THE ROLE OF MASS MEDIA IN FORMING A PERSONALITY

The mass media are all those media technologies that are intended to reach a large audience by mass communication.

In the late 20th Century, mass media could be classified into eight mass media industries: books, newspapers, magazines, recordings, radio, movies, television and the internet. With the explosion of digital communication technology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the question of what forms of media should be classified as "mass media" has become more prominent. For example, it is controversial whether to include cell phones, video games and computer games (such as MMORPGs) in the definition. In the 2000s, a classification called the "seven mass media" became popular. In order of introduction, they are:

Print (books, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, etc.) from the late 15th century

Recordings (gramophone records, magnetic tapes, cassettes, cartridges, CDs, DVDs) from the late 19th century

Cinema from about 1900

Radio from about 1910

Television from about 1950

Internet from about 1990

Mobile phones from about 2000

Mass media encompasses much more that just news, although it is sometimes misunderstood in this way. It can be used for various purposes :  Advocacy, both for business and social concerns. This can include advertising, marketing, propaganda, public relations, and political communication.  Entertainment, traditionally through performances of acting, music, sports, and TV shows along with light reading; since the late 20th century also through video and computer games.  Public service announcements and emergency alerts (that can be used as political device to communicate propaganda to the public).

The media makes billions of dollars with the advertising they sell and that we are exposed to. We buy what we are told to be good, after seeing thousands of advertisings we make our buying decisions based on what we saw on Tv, newspapers or magazines to be a product we can trust and also based on what everyone else that we know is buying and their decision are also based on the media.

These are the effects of mass media in teenagers, they buy what they see on Tv, what their favorite celebrity advertise and what is acceptable by society based on the fashion that the media has imposed them.

Here is a positive influence example, 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. The result is that you will have fun with your friends and be more healthy because of the exercise your are doing.

However a negative influence in teenagers is the use of cigars by celebrity movie stars, the constant exposure of sex images, the excessive images of violence and exposure to thousands of junk food ads.

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. Its 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.

Another negative influence in teenagers that has grown over the last years are anorexia and obesity. There are millions of adolescents fighting obesity, but at the same time they are exposed to thousands of advertisements of junk food, while the ideas image of a successful person is told to be thin and wealthy.

Mass media, effective as it is, can be used on the youth to drive home pressing concerns in the country. Child obesity, the dangers of alcohol and preteen sexual relations, importance of exercise and fitness etc. If these things can be done, the media will be able to influence the youth for the better and send better messages for the development of the youth than what it is sending today.

Thank you for your attention