Mass Media Effects On College Students 1

Mass Media Effect On College Student

Cameron Moore

COM 4993

Dr. Wicks

5/4/2022
Mass Media Effects On College Students 2

Abstract

This study shows how mass media use can have a huge impact on college students' perceptions,

their behaviors and decisions. The data was collected through an online survey with 28

participants that go to Aurora University. This study confirms that mass media affects college

students through newspapers, magazines, television, public broadcasting, social media, music,

and films. The research shows how incoming questions before the research was confirmed and

discussion on the impact it has on college students. The findings and survey information go to

show that college students especially at Aurora University who use mass media a lot, compare

themselves and watch media figures, and strive to be like them than there are issues that can

happen to that individual.

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The various mass media and its effects on college students has been a developing issue in

society today. Why are college age students spending a lot of time on the media and having that

influence their behaviors is a big question that needs to be asked. There are so many different

problems that need to be addressed. The current research is analyzing positive and negative

effects of mass media on college students with reference to their importance and outcomes for

those students’ behaviors, decisions and perceptions. While Mass media can be educational,

mass media affects college students' behaviors, decisions, and perceptions. Because what they

see on social media can influence them through falsified information. This all goes to show that

given the amount of time engaged in media and what they watch on media, can affect their

perceptions, behaviors, and decisions. College students can experience both positive motivation

and self-realization as well as negative dissatisfaction, peer pressure, and frustration effects of

mass media that need to be studied.

Literature Review

I. College students are less vulnerable in terms of being exposed to the negative

effects of mass media. These sources of information still have a huge impact on

young individuals. The mass media has a strong influence on the lives of people.

Media has the power to transform and shape the pattern of human thought and

behavior. Mass media has its own social role and function in society, which

serves as a function of social supervision, interpretation function, transitional

function and entertainment function (Nuruddin, 2003). In addition, the mass

media serves as a platform for criticizing high up figures and guardians of society
Mass Media Effects On College Students 4

as well as the space or the link between the communities. Walter Lippman (1922)

said that the mass media played a role in changing the attitudes and perceptions of

audiences. The problem is that college students belong to the category of the most

active users of media sources, and they can directly influence young individuals’

choices, behaviors, and perceptions of their appearance among other aspects in a

negative way. The question to answer is what negative effects of mass media on

college students are of great importance today? Many recent studies have focused

on the problem of Mass media and its effects on college students. While there has

been much research on mass media, the findings that have been made need to be

more known and recognized.

II. Through the course of this research the following databases have been searched:

ProQuest, google scholar, and Emerald Insight. The keywords used in the search

are, mass media, mass media effects, negative media effects, social media, college

students, and internet use. 10 secondary sources were used to be analyzed in this

research. With the recent movements in the use of mass media by college students

and associated effects should be discussed with reference to the studies by

(Saleem, Hanan, Saleem, and Shamshad 2014), (Yu 2014), (Swiatkowski 2016),

and (Wahab, Othman, and Muhammad 2017). Looking in these studies, multiple

researchers looked into how mass media and advertising influence college

students' views regarding their body images can impact personal choices, provoke

violent or unhealthy behaviors, and provoke body dissatisfaction. The review of

the prior literature on the problem lets us identify two important trends associated

with mass media effects, being the use of social media and binge-watching. The
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effects of such social media as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat on

college students' choices can be discussed with reference to (Alhabash and Ma’s

2017) study. The effects of television, Netflix, binge-watching on college students

with reference to risks of following observed behavioral patterns are discussed in

the studies by Wang, Lin, and Ke (2015), Morgan (2017), Dandamudi, and

Sathiyaseelan (2018). Today’s students’ mostly choose Instagram that influences

their views regarding acceptable body images, lifestyles, and career choices.

These ideas are also presented in the works by Park, Song, and Lee (2014) and

Davis (2018), who accentuated the risks of objectification, misrepresentation, and

stress connected with using social media. The current research is analyzing

positive and negative effects of mass media on college students with reference to

their importance and outcomes for those students’ behaviors, decisions and

perceptions.

