Mass Media: Sending Out the Wrong Messages Essay

Do the names, Snooki, D.J. Pauly D, The Situation, or J-Woww, ring a bell? What about the famous sayings, â€Å"grenade whistle,† â€Å"G.T.L,† or â€Å"Jersday,† now is it making more sense? MTV’s hit reality show, Jersey Shore, has coined these terms and has become a worldwide phenomenon. The cast of Jersey Shore started out as typical teenagers living their typical lifestyles. Before the reality show premiered, some of the cast woke up everyday to their monotonous jobs, while others attended college. These eight teenagers never knew that by starring in this one television show, their lives would never be the same. Jersey Shore follows eight hardcore Italians, four guys and four girls, who spend their summer months together. Instead of living like there is no tomorrow, these roommates party like there is no tomorrow! Everyday when they wake up, they get their â€Å"G.T.L† on, which means Gym, Tan, and Laundry. At night, they get completely drunk, go to the bars, and see how many guys/girls they can bring back home. Then, they wake up and do it all over again the next day. This does not sound like a normal, healthy lifestyle that these eight roommates are living now, does it? Unfortunately, these eight cast members have become idolized by young and old viewers all around the world. MTV obviously does not believe in censorship, and Jersey Shore’s lifestyle of alcohol and sexuality is being portrayed positively in society. People worship every little move the Jersey Shore makes. Advertisers are using the cast to promote their products because of how influential these eight roommates have become. Even as we speak, on television, Ron promotes a particular weight loss substance and Snooki promotes a certain brand of cashews. These partiers are setting negative trends in society because the large consumption of alcohol and sexual actions made these eight people known all over the world. By partying all day, everyday, these people went from driving Honda Civics to Range Rovers and Mercedes-Benz. This popular television show is sending out the wrong message to viewers and making idols out of the wrong people. It just goes to show how much of an impact the media can have on society. The media has an even bigger impact on the younger generation. Media has expanded from newspapers to the radio, the television, the Internet, cell phones, and gaming devices. Schools are even using media now, more than ever before. Granted, the media is an excellent way of educating our children. However, that education can only be positive to a certain extent. The media is no longer just a part of our society; this technology has taken over our world. Children are completely immersed in the media today, and parents and guardians should regulate how much time their child is spending with any type of media. A child’s brain is not fully developed until he or she is in their twenties. If children are being exposed to drugs, sex, and alcohol through the media, how can we expect children to have the knowledge of deciphering for themselves not to engage in those certain activities? It would be especially hard for those children whose parents are absent in their lives, and for those whom have parents engaged in the drug and alcohol lifestyle. There is absolutely no way for the children to know between right and wrong. Rather than parents educating their children about sex, the media is certainly doing it for them. Ideas of sex are frequently discussed in magazines, songs, television shows, the news, and movies. Jane Brown, a professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Media at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, reported â€Å"The word sex is the most popular search term used on the Internet today.† Also, according to Brown, magazines, such as Seventeen, promote the idea that sex is a tactic for girls to keep their boyfriends. â€Å"Only about one in ten of the programs on television that include sexual content mentions the possible consequences or the need to use contraceptives or protection against STDs. Unintended pregnancies rarely are shown as the outcome of unprotected sex, and STDs other than HIV/AIDS are almost never discussed† (Brown, Jane). No wonder the teen pregnancy rate is so high today! As in the Jersey Shore, it is their hobby to see how many people that they can have sex with. If the person that they are pursuing acts like they are not interested in having sex, the cast wants nothing to do with them and moves on to the next person. These people are the kinds of people that the younger generation has to look up to, which could be troublesome for the future of America. According to Children Now, a nonpartisan research and advocacy organization, â€Å"Children spend more time with media than any other activity, except for sleeping.† Rather than engaging in physical activity after school or on the weekends, children are more engaged in watching the television or playing their video game. Manali Oak, an author from Buzzle.com, observes â€Å"Children, who should invest their time in reading good books, studying, playing outdoors, exercising and engaging in social activities, today, spend their evenings glued to the television.