Effects on the Media

If someone were to ask me the question: Does media portray antisocial or prosocial behaviors? I wouldn’t be able to pick just one. The media portrays both antisocial and prosocial behaviors. Yes there are a lot of negative effects from the media as I have blogged about, but there are also many positive effects as well that I have also blogged about. For the most part, when it comes to children and teens and how they will be affected by the media I think it is up to their parents or guardians. It is up to them to take action over their children and supervise what they are watching. It is too often that we let our kids go places unsupervised. I don't think they should be allowed to have liberty to the remote control 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. 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 because it allows both entertainment and learning, whether the children know it or not. The effects of the media will always be a controversial issue; It is hard to pay attention to what your child watches every day but I think parents just need to be careful with what they allow their child to become familiar with on television. 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?” It is just not possible to choose one because it truly is both. I want you to stop for a second and think about the shows you watch on TV daily. Are they prosocial? Antisocial? Both? I hope you will take the information I have blogged about and think about it the next time you sit down and watch 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! I love comments.

Are Informational Campaigns Prosocial or Antisocial?

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. I can remember when i was in elementary school we had to take part in a very common program that was called D.A.R.E. which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. This program would come to our school and present presentations showing us the effects of drugs, alcohol and tobacco. I remember I always loved getting the free t-shirts they gave out. 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. Personally, I think it depends on the way your parents raise thier children. I was blessed to grow up in a family that did not smoke and it was not allowed in our house. So when programs like D.A.R.E. came to my school I listened to them and took them seriously especially when they showed pictures such as black lungs from second hand smoking. None of these pictures appealed to me so I knew right away I would never try any of this. Whereas, some of my other friends who grew up in homes where there parents took part in alcohol and tobacco usage didn't take it so seriously. 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. If the parents start teaching their children at a young age that these kind of activites are not okay we will have a better future for our children. I DARE you to become more aware of the things you put in your body!

Sources:
Media Now: Understanding Media, Culture, and Technology. 6th edition By Straubharr, LaRose and Davenport

Prosocial Behavior In The Media

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCtEbKRTRgI

In my past blog posts I have discussed antisocial behaviors in the media. However, I believe the media portrays prosocial behavior as well. Prosocial behaviors are those that society values andencourages. 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. The Disney Channel and Nickelodeon are great channels that promote prosocial behavior. 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 focused 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 your children to help them not only memorize it but to fully comprehend what it means. Although teachers are a huge help to young children, television shows like these are great for children because not only do they enjoy watching them but they are learning as well. Another great children show that is very popular today is Dora the Explorer. This show emphasizes foreign languages like Spanish. I have heard several young children repeating colors and simple words in Spanish at a young age. This show catches the attention of the child and teaches them something that most adults don’t even know. Children and the youth are media’s dearest. Media as perceived by children is full of excitement and question, because it brings them to a world of reality as well as make believe.

This is also the same with older children, prosocial television programs shown in the National Geographic Channel, The Animal Planet and Discovery Channel help them to learn and see what a certain animal looks like, see and explore places that are impossible for human to go to and visit places that are overseas. They use dramatic effects and engaging music to teach older teens and adults about animals, astronomy and historic places. These educational programs help them to visualize places and animals as well as further explain theories that are learned in the classroom. Watching these shows they are learning something whether they simply know it or not.

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 above. I think it really depends on the parents and what they let their child watch if they will be negatively or positively affected by the media.

Sources:

Media Now: Understanding Media, Culture, and Technology. 6th edition By Straubharr, LaRose and Davenport

http://www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=32&articleid=58&sectionid=271

Antisocial Behavior: Jersey Shore and Teen Mom

There are many shows that have no problem with portraying how they treat women or how they represent themselves on television. This is a huge problem for the younger generation of boys growing up and sometimes even men. Have you ever stopped and thought about how fifty years ago men treated women totally different then they do now? Although, there are those rare guys who do treat women with respect and are still gentlemen, it's not uncommon to simply see a guy drop a door on a girl. Years ago guys would never use degrading words around girls. However, times have changed and now some men do not think twice about how they speak and who is around them at the time. The same goes for women too. The way women portrayed themselves years ago is totally different then how women do now, ecspecially in the media.

