The importance of the media exploded onto human society with the

invention of the printing press, then the radio, and now televisions and

computers. Thomas Paine distributed Common Sense in revolutionary

America, which contributed greatly to the patriot cause and independence

movement. In the early 1900s, radio influenced the way people

communicated with each other and with the world. For the first time in

human history, people could tune into a device to instantly hear news from

all over the world. The rapid spread of ideas, news, and music influenced the

radical sixties and seventies. Media helps to support a societys values while

it also helps to promote social change.

But the broad influences of the media are felt even more poignantly

in a smaller scale. Individuals, pummeled with Medias concepts of

conventional man and woman, feel pressured to satisfy what they view as

exceptionally normal. We are told we need to satisfy certain requirements

to be valued in society; we need to be this smart, this beautiful, and this

hardworking. We are caught in a web that will eventually subject our

happiness to an unattainable goal.

Self-esteem issues and inferiority complexes plague everybodys

perceptions of the world around us.

 A striking example is the story of an every day American, Becky

Marsella, who found herself drowning in self-mutilation as a result of

external pressures. According to CNN, after turning forty Becky started a

crash diet and exercise routine in order to look better. A mid-life crisis was

setting in, and while losing control of her old perception of the world, Becky

fought to gain control over her body. And where did Becky look to? The

powerful female personas of the medialike the Media-conceptualized

Barbie. The media implies that they derive their power from their beauty,

and the life of Stars is alluring. With the media as the medium that disperses

this ideal lifea life of control and happinessof course Becky thought

that by shedding weight, shed gain an imaginary self-image of a content,

beautiful, woman living the charmed life. Thanks, National Enquirer,

because you emphasize Hollywoods perceived beauties, young girls and

women fall victim to the pressures of trying to imitate the amazing Mary-

Kate Magical Disappearing Act.

The craze over celebritiestheir clothes, body, and way of life

couldnt be exhibited more than in the newly dubbed Octomom.

Remarkably, she seems to have taken Angelina Jolies supermom cue

having fourteen children, and curiously looking exactly like the world-

famous philanthropist Jolie. In a statement to NBC New York, Suleman said,

"I have never thought of Angelina Jolie expect the last time I saw one of her

movies. I think that was years ago. It is so far away from the place I'm in

right now to think of any celebrity. Suleman, with a nip-tucked Angelina-

Inspired Face took to in-vitro treatment to populate her already crowded

home of six children. A woman willing to transform her face and body to be

in the likeness of a figure of the Media is a radical example of its influence

in our own every day lives.

The Medias powers permeate further. Without knowing it, parents

expose their children to societys values at a young age, in simple TV shows,

books, and movies. We all have watched Snow Whites rescue by the valiant

Prince and their, expected, happily ever after. What does this teach our

children, and how does it continue to affect them as they grow older?

When were young, we are taught that there is that one special person

who will satiate all of our psychological, physical, and financial needs. They

must be perfect and exemplify our cultures superficial preferences. But if

we demand this of our partners, is that not casting our expectations too high?

Half of American marriages end in divorcethe spouses relinquishing

former passionate love to distrust, hate, and most-of-all dislike. The cause?

Healthy relationships to turn to bitter entanglements because what we have

been exposed to as youths. We expect to achieve happiness at all times,

despite what that means for those around us. Because we are taught to find

the mate that satisfies society, and the Medias, requirementsAmericans

become unhappy when their partners dont meet these standards. The

couples begin to have differences in priorities and disagreements ensue. And

what follows is worse: Divorce. For many families, this spells the demise of

strong family ties and the destruction of cultural heritage.

Media is a force to be reckoned with. It is the root of our society and

helps to structure our perceptions of the world. But it holds too much power.

Many Americans never look past that which is in our own societythey

never look to the World, filled with rich, exotic cultures. The result is an

individual who has no particular affection toward the past or present.

Nowadays, it is popularly remarked upon that the American individual,

whether adult or child, has no concept of the wider world, or it seems, our

ownexcept for the Media. Studies conducted by CNN in 2006 found that

4 in 10 Americans aged between 18 and 25 couldnt pinpoint Iraq on a map

after over three years of combat. These same individuals said that it was not

too important to know where countries in the news are located. Yet, we all

know that Brittany Spears went off her rocker following her marriage to

Kevin Federline in 2006.

 Expanding horizons is the cure to the Medias and Societys

manipulations. Realize that our small sector of the world is not the true

representation of all that is out there. Here, you may not be the conventional

image of a man or woman, you may not be exceptionally normal, or you

may embody exactly what society wants you to be. The sun does not rise

and set on America alone. Know that there is no end to the worlds

intricacies and delights, and that humanness comes in shared ideas, but also

in individual thoughts and actions. Be a curious world observer. We cannot

take what is thrown to us as fact in stride. Finding out for yourself what the

world has to offer is more than interesting and worthwhile. See the sloping

hills of the Andes, remark about the beauty of Pariss Eiffel Tower; indulge

yourself in the Red Sea. Dont disparage the ideas that seem foreign to you.

Explore your own inner thoughtthrough intellectually stimulating activities

and treatises on self- and societal- reflection.

By becoming worldly citizens, we are better able to judge what is

thrown at us in our media, and make informed decisions on ourselves and

our values. The Media, though the backbone of our country and society, is

not the ultimate force in what guides you, or me, to happiness. Relying on its

proverbs and stipulations will not help us to have a life worth living. Nobel
Laureate Bertrand Russell asserted, The happiness that is genuinely

satisfying is accompanied by the [] fullest realization of the world in

which we live. Accordingly, we ought to understand our world as a whole.

Our Earth is not diced into the separate worlds of the United Kingdom, Iraq,

South Africaor even the United States. Our World, is their world, and to

understand yourself entirely is undeniably the route to sheer happiness.