The current research from (Alhabash and Ma) explores differences between Facebook,

Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat in terms of intensity of use, time spent daily on the platform,

and use motivations. Their work shows that participants spent the most time daily on Instagram,

followed by Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter, respectively. They also indicated the highest use

intensity for Snapchat and Instagram (nearly equally), followed by Facebook and Twitter,

respectively. They stated “With regard to use motivations, Snapchat takes the lead in five of the

nine motivations. Findings are discussed in relation to the U&G approach and uniqueness of

different social media and social networking sites.” (Alhabash and Ma 2017) These findings

answered that the time spent on the social media platforms are huge when knowing already that

the audience it reaches is particularly young adolescents like college students.

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Martin and Fabos said, “For example, a researcher might hypothesize that frequent TV

viewing among adolescents (independent variable) causes poor academic performance

(dependent variable). Or, another researcher might hypothesize that playing first-person-shooter

video games (independent variable) is associated with aggression in children (dependent

variable)”. The methods for studying mass media effects on audiences have taken two forms,

experiments and survey research. Researchers also use content analysis to count and document

specific messages that circulate in mass media. (Martin and Fabos 2011). When conducting my

research, I found survey research to be very useful as well. Learning how video games and the

media that comes with it is important and plays a part in mass media’s problem as a whole.

Davis states, “Social media use can have major impacts on one’s construction of identity,

sexuality, and gender. However, some social media sites exhibit problematic and prejudiced

themes through their photo and video posts. This paper examines two Instagram sites specifically

targeting traditionally college-aged individuals. These sites have tens of thousands of followers,

post frequently, and solely focus on highlighting the college experience.” (Davis 2018) The

discussion on mass media's potential impacts on broader societal structures have been ongoing

and show the impacts it's been having on young adolescent college students. **

Hoffner and Buchanan (2005) found that young adults tend to develop wishful

identification with favorite television characters of the same gender as themselves and whom

they perceived as sharing their own attitudes. There is currently a gap in the literature regarding

the ways in which frequent television viewing and identification with characters may influence

perceptions of careers or college majors. Researchers wondered if heavy-television viewing of

career-focused shows results in viewers choosing majors that correspond with the career of their

favorite characters. Additionally, the ability for viewers to binge-watch could amplify the
Mass Media Effects On College Students 7

correspondence between viewers’ chosen career path and that of their favorite character.

(Hoffner, C., & Buchanan, M. 2005). Knowing this helps answer the questions on what are

negative effects of media and lets us know this is one of the many reasons why mass media has

negative effects.

Previous studies have often looked at either traditional mass media or new technologies

in explaining the effects of media on acculturation. We claim that media effects on acculturation

should be investigated by simultaneously considering traditional and new media, as today's

media environment is far from being simple. An online survey was conducted in two large

universities that were located in cities that were not main ethnic residential enclaves for Korean

and Chinese people. The findings indicated that the students who used Facebook only

demonstrate a lower degree of acculturative stress and a higher degree of psychological well-

being compared to other groups in the study. In addition, the use of ethnic SNS is positively

associated with acculturative stress. Also, individual differences - extraversion, years of stay in

the U.S., academic achievement stress, and English competence - showed strong explanatory

power to account for the students' acculturative stress and psychological well-being. Theoretical

implications and limitations of the study were discussed. (Park, Song, Lee 2014)

This study explores the effects of “parent’s profession,” mass media” and “personal

choice” on students‟ career selection. The data was collected through an online survey method

by employing Systematic Random Sampling technique from the first semester students of three

leading business schools of Lahore. This study validates that “parent’s profession” has influence

on students‟ career choice. Similarly, “personal choice” has a strong and direct impact on

students‟ career selection. Moreover, this study claims that media is also playing a significant

role in career selection. In addition, all three factors including “parent’s profession,” “mass
Mass Media Effects On College Students 8

media” and “personal choice” have mutual influence on career choice of students as well. The

study claims that “mass media” and “personal choice” have more impact than parents'

professional influence on students‟ career choices. (Saleem, Hanan, Shamshad 2014)

Fashion magazines have been shown to have a negative relationship with body

dissatisfaction and psychological health, while the effects of health magazines on body

dissatisfaction and psychological health have mainly been studied with men. Because of gender

differences, health magazine consumption effects on men cannot be applied equally to women.

