What is this so called ‘Mass media’? Well, this is the act of communicating to a large number of people in a very short time. Mass media has definitely been an important factor in our day-to-day lives. We rely so much on it to the point whereas it has now become an integrated part of us. Many of us can’t go a day without listening to the radio, checking social medias, reading the newspaper etc., and the reason for doing so is very understandable.
Mass media is a way of staying up to date with current activities and being informed about situations going on across the world. Mass media has made the idea of ‘freedom of speech’ a reality; people can now pass information (be it true or false) through different forms of medias. A very good example of this is WikiLeaks; an organization that publishes top secret information and classified media from anonymous sources. This non-profit online organization provides reports about important things the government and other institutions are trying to keep away from us.
Keeping up with news is very important for me, especially as an international student who left a struggling economy roughly about fours years ago and knowing the only way I can stay informed about the country I love so much is through the mass media. This way, I can play my own part by helping out daily with the needs of the people back home, also spread across information to other citizens who have moved to other countries for whatever reason(s) about things going on in the country.
The media has definitely influenced me greatly, both in a positive and negative manner. One of the positives being, I have learnt a lot about various cultures and have been very fortunate to work with people from all over the world to help better generation Y. The negative impact of what the media has done to me is viewing people in a certain kind of way. I judge people right off the bat without getting to know them a little better, a quality I’m not very proud of. I’ve been influenced to think a certain kind of way about people, through their appearance, features, social status, etc.
In conclusion, mass media is an important factor in the world we live in. It influences us immensely and some of us don’t even realize it. We live and feed of these various forms of mass media. It’s our choice on what type of information we choose to take in and what not to. As for me I’m very grateful for the power of the mass media and how it has affected me.
eo09tm 