Effects of the Media

If I were asked the question: Are the effects of media on children, teens, and adults prosocial or antisocial? I would not be able to pick just one because the media displays both. Yes there are a lot of negative effects from the media as I have blogged about, but there are also many positive. When it comes to children and teens and how they will be affected I think this is up to their parents or guardians. I don't think they should be allowed to have liberty to the remote and watch whatever they feel like, it’s just not safe. Some children may not be affected by violence but there are those that are extremely affected and it shows when they go to school or are around other children and lash out in the violence they have viewed on the television.
But I don’t think that the positive effects of the media should ever be forgotten. As a few of my previous blogs have said there are many great outcomes from the media that are prosocial. I think having educational programs for all ages is great to have because it allows both entertainment and learning.
The effects of the media will always be a controversial issue; I think people just need to be careful with what they watch or what they allow their child to watch. Without even realizing it you or your child can be affected by what you see on the television even if its intentions aren't bad. With this said, choosing a side with the question “does the media cause prosocial or antisocial effects?” is just not possible because it truly is both.
Now I want you to stop for a second and think about the shows you watch on TV. Are the prosocial? Antisocial? Both? I hope you will take what I have blogged about and think about it the next time you sit down and watch the television, or maybe even stop for a second and see what your child is watching and think of the effects it might have on them.
And as always feel free to let me know what you think!

Information Campaigns: Prosocial or Not?

According to Media now, "Information campaigns use the techniques of advertising in an attempt to convince people to adopt prosocial behaviors" (Davenport et. al. p 427). Although their goal is to promote prosocial behaviors experiments have actually witnessed their goals ending in the opposite effect.
In elementary school a very common program was D.A.R.E. which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. This program would come to our school and have presentations showing us the effects of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. However, this program unfortunately has been experimented on and seems to encourage children to do just the opposite of what they are being discouraged from. Informing children about the risk of drugs has actually made some children think that if they did them they would be more socially acceptable, when of course this is not what the program D.A.R.E. is trying to encourage. Anti-Smoking ads sponsored by the tobacco company have also had a negative effect when they found that their ads were increasing teen smokers.
I think a lot of these programs have great intentions but they can't do it all on their own. I was blessed to grow up in a family that did not smoke or drink and it was not allowed in our house. So when programs like D.A.R.E. came to my school I listen to them and take them seriously especially when they showed pictures such as black lungs from a chain smoker. Whereas, some of my other friends who grew up in homes that had alcohol and tobacco everywhere didn't take it so seriously. They thought, "Well my parents are still alive and they smoke so it's not as big of a deal as these people make it." I think it has a lot to do with the upbringing of the children and how their parents are influencing them for whether or not programs like D.A.R.E. will have a long term effect.

Media and Prosocial Behaivors: Education

                                               http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCZoEqJbizo
Although I have talked about a few antisocial behaviors I believe the media causes, I think there are still some prosocial behaviors that occur as well. Prosocial behaviors are those that society values and encourages.  According to the book Media Now they are behaviors we want to encourage children in our society to form such as, cooperation, sharing, love, tolerance and other behaviors along these lines (Davenport et. al. p427).
Starting with younger children around the preschool age there are many television shows that promote education and teach them how to cooperate with other children. I remember when I was growing up Sesame Street and Barney were two television shows that were watched and I think they are both great shows that promote prosocial behaviors. For example, I remember skipping around my house singing songs from Barney that was at the time very educational and I didn't even realize it. Sesame Street always had a letter of the day they focuses on to help teach children the different sounds it makes and word associated with the letter. At the early stages of learning it is important to repeat things over to children to help them not only memorize it but to fully comprehend what it means. Although teachers are a must for children to learn, television shows like these are great for children because not only do they enjoy watching them but they are learning as well.
Other prosocial media influences for teenagers are shows like Teen Mom. Teen Mom has become a very popular show among MTV viewers. This gives teens a chance to see what their life would be like with a child involved and that it is not a "walk in the park." It documents the lives of real teens in their everyday living and their struggles they face. Although, I think some miss the message that is trying to be taught with this show by the amount of fame the "teen moms" get, overall I think it shows how hard life really is when teens end up pregnant. I think the shows goal to encourage abstinence and if not abstinence safe sex to help prevent pregnancy and the results of having to constantly struggle not only for yourself but not for your child’s as well.
Overall, I think that even though the media does promote a lot of negative behaviors there are many positive ones that are overlooked such as the ones I have talked about. I think it's really up to the parents and what they let their child watch if they will be negatively or positively affected by the media.