The media has a lot to do with both of these habits that have evolved over the years whether we believe it or not. Naturally, our human brains learn from what they see and how much they view it. Therefore, if we are constantly watching and hearing vulgar language on television 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 television 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. Jersey Shore became popular from eight young adults living in a beach house together and partying all night long every night of the week. I get the fact that Jersey Shore is shocking and entertaining but if any of you have watched it, the way all of them act is in no way a good influence on anyone. However, it's still watched by millions of viewers. Even if you are a huge fan of Jersey Shore I think everyone can agree that their behavior is not what you would call lady like or gentlemen like. The guys on the show compete over girls and see how many they can hook up with in one night, what kind of influence is this on teenage boys growing up? The girls on that show aren't any better with how they portray themselves. They dress trashy and use vulgar language like its the new fad. They also get into fights everynight and end up in jail, this is not a positive way for women and young girls to be acting at all. People will imitate violent behaviors they see on television, particularly if the violence is rewarded. In the show Jersey Shore they are rewarded, they get paid thousands of dollars an episode for doing mindboggling acts of violence. In todays society non of this action looks out of place or wierd because it is what we are all use to seeing on television. Instead "weird" is a girl or guy who doesn't hook up or kiss someone on their first date.

Here is a link that shows violence on Jersey Shore:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sn-DTxH24Y



Another great example of a television show that portrays antisocial behavior is Teen Mom. Teen Mom is a show that finds teenagers around the age of 16 that have had kids or are going through the birth process at the time of recording. They pay these girls and their so called "boyfriends" thousands of dollars to be on this show so the world can get a glimpse into their lives of having kids at a young age. These so called wonderful moms who are in high school and have never had a job to support their kids are now millionaires. Teen pregnancy is one of the most difficult experiences a young person might ever face when it interrupts school or other plans. This show portrays a positive image on how it is possible to have kids at such a young age. We do not need young kids having babies in today's world. If this isnt absurd then I dont know what is.

The media has changed so much over the years to what was not acceptable to be viewed on television now is. It is safe to say that a lot of what is seen on television produces antisocial behaviors on many people.

Sources:
Media Now: Understanding Media, Culture, and Technology. 6th edition By Straubharr, LaRose and Davenport

http://futureofchildren.org/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=32&articleid=58&sectionid=270

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/violence/effects_media_violence.cfm

Antisocial Behavior: Violence

It is very understandable that young children in today’s society love to take some time out of there day to relax and watch television or play video games. In this first blog post I will discuss how antisocial behavior encourages violence.

There have been many studies of television violence and aggression, partly due because of the increasing amount of violence being shown on TV, and partly because of the increasing importance of television in our day to day living. “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 television i'm never surprised to see any type of violence, sexual content or foul language. Whether is be a movie, television series, or even a cartoon. Violence is all over the media whether we want to beleive it or not.

“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). For example, many cartoons that children watch on the television deal with ugly actions and scenes that kids should not be viewing at such a young age. Children will reenact what they see on television without realizing the serious consequences at such a young age. While children watch television cartoons that deal with hitting,shooting and vandalizing other cartoon charachters the chances of them doing the same are very high. While kids are growing older they look up to the older generation so everyone needs to set the best examples for our younger generations.

Video games and computer games are also a form of media that has encouraged antisocial behaviors over the past years. Games that involve crashing luxurious cars, shooting innocent citizens and robbing different buildings is no surprise that these are games that are very popular today. I know it is tough for parents to prevent their college kids from playing videogames but, parents of younger children can encourage their kids to find other relaxation activities such as playing outdoors or getting involved in the community at a young age.

As you can see there is a lot of violence portrayed in today’s media. However, some people look at it from another point of view, the positive point of view. This is where people look at the media as an educational experience. Where if there kid sees something bad happen on television the parents assume that the kids will know not do this in real life. It shows the kid what could happen if a serious event were to occur and to stay away from any signs of this. Like most issues there are two sides to the story but, with antisocial behaviors there is a line that needs to be drawn so we don’t have numerous acts of violence with our young adults.

Tell me what you think!

Sources:
Media Now: Understanding Media, Culture, and Technology. 6th edition By Straubharr, LaRose and Davenport