Custom «Media and the Attention of Viewers» Essay Paper Sample

Have you ever thought of how it could be if you wake up one day only to find and there is no signal in the television set or a reception in you radio? It would even more devastating if your favorite daily newspaper is not dispatched. Surely enough, on that particular day the whole world would resemble a complete house without a source of light to you. It is through the existence of the media than we continue to be enlightened, in addition to getting prompt information on whatever is happening around us and in the entire globe. The Modern media "have penetrated and perpetrated leaving significant dents on our culture, society . . . and even the politics (Hoynes & Croteau, 2002). Well, we can't ignore the fact that there still exist some critics who are still reluctant whatever is happening in the media, on the basis that the media only addresses dismal stories. In spite of such people's claims and allegations the media have still manage to amass a significant and substantial number of audience. Our next big question is how they manage to do it despite their relying of depressing news.

Today we all recognize print media, Radios, and then the latest being the invention of television sets and internet as the most frequently utilized means of relying information. Since time immemorial when man was still primitive with no society, no engagement into social activities, nor forming relationships with other people, back then he was more or less just like the animals. Gradually, he has developed and evolved to what he is today. His developments have been accompanied by the dire need to be in constant communication with his fellow humans.

The media has had substantial influence on our culture and on different cultures around the globe. It is quite notable that some people have managed to completely abandon their culture. They change their lifestyles, mode of dressing and how they relate to other people all in the name of trying to emulate what happens in the media. This effect is common mostly in the developing world as they adapt to the western culture. In addition, media has played a center position how in determining the general outlook of our society (Hart, 1991).

A good illustration is violence, as perpetrated in our society, perpetrated by criminals, mentally wobbly and easily predisposed individuals produce effects that are more far-reaching and destructive to society than the physical damage they produce. It has been proposed that the media, through news reports and fictitious depictions of violence, directly influence others to commit such acts themselves. It is proposed that, similar to a contagious disease, witnessing or reading about a violent crime often can pass the idea of such behavior along to individuals who may never have conceived of such a thing on their own. Human behavior reporting influences future human behaviors (Hoynes & Croteau, 2002).

In the political arena, the media has been on the frontline, with significant role of being the main mode of communication between the central government and the people in the grassroots. Politicians have exploited the availability of media as a means of campaigning and selling out their ideas to their subjects giving politics a new dimension and outlook. All along, the media has been our chief supplier of information and images about events and people outside our immediate environment. By promoting diverse aspects of social realism, media also sway individuals' judgments in relation to how they deal with important social problems. Regrettably, "journalists and reporters, writers of fiction and non-fiction shows . . . are compelled to produce artistic work addressing not societal responsibility", (Hart, 1991) but to a certain extent the public's apparent yearning for steady titillation and progressively more appalling material. This nearly precludes media restraint by those who apprehend the long-term impact of their product.

The behaviors preferred and exhibited by individuals are the consequence of individual judgments they formulate based on their prejudiced perception of what constitutes apposite responses and actions in that situation. These judgments arise from "highly individual reactions to, and perception of, the environment and its stimuli, based both on their own experience the learned efficacy of various past reactions" (Holland, 1999). When a behavior results in a preferred outcome, the individual processes the information, repeats the actions in comparable situations and thus developed a proficiency that becomes a feature in ensuing behavior decisions. This may be the sole reasons reason why viewers remain glued to the media despite allegations against the media relying irreverent, depressing news.

The development and improvement of the media has had great impact on our lives- both negative and positive- in terms of our culture, society and even politics. The world has turned into a "global village" where people can receive live information of an event taking place thousands of miles away. The media has occupied a very central role of educating, training, guiding and entertaining the people and providing awareness to the general public. It is to this respect that we should seriously think about the radical changes in the media and work for the improvement and for a better future of this sector.