zickuhr, 2010). Social media technology has become an...
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...Time for Legalization of Marijuana Jane doe University of Phoenix Time for Legalization of Marijuana Since the early 1970's marijuana legalization has been an issue for debate (Rawson, 2012). Those who do not want it legalized argue that it would increase its use, but the benefits of legalization are hard to ignore. Some of the benefits legalization would bring are: legalization would stimulate the economy, the criminal court system would be free for more important cases, and users and sellers would no longer have to carry the stigma of a criminal conviction for the rest of their lives; any one of these things would help any one of us. The fact is that even if someone does not use marijuana they should reexamine their stance on the issue, and see that everyone can benefit from legalization. To examine this issue thoroughly everyone should know the history of marijuana prohibition in the United States. Although most states had local laws prohibiting marijuana use and possession, it was not until 1937 that the federal government passed the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act. The act itself did not criminalize the possession or usage of marijuana but instead levied a tax of approximately one dollar on anyone who dealt commercially in marijuana. The penalty provisions for violators of the proper procedures could result in a fine of up to $2000 and five years' imprisonment. The intended result of the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act was to effectively make it too risky for anyone to deal in...
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...Exam SO141 Introduction to Sociology Fall 2, 2012 Park University LRAFB Coleman Do questions ___, ___, ___, and any two others. 1. Compare and contrast the three main sociological perspectives. The symbolic interactionist perspective, also known as symbolic interactionism, directs sociologists to consider the symbols and details of everyday life, what these symbols mean, and how people interact with each other. According to the functionalist perspective, also called functionalism, each aspect of society is interdependent and contributes to society's functioning as a whole. The government, or state, provides education for the children of the family, which in turn pays taxes on which the state depends to keep itself running. The conflict perspective, which originated primarily out of Karl Marx's writings on class struggles, presents society in a different light than do the functionalist and symbolic interactionist perspectives. While these latter perspectives focus on the positive aspects of society that contribute to its stability, the conflict perspective focuses on the negative, conflicted, and ever-changing nature of society. Unlike functionalists who defend the status quo, avoid social change, and believe people cooperate to effect social order, conflict theorists challenge the status quo, encourage social change (even when this means social revolution), and believe rich and powerful people force social order on the poor and the weak. Conflict theorists, for...
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...Media Effects of Women’s Body Image This paper aimed at to help 15-30 years old women to build a healthy and positive attitude toward their body image. The research question that I raised is how do TV advertisements and fashion magazine affect 15-30 years old women to build their self-esteem and body image view in the U.S.? More specifically, I will examine the various aspects of negative effects that the television and fashion magazines bring to the 15-30 years old women. I proposed that the negative effects that television and fashion magazines bring to young women is more serious than people expected. I do intend to cite the relatively few statistic data and clinical studies that have been conducted on media’s negative effects on women’s body image. My audience will be the 15-30 years old women who do not aware enough of the problem that I describe or who was struggled by the problem that I describe for a long time. Nowadays, a woman’s identity is linked strongly to her physical appearance. In this situation, coverage of women in media mostly concerns women’s appearance and set them as sexual objects. Most social commentators agree that the media reflects current social norms (Grogan, 1999). Body image is the picture of the size, shape, and form of people’s bodies that people see in their mind’s eye (Honigman & Castle, 2007). It is also central to the self-concept and to self-esteem, influencing psychological functions and diverse behaviors (Cash & Pruzinsky...
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...Rather than being an unbiased medium for the communication of information, the U.S. media plays an intricate role in shaping and controlling political opinions. Media is extremely powerful in the sense that without an adequately functioning media, it is virtually impossible for a sophisticated social structure like the U.S. Government to exist. All known sophisticated social structures have always been dependent upon the media’s ability to socialize. The U.S. government generally will exploit the media, often times manipulating the enormous power of the printed word. This exploitation ultimately empowers the U.S. government by strengthening it with the ability to determine and control the popular perception of reality. One way in which government achieves this objective is by misusing the media’s ability to set the agenda. Contrary to popular belief, the media is in fact an enormous power in society. Separate independent news organizations do not exist for the most part. Rather than creating an independent structured agenda of their own, smaller news organizations adapt to a prepared agenda, previously constructed by a higher medium. Based upon this information alone, it is quite apparent that media has the characteristics of a hierarchical rule. In order for the U.S. government to control and determine the public’s popular perception of reality, the government must shape and oversee the information that the media reports to the people. This particular process of democracy is...
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...More A Research Essay About Why College Students Are Using and Abusing Stimulants To Get By February, 2014 Abstract Prescription stimulant use as academic performance enhancers is increasingly widespread among college students and the prescription stimulant use as "cognitive enhancers" has been described among undergraduate college students. Adderall and Ritalin are the most popular among the students. Some use the drugs to stay awake to study to get by with good grades, even with acknowledgement of the dangers of using. However, the use of prescription stimulants among future graduated students is at risk. Table of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………... 2 Chapter 1 ……………………………………………………………………………..….. 4 Purpose of the Study ……………………………………..……………… 4 Statement …………………………………………………..……………. 4 Research Questions …………………………………………..…………. 5 Significance of the Study ……………………………………..………… 5 Delimitation ……………………………………………..……………… 5 Definition of Terms …………………………………………..………… 6 Chapter 2 Literature Review…………………………………………………………….. 7 Chapter 3 Research Methods …………………………………………………………… 18 References ………………………………………………………….…………………… 22 Appendix A ……………………………………………………………………………… 23 Dean’s List and More Nature of Study If you are a full time student with heavy load of courses while working to support your lifestyle, then you will be worrying where you can find the time. Undergraduate college students do stress out daily worrying...
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