Monday, April 18, 2011

Media Effects on Society

People are effected by mass media in countless ways. The “Bullet Theory” for example; which is defined as an idea that, “the mass media had a profound, direct effect on people.” (Vivian 351) In other terms the media instils thoughts and ideas in the minds of the public that apply to how we view the media. In other words people tend to take the knowledge from the media we view and then formulate their own ideas on the given knowledge.

Aside from the bullet theory, another accepted theory known as the, “cumulative effects theory” focuses on how in everyday life media is constantly present. The book states that, “nobody can escape either the media, which are ubiquitous, or the medias messages, which are drive home with redundancy.” (Vivian 353) With constant exposure audiences are guaranteed to be effected by the media and the messages it yields. I accept this theory more than the bullet theory because it applies to my life as an individual. I face the redundancy of the media on a daily, if not hourly basis. For example the Planet Fitness commercial with the body builder who repeats, “I pick things up and put them down,” has become a joke within my family because it is always on the television.

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