† Although Manali Oak does not have a doctorate in this area, she does have a valid point. What happened to the idea of getting up and physically playing football being fun for teenagers, rather than sitting on the couch and playing football on the X-Box? Being so inactive leads to the increase of obesity in America. Another weight problem that America faces is anorexia. The media portrays the idea that successful and attractive people are the thinnest. There are millions of people, both young and old, who are currently battling obesity, but they are also being exposed to junk food advertisements. At the same time, there are other people out there, especially women, who are obsessed with the idea that they are overweight, when in reality, they aren’t. The media makes idols out of super models and thin celebrities, causing millions of people to suffer from eating disorders. Little girls are given Barbie dolls to play with and idolize. Thus, even at a young age, girls are being misled to a certain body image that is unrealistic. Rayuso, an author from the online article database HubPages.com, emphasizes this point by stating: â€Å"Young people are in a stage of life where they want to be accepted by their peers, they want to be loved and be successful. The media creates the ideal image of a beautiful men and women and tells you what are the characteristics of a successful person, you can see it in movies and tv. It’s a subliminal way to tell you that if you are not like them you are not cool yet so its time to buy the stuff they buy and look like they look.† The media has such a large impact on society that it even affects us in the way we perceive ourselves. Still, the media has the potential to influence the society in a positive way. Rayuso proposes the idea that if the media created advertisements that encourage children to get active, and used celebrities like they do to promote certain products; children would pay attention and actually get active. â€Å"If there is a sport that is getting a lot of attention by the media and gains popularity among your friends and society, you will more likely want to practice the sport and be cool with all your friends† (Rayuso). The media knows how to manipulate its audience in order to get its desired result, which is definitely not a good thing. This is why companies use celebrities to advertise their products; humans are so predictable. If we see our favorite celebrity on the television talking about how wonderful a product is, then we will more than likely go out and buy it, versus if there was some random person promoting it. Because of the popularity from Jersey Shore, reality star Ron advertises a certain weight loss substance, Xenadrine, and Snooki promotes â€Å"Wonderful Pistachios.† Of course the commercials only discuss how awesome the product is, and it only flashes the negative side effects in really fine print at the end. Robert Sylwester, a specialist in the brain/stress theory at the University of Oregon, confirms â€Å"Common examples are political promises to increase services and reduce taxes, ads that indicate that a product is improved but don’t say over what, TV drug com mercials that begin with clearly promised positive results, but end with a rapid incomprehensible listing of the dangers associated with the medicine, the televised equivalent of the small print in a contract or print ad.† With this said, the media influences our perception of reality. What viewers fail to realize is that the media is only concerned with making money. In fact, they will do whatever it takes to make that money. The only way we receive news is from the media. The television in the living room, the newspaper in the mailbox, the computer in the office, and the radio in the car are just a few forms of mass communication that keep us informed about our world. Yes, this is wonderful because without the media, we would not be aware of anything going on around us. The negative aspect of this is that the media changes stories around to the way that they want to portray them. If a story is not ‘juicy’ enough, or if there is not enough conflict, the broadcasters will change the story into something that will keep the viewers coming back for more. Jennifer Akin, a research assistant at the University of Colorado, acknowledges, â€Å"Events in the larger community, the state, the country, and the rest of the world are experienced through the eyes o f a journalist. Not only do the media report the news, they create the news by deciding what to report.† Viewers always believe what the media tells us, never questioning how much of it is actually true. The media could report â€Å"Pigs are now flying in Pennsylvania,† and just like in any other media-covered situation, we would believe them and go on with our lives. We are often unaware of how much the media truly impacts our lives. The younger generation is at an even higher risk of the media negatively impacting their lives than anyone else. It is so disgusting and disappointing that children are growing up in a society where sex, drugs, and alcohol are encouraged. What is on television that is discouraging these activities? Jersey Shore started out as eight ordinary people, but their party lifestyle made them famous. By setting this example, how can we expect the young generation to know the difference in acceptable and unacceptable? The children of today are the future of tomorrow. Do we find comfort in knowing that one day, our country is going to be led by people who grew up in such a backwards, messed up society? Not only does the media lack censorship, but it also manipulates us in every possible way. The media gets us to behave exactly how they want, using our idols to tempt us. We believe whatever we read and hear from the media, which makes us the gullible audience that the media thrives off of. Wouldn’t it be safe to say that the media takes advantage of viewers? The only person to blame for this is our self. Viewers should stop being so dependent of the media. Who is to say what the ideal body image is, or what type of products we should use? That is our own decision and our own sense of independence. The media has negatively impacted our society, and we have to find it within ourselves to stop letting the media make our decisions for us!