The impact of Mass-Media on society

Mass media became over the years a powerful force in contemporary society . According to
Heidi Cohen , mass- media is defined as “a collection of platforms and tools that people use to share
contents , profiles , opinions , insights , experiences , perspectives ; facilitate conversations and
interactions online between groups of people”.To make it simple , mass media are: radio , television ,
film , newspapers , internet, books , video games and other devices that reach and influence people all
over the world.
As with everything,mass-media have its advantages and disadvantages.
On one hand , as many people think , mass-media are one of the greatest influential factors in
the modern world .With the invention of social networking , people have the oportunity to interact with
each other by exchanging pictures , videos and sending instant messages when needed. One of the
advantages of mass-media is that it helps people learn new things.So,whether they're looking for a
pizza recipe or to understand a math lesson that they didn't understand at school,mass-media offers
many resources to learn new things.Another advantage is that it helps spreading news and information
quickly and easily.In particular,if a lesson is canceled because of some technical problems,students can
share this informations with their colleagues so that everyone will know.Some other advantages that
worth to be mentioned are that mass-media helps people around the world to understand each other
and embrace their differences,it serves as a good source of entertainment and also people get to bring
out their hidden talents,particularly through talent shows.
On the other hand,mass-media has a significant impact in people's lives in negative
ways.Firstly,it can spread false information about people and events .Especially ,if it is about cyber-
bullying and spreading rumours ,it might cause insecurity ,anxiety and depression.Mass-media is at
times involved in misinformation which confuses the public and often results to misunderstandings.
Secondly,because of the fact that media distorts data to create interesting news, it distracts people from
studying,working and spending time with friends and family.Instead of focusing on what is important
for them as individuals,some people prefer to stare at their phones for hours playing games or reading
the news.Another disadvantage is that people tend to compare themselves to people they see on social
network websites such as Facebook,Twitter,Instagram.Consequently , they begin to envy other people
and think the worse about their lives.From this point of view,researchers at Union College claimed that
“Over half of people who regularly use social networking negatively compare themselves to others and
have trouble being able to disconnect and relax,this causing problems in their relationships and
jobs”.Furthermore,media can cause health problems.Prolonged watching of television can lead to
eyesight problems and radio listening using earphones exposes one to possible hearing defects.
To sum up,in today's world it is impossible to avoid mass-media's influence,but by
understanding the way it works people can win back control of their perception and have a balanced
view of the world and the people in it.