Media and Antisocial Behaivors

http://www.mtv.com/videos/jersey-shore-season-2-ep-16-wheres-the-beach/1655814/playlist.jhtml

There are may shows that have no problem with portraying how they treat women, good or bad. This is a problem for boys growing up and even men. If you look back 50 years ago and compare how men treat women now to how they did then it's a completely different. Although, there are those who do treat women with respect and are still gentlemen, it's not uncommon to see a guy just drop a door on a girl and not hold it open for her. Years ago a guy would never speak to a woman using curse words or degrading words. However, times have changes and now some men do not think twice about how they speak and who is around.
The same goes for women too, I can just be walking in the grocery store and hear vulgar language being spoke by girls. This would have been completely unacceptable just 20 to 30 years ago. The media has a lot to do with both of these habits that have evolved over the years. Naturally, the human brain learns from what they see and how much they view it. Therefore, if we are constantly watching and hearing vulgar language on TV and how men are speaking to women it's only natural that a human picks up on it. Whether or not they decided it's okay to imitate the actions seen is a different story, but I think it is safe to say that there are many TV shows and movies that display very inappropriate behavior by both men and women but because we see it so much it doesn't seem inappropriate anymore but just the norm.
Take for instance a show that has become very popular over the past few years, Jersey Shore. If any of you have watched it the way all of them act is in no way a good influence on anyone, but it's still watched by millions of viewers. I admit I do watch it occasionally because like most people who watch it it is entertaining. But for the most part I think everyone can agree that their behavior is not what you would call lady like or gentlemen like.
The guys on the show literally compete over girls and how many they can hook up with, what kind of influence is this on teenage boys growing up? And the girls on that show aren't any better with the way they talk and dress. However, none of this is look at as weird or out of the norm in today's society because it's simply how guys and girls now act. Instead "weird" is a girl or guy who saves herself for marriage, or doesn't hook up with someone on their first date.
The media has changed so much over the years to what was not acceptable to be viewed on TV now is. It is safe to say a lot of what is seen on TV produces antisocial behaviors on many people.

Media and Antisocial Behaivor: Violence

“Antisocial behavior is contrary to prevailing norms for social conduct. That includes unlawful actions, such as murder, hate crimes, rape, and drug abuse, as well as behaviors that many members of society find objectionable even if that are not illegal, such as drunkenness and sexual promiscuity” (Davenport, Straubhaar, and LaRose 2008).

When flipping through the channels on the television I’m never surprised when I see any type of violence, whether it be a movie, TV series, or even a cartoon. Violence is all over the media. Researchers have said that many have been affected negatively by the promotion of violence even if its intentions were not trying to promote it.

I think children especially are affected by violence that is seen on TV because they have trouble distinguishing between the real world and what’s on TV (Davenport 2008). Children will reenact what they see on TV without realizing what serious consequences can happen.  Studies by researchers have shown that children who watch violent shows on the media are affected by it and are more likely to lash out in acts of violence. While children are growing they learn from what they see and what they are exposed to. So if they are constantly watching their favorite cartoon actor hitting someone when they get angry the chances of them doing the same is very good.  

Video games of course are a form of media that has encouraged antisocial behaviors. It has been said that playing video games and thinking about participating in violent behaviors is stimulated from the same part of the brain. Therefore, video games can be training the brain for acts of violence that a child or individual could actually do.

Although there is a lot of negativity talked about with the media and its promotion of violence, some see it from another point of view. There are those who look at violence in the media as a learning lesson and a way to teach children and people the consequences of violent actions. Some people think that if children are exposed to the consequences that a “bad guy” gets even if it involves violence it is teaching them a lesson on what they should not do.

As you can see like most issues there are two sides to every story. With the issue of violence in the media there is one side that sees it as a negative thing for people and children to be exposed to. And the other side sees it as a learning lesson.

What do you think?