Different types of media are associated with a number of issues that impact the lives of people. Young children are the most affected group since it is easier to sway or control their views. In addition, the opinions of people depend on their views regarding a certain issue. For instance, children may get information on fashion from movies and television when they are still young and eventually start imitating what they have learnt or seen.
Furthermore, these children get to see or access some information which is only meant for the older people. Movies and television shows provide remarkably clear examples on how media can stereotype a given group of people. Some movies are set in such a way that an individual with a long beard and turban may be a terrorist. Such stereotype can easily ingrain the mind of children since some of them might be tempted to imitate such stereotypes (Sparks 59).
It is necessary for an individual to be extremely careful when choosing the media that can present information. It is worth to mention that there are different types of media with varying measures regarding the security of information presented. Therefore, it is the responsibility of an individual to choose which media should act as his or her source of information.
Information can be accessed from different sources such as magazines, newspapers, radio, movies, television and the internet. As a result, it becomes exceedingly difficult to choose the most appropriate information. Visual media like movies and television have more effect on the youths because they provide some form of stimulation and also are readily available to most youths.
The attitude from the members of the public regarding some given issues largely depends on what they watch from the television. For instance, if all the television programs frequently show children wearing fashionable clothes, then children will get interested in associating themselves with what they see (Elton par.2 ).
In addition, movies and television programs can easily create stereotypes. For instance, girls in colleges can be presented as highly fashionable, rich and successful. The effect of such images from movies and television is that they make the people come up with certain notions, attitudes and ideas toward events and people around them. These images present the interests of controllers and may not necessarily be true (Sparks 59).
The media is also capable of making stereotypes of people who are close to us without considering their cultural and social backgrounds. Worse still, films and television programs have diverted the perception of individuals towards different issues like gender, race and nationality.
The culture of other people is a serious misconception derived from the media. This makes us form false and misinterpreted assumptions regarding other people who come from a different culture. People learn how to behave, think, and control their feelings when interacting with diverse cultures. For instance, some action movies present a woman undergoing a lot of challenges that need the assistance of a man. This is a typical gender stereotyping because it depicts a woman as a weaker sex (Elton par.3).
The media also helps people to identify methods of reacting out to members who come from different groups. For instance, many television movies and shows present African Americans as highly talented in sports. This makes us assume that in any sporting activity such as basket ball, the black athlete is better than a white athlete (Sparks 60).
Works Cited
Elton, Matthew. The Effects of Mass Media on Society. 2008. Web.
Sparks, Glenn. Media Effects Research: A Basic Overivew. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, 2010. Print.