Advantages of mass media Essay

Mass media refers collectively to every the media technologies that argon intended to endeavour a large audience via nap communication. There argon dissimilar forms of plentifulness media much(prenominal) as communicate, television, movies, magazines, unfermentedspapers and the World Wide Web. Mass Media enjoys a very prominent role in our lives and thus, it is believed to stoop our society. There atomic number 18 positive and negative effects of portion media on our society. This essay go forth discuss the advantages and disadvantages of mass media and state if the advantage or disadvantage outweighs the new(prenominal).The first-class honours degree advantage of mass media is that it promotes democracy. Talk shows and debates that be conducted on the radio gives hoi polloi chance to voice out their opinions and express their views of ideas c resortly a item make do. This use of radios makes it a remedy market place of ideas where large number function informe d of the multiple ideas that push aside be learned about a topic. Also this advantage of mass media allows arguments to be otherwise of the discussed perspective of an issue to voice out the contrasting feelings of people without the fear of being pointed to by the authorities if opinions atomic number 18 subjective. Moreover, free press keeps the government under unalterable monitoring and checks. It helps the prevalent public to question issues that highlight policy failures, maladministration, scandals and corruptions and this makes mass media the voice of the disadvantaged. A long tradition of liberal theorists claimed that a free and independent press within a nation can figure out a vital role in the process of democratization by contributing towards the right of expression, thought and conscience, strengthening the responsiveness of government to all citizens and providing a pluralist platform of political expression for a multiplicity of groups. Thus, radio being an exa mple shows the positive relationship between mass media and democracy. memorialise more Advantages and Disadvantages of Mass MediaFurthermore, mass media promotes health commandment. A trend in which societies can grow is by means of good health and studies assert that media has a responsibility to help people live a healthy life. In Uganda, for instance, FM radios conducted programs where medical doctors were invited to a programto talk about general or specific diseases, their causes, symptoms and how to avoid these diseases or where to seek treatment. Namely, Radio-Wa conducted a program, bump into The Doctor, on which a doctor from Lira Hospital appeared every sunshine from 5.00 pm and discussed popular medical issues, such as, current health problems of procreative health diseases and perk upually transmitted diseases, for about an hour. Through another research, it was rear that radio listeners took active part in these kinds of programs and they were able to learn about many diseases that they were suffering from unknowingly. Majority of the listeners were able to cure their diseases. Thus, mass media assists people to keep informed about medical and health issues.In addition, mass media plays a very vital role in accounting for pastoral trade. Radio, one of the fastest forms of mass communication, has been utilize in communicating heighten knowledge to farmers for a long time and since then radio has been used as a mass communication for agricultural development. Rural communities get information on supply of input, early warning systems for drought and diseases, new technologies and market price and information about their competitors. Such information by dint of mass media contributes to the expansion of agriculture. After looking at factor such as the continuing expansion of market oriented agriculture and the change magnitude complexity of input requirements, studies give noticeed that there is a need for a continues education of farm ers and extensions and thus concluded that radios and television would be a good way to disseminate information to them. Another research showed that 58 % of the respondents regarded radio as the most effective channel for dissemination of agricultural information. Thus information about trade from mass media would likely result in benefiting the full-page economy along side with the entrepreneurs of such trading businesses.On the other hand, mass media broadcasts negative information to teenager agers, especially females, about brace related topics. Movies and televisions are two examples of sources from where teens absorb information about sex and sexuality. These sources give unrealistic images of the portrayed topics. A study shows that an average teen ager is split upd to around 14000references of sex of which less than a percent of the references require information about abstinence, birth control, pregnancy risks, and sexually transmitted diseases. In addition, mass med ia uses females as sex objects. In most music videos, females are approximately half the time dressed in clothes that expose their breast and rear ends. The sexual attractiveness of music videos and similar imaged mass media encourages teens as well as adults to expose themselves in public, inviting them to become victims of unethical crimes, such as, rape.Moreover, mass media depicts non realistic body images. This disadvantage of mass media enactment leads majority of the viewers toward unhealthy eating habits. Young people are getting encouraged by skinny models on the TV to lose weight and get their body into a sexy image. Researchers are claiming that males are becoming more insecure about their physical appearance as advertisements are painting images of idealistic well built muscular body. A study found that girls as unfledged as eight days old are weight conscious and are on rigorous diets. Many other females smoke to keep their weight off and through research, it is fo und out that there is approximately 400% increase in eating disorder since 1970.Like females, boys in any case tend to smoking to lose weight. A survey by Teens Magazine reported that 27% of the females felt that media pressured them to perk up a perfect body and 69% of girls state that magazine models influence their thought of being slim and slender. Medias role in portray unrealistic images of body figures can lead to serious health problems and injurious diseases as attendants to media are evidently being influenced by the false images.In addition, mass media promotes gender and racial unfairness in a society. Women, through media, are treated in disrespectful manners and are referred by the use of unethical words, such as, a whore or a slut. These kinds of words can be heard over the radio and seen in movies and televisions, for instance, the use of the word bitch in reference to women can be seen in wrestling programs exposed young children to witness it without supervisio n. Advertisements also promote gender yieldness as they mostly include women in a sexual way to sell product. A study on advertisements showed that males are only seen in 25% of the advertisements on scantily wears, for example,underwear advertisements. The said(prenominal) study quoted that roughly 62% of white women were noticed in the alike kind of advisements and the figure for black women was 53% only. Also, black women were mostly shown in animal prints and in predatory poses to highlight their powerlessness. Thus, mass media is openly bias towards the sexes and races of different kinds of people.Besides its other disadvantages, mass media is known to lead young children to aggressive furiousness. Media violence is harmful to kids because of their inability to differentiate between universe and fantasy. A study showed that by the age of 18, an average teen ager has viewed approximately 200000 acts of violence on television, ignoring other sources of mass media. These viol ent clips increase belligerency and anti social behavior in children and it also increases their thirst for violence in the real life. Hence children are traumatized by the violent images and as a result they end up committing violent acts themselves.In conclusion, it is understandably argued that mass media has both advantages and disadvantages. The issues that are discussed in this essay evidently suggest that the disadvantage of mass media outweighs the advantages yet some of the disadvantages of mass media can be avoided.