Mass Media; Merit or Menace?

Mass media today is unavoidable. It is everywhere around us; on TV, in magazines, on the internet. It makes up much of our daily life. Thus it has a great impact on us as well as on art. Everything has its pros and cons, its goods and bad. This is also true for mass media.
Mass media is very beneficial in many ways. First and foremost, it is a very powerful and effective tool for sending information. Mass media today allows for an immediate transmission of information from one part of the world to another. A person could know what is going on the other side of the world while sitting in his or her own living room. For example, we all watched and witnessed the horrors of September 11th live on our TV sets despite being halfway across the world. Newspapers, television and the internet have allowed us to get the latest news as they happen. Not only do they do that, but they introduce a person to the different issues in different parts of the world, thus making a person more aware. Knowing about different parts of the world through the media could also help a person in being more literate ( being culturally literate).
Mass media is also advantageous as it connects people together. A person could, for example, talk to another person on the other side of the globe for as long as he/she wants in chatrooms on the internet. A person could talk to someone else on his cellhone while going about his daily business and routine downtown. I myself have experienced these benefits, as I get to talk to my parents in Kuwait and chat with my high school friends who are all studying abroad.
Another advantage of mass media is that we use it for our own entertainment and relaxation. Mass media is one of the most effective cures for a stressful or depressing situation. I use mass media for entertainment extensively. On my way to class in the early morning, nothing can cheer me up like a good Beatles tune on my walkman. My friends and I laugh our worries away every night to Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler and Ross’s antics on TV, as we’re having dinner.
Mass media can also enhance talents in people as it did for me. I am a cartoonist, and have been drawing comic strips since the age of seven. Had I not watched Donald Duck cartoons or read Tintin comics, I would have never realized my talent or even wanted to draw cartoons. This not only hold true for art and cartoons, but also for music. Someone who listens to rock music might be encouraged to start playing guitar, bass or drums. Someone who watches a break dancer in a music video might start break dancing himself.
Mass media’s abundance is also an advantage. It allows a person to choose what type of a certain mass medium he would want to watch or listen to. Thus it encourages individuality. An example would be music. Today, there are so many genres of music, such as rock, alternative, hip hop, R&B, the list goes on forever. I can choose what kind of music I am comfortable with and listen to it.
Mass media is also very valuable as it allows humanity to store and record it’s most precious and historic moments on paper, photographs ,tape or film. Today I can relive the moments captured on video throughout the last century. I could watch Neil Armstrong taking his first steps on the moon, or I could watch Jimi Hendrix delivering his apocalyptic guitar version of "Star Spankled Banner" in Woodstock. It will also be of use when we want toshow our kids the age and the events that we lived through.
Mass media has also had a great, positive influence on art. it has created created and affected different art forms. For example, had television not been created, we wouldn’t have movies or cartoons. Had computer technology not been available, we would have never witnessed the wonders of computer animation, as seen in movies like "Shrek" and "Toy Story".
Mass media is also beneficial as it influences the style of art. The art style reflects the age in which it was made, giving us a brief look at what life was like in that era. Today, numerous characters on ads, recent cartoons, and movies look like something out of a hip hop video clip, with the characteristic bandannas, shades and jewellery. They use phrases that are en vogue today, like "Yo" and "Wassup".The world these characters live in is similar to ours, complete with cellphones and internet. It reflects the style and trend of life today. Movies made in the Sixties show characters dressed in psychedelic colorful hippie clothes that were in style at the time. Their language is peppered with phrases like "Groovy" and " Dig my vibe", and listened to bands like the Grateful Dead. Thus mass media, through art, creates a window which allows us to glance at a particular era's lifestyle.
Although media does have its many advantages, it has it’s drawbacks, which I’ve experienced quite often. One drawback is that mass media leads people to bias. Today, there is hardly any time left to read all the newspapers and to obtain all points of view. People tend to buy one newspaper and will probably believe what this newspaper writes. I for example, buy the local paper when I’m here in Sharjah on in Kuwait. I don’t buy other papers like the Herald tribune or the Times. I am thus only getting information from an Arab point of view. It could lead me to be biased towards a certain group. People in the States believe all what newspapers and TV chains tell them about different groups, which could lead to hatred and bias towards these groups.
Another flaw in the media is the tendency to stereotype different people in movies, TVshows and books. I get really annoyed, for instance, when they depict modern day Cairo as a group of mud houses by the Nile, with no modern technology. Mass media not only stereotypes races, but also gender and physical appearances. I find that very offensive.
A third drawback is that it results in the isolation of people. I have had friends who would not leave their rooms just to download music off the internet, or to watch the latest episode of their favorite sitcom. My parents would not leave home on a Sunday afternoon throughout the summer, as the “Superstar” (the Arabic version of “American Idol”) program aired at that time every week. I have to admit that I was like that. In high school, I was fat because I rarely went out and spent my free time watching TV. This is very unhealthy socially and physically.
Mass media could also have a strong negative influence on gullible, vulnerable minds. The increase of violence and perversion on TV and the internet could have a profound effect on those kinds of people, as it alters their perception of reality. An example of this is the Columbine High School shooting, where the killers were influenced by playing too many violent videogames. Psychopathic murderer Charles Manson claimed to have been influenced by the Beatles' "White Album" lyrics . This makes the mass media a threat, although it is not the media itself that should be blamed. It is those people’s perception and interpretation of the media.
Our dependence on mass media is also quite dangerous. We use television, phones, and the internet extensively, and when a power failure occurs, or through any means, access to these media is denied, it influences our mood and results in greater anxiety and stress. If one stands in the middle of the Chemistry building and a power failure occurs, people become fidgety. One hears all kinds of swearing in the computer labs by people who have lost hours of unsaved work in less than a second. People tend to become very aggravated in these situations and is dangerous for one's health too. Our dependence is also disadvantageous because without mass media, not only do we feel depressed, but we also feel a sort of helplessness. I remember I was miserable when they took my TV to be fixed, and the three days I spent without it seemed like an eternity. I felt that something was missing in my life. I couldn't turn to any other pastime and I coudln't even get my work done.
With all it’s advantages and disadvantages, it is impossible to avoid mass media today, as it has become an integral part of our lives.