People in the world today engage in all kinds of anti-social behaviors. There is violence in almost every aspect of life. The abuse of drugs in the streets has become rampant because governments are not applying enough efforts to regulate such behavior. Gangs have increased significantly thereby declaring certain areas in big towns as hotspots.
Prostitution among the youth has increased significantly thereby encouraging young girls to engage in such activities in order to support themselves financially. Mobs in the streets have also become uncontrollable to an extent that they are making people in towns to live in a state of uncertainty (Taylor et al. 358 ).
With the recent advancements in media technology, anti-social behaviors have become more pronounced. The various types of media that are associated with anti-social behavior include the internet, TVs, New Papers, and radios. It is easy for a person to gain access to violent activities today than he could centuries ago.
The media has therefore played a significant role in stimulating anti-social behavior among the youth in the modern society. This is because almost every person in the world today has access to at least one type of media device. This state of affairs has therefore made it easy for people to gain access to the various types of anti-social behaviors that exist in the world today.
When the different types of media convey incidences of anti-social behaviors, people understand them in different ways. There are those people who understand the incidences positively while there are those people who understand them negatively. Therefore, the media can impact positively on a society by conveying positive information to the society.
It is also true that just as the media is capable of bringing order in any society it can also influence people to engage in violent activities. Therefore, people have opposing views on whether the media brings stability or instability to those societies which are dominated by anti-social behavior.
People react in different ways depending on the kind of information that they receive from the media. Today, the content people get from the media defines how they behave in the societies that they live in. For example, there are those people who are fond of watching cool content whereas there are other people who love watching violent content.
Therefore, these two classes of people behave differently because of the influence that they get from the different content that they obtain from the media. There are those people who develop positive behavior whereas there are those who develop negative behavior. This is an indication that the media has a significant influence on the way people behave.
For example, the social learning theory helps people to understand the manner in which the media influences their behavior. This theory implies that if young people are exposed to violent content, they also become violent (Taylor et al. 359). On the other hand, those people who are exposed to positive content tend to demonstrate good behavior.
There are different ways in which the media influences the lives of people positively. For example, a person can use the internet to look for inspirational information that would motivate him to refrain from anti-social behaviors. He can also look for information that can enable him to fulfill his spiritual needs. Such a person would therefore be able to refrain from anti-social activities if he stays committed to his goal.
This is the same case with TVs and radios. They can broadcast religious or inspirational programs thereby positively transforming the lives of those people who are willing to change from their wicked ways of life.
However, the limiting factor in this case is that the media is today filled with a lot of anti-social content and irrelevant information thereby making it difficult for a newly transformed person to gain access to information that would motivate him to live a descent life.
The media has played a very essential role in terms of educating young people on the positive activities that they can engage in to build their lives. For example, various media organizations hold concerts and shows aimed at educating the young people on various ways in which they can abstain from mob activities, drug abuse or promiscuous activities.
Media organizations also visit those places which are dominated by high cases of mob activities, drug abuse, and child prostitution in order to notify the youth on the various harms that are associated with anti-social behavior (Taylor et al. 359). The media also gives information on some of the areas that are worst hit by anti-social activities.
This allows the public to understand the various hardships that people who engage in anti-social behavior go through. This has the effect of convincing the public to refrain from engaging in anti-social behaviors.
However, there are those people who despite the various efforts that the media applies to warn them about the consequences of anti-social behavior, they still continue enrolling in such immoral activities. This is especially the case with hardcore people who have been brought up in a life dominated by anti-social behavior.
The media also educates the public on the best ways in which they can refrain from engaging in anti-social activities. The media liaises with genuine and reputable organizations which people can seek for guidance and counseling. The media also notifies the public on the best places they can visit in order to get professional help regarding their anti-social behaviors. For example, the internet is available to most people in the world.
It is very rich in information both good and bad. The media can therefore specify to the public the various websites that they can visit in order to get professional help. In addition positive-minded people can easily gather positive information on their own without the need of a professional.
Here they can get all the important information they would need to help them transform their lives in a positive manner. However, the internet is also full of negative content that can influence people to engage in anti-social activities.
Presenting role models to young people provides a good way in which they can understand how to handle the challenges that face them adequately. Various radio and TV stations normally invite reputable and successful people who conduct motivational talks in order to help the public make positive decisions in their lives.
The people who are invited are people who are very successful in life and who are well known by a large number of people. The moment these people share their opinions to the public on the best ways that they can influence their lives positively, the people who are willing to change follow the advice of the motivational speakers keenly. However, with the growth of the internet, people have been able to access any kind of information.
Since many nations do not censor the information that young people access from the internet, many young people therefore gain access to all kinds of anti-social activities that happen in their societies. In addition, since there are various forms of media organizations in any society, people look for content that inspires them the best.
For example, there is a category of people who love watching violent content while there are other people who love watching positive content. This therefore indicates that it is not possible to eradicate anti-social behaviors even when some media organizations remain committed to providing positive content to the public.
There are those countries whereby the media is not granted sufficient freedom to notify the public on the political state of their country (Taylor et al. 355). As a result, the public does not have sufficient information regarding their rights as citizens. They are therefore exposed hardships while in their own country. The media is however very effective in terms notifying the public on the proceedings of their country.
The public therefore becomes aware of their rights and it can therefore elect a government that would respect their rights fully. In addition, the media is very good in demonstrating to the public the various injustices that their government may engage in. The public can therefore confront their government and advocate for fair treatment.
However, there are various media stations which are known to support certain political candidates. They popularize such people regardless of whether they can manage to lead a country or not.
In addition, the media can influence the public rebel against a ruling government especially if the media displays all the negative attributes of a particular leader. This state of affairs can make violence to erupt in a country especially between the supporters and the non-supporters of a particular candidate, thereby promoting anti-social behavior among the people.
The media is very good at demonstrating the various aggressive behaviors that people engage in. It also shows the public the various deadly and harmful effects that can result from aggressive behavior. For example, there have been instances whereby mob demonstrations on the streets have led to deaths of very many people. Therefore, when a mob goes to the streets, many people may die or be severely injured (Taylor et al. 357).
This state of affairs therefore makes people to refrain from engaging in such activities when they see the kind of destruction that aggressive behavior can cause.
However, there are those people who observe the aggressive behavior of people in the streets and they decide that it is a very good mechanism of handling conflicts. It is therefore evident that the media unwillingly influence anti-social behavior while trying to notify the public on the destructive nature of aggressive behavior.
From the analysis therefore, it is true that the media has significant influence on anti-social behavior. It can promote it or discourage it. By participating in the eradication of anti-social behavior therefore, the media helps restore order in a society.
On the contrary, the media is also responsible for promoting anti-social behavior among the youth especially when they broadcast programs that are dominated by anti-social activities. This leads to a disorderly society.
Works cited
Taylor, Stephanie, Hinchliffe Steve, John Clarke and Bromley Simon. Making Social Lives. London: Open University, 2009. Print.