The present study uses sociocultural theory to study health magazines and possible similarities to

fashion magazine effects on women’s body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness. It's very

interesting to look at a less common type of way to influence their audience. Print media is still

mass media and although it isn't used like social media it still is a part of it. Swiatkowski stated,

“Sociocultural attitude toward appearance is then explored as a mediator and potential moderator

in the established relationship between magazine consumption and psychological health, defined

in this study as drive for thinness and body dissatisfaction”. The sample of 230 college-age

women completed a cross-sectional survey online. Results suggest differences between health

and fashion magazines in their effects on body dissatisfaction. This is a huge finding that

answers why mass media can affect perceptions and change behaviors through print which is less

accessible. If they were to go to digital media where there is a plethora of resources where they

could scroll for days, it would make it that more devastating the way it affects the college

students.

The highly developed technologies have grown up along the current style of the world

which has introduced people to a wide range of communication tools, as well as communications

today. While we know most of these tools are strongly used by the young adults and generation,
Mass Media Effects On College Students 9

mass media is also a means of conveying information simultaneously and accessible to the

community all over the world. Diverse social and cultural facilities are channeled through

television, VCDs, magazines, story books, radio, mobile phones, internet, and so on. The mass

media is not only an information channel for entertainment and knowledge, but also a variety of

social, cultural, personality development and empowerment of individuals, whether positive or

negative. The negative influence of the mass media comprising the print media and the electronic

media is indirectly affecting the behavior of the college students. (Wahab, Othman, Muhammad

2017)

The potential harmful effects of media violence have been studied systematically and

extensively. Not a lot of attention has been drawn to the struggles between people depicted in the

mass media. Mass media influence viewers in a similar way. Whether the influence is violence

or intrigue, the standard for research about media violence can be adapted to research on TV

series about intrigue and struggle. Wang, Lin, and Ke, show that there is influence that changes

behaviors through mass media in tv. (Wang, Lin, Ke 2015)

Yu’s research stated, “Previous studies focused on revealing the negative effects of media

exposure to thin-ideals on body image, such as body dissatisfaction, but there is also the

influence of deflated body image after thin-idealized media exposure on advertising

effectiveness. Results indicate participants exposed to thin-idealized model images showed

greater body dissatisfaction and lower advertising effectiveness than those participants exposed

to non-idealized model images.” The research goes to show this inflated body dissatisfaction

after exposure to thin-idealized model images did not significantly or negatively influence

advertising effectiveness. When most of these college students are exposed to these

advertisements and can't help but see them, you can see how that can begin to affect them. The
Mass Media Effects On College Students 10

ads and body’s they see so frequently will stay in their mind of how ideal that figure is. (Yu

2014)

III. Not all media effects are of similar importance depending on the extent of

students’ involvement and interest in the media they are looking at. The Influence

of the Mass Media in the Behavior Students: A Literature Study states, “Users

prefer to use internet service to get information online. This method allows easy

data transfer process and also efficient time saving.” (Wahab, Othman,

Muhammad 2017). Wang, Lin, and Ke state The first is perception bias. The

specific TV content may change an individual’s perception of the real world.

Several years ago, researchers mostly focused on studying the effects of violent

representation and advertising on young viewers (Swiatkowski, 2016). However,

today more attention is paid to examining the role of social media and binge-

watching in influencing college students’ views and behaviors. Throughout the

literature, there has been consistent data that body image issues in college

students are influenced not by social media usage in general, but by engagements

with the visual and interactive aspects of these platforms. You see those

advertisements in social media platforms such as twitter, Instagram, snapchat,

YouTube, Facebook and tactic. Critically evaluate sources to identify strengths

and weaknesses. However, in an era of rapidly changing hand held technologies,

the mass media standard is no longer adequate for learning how college students

engage with images. It's important to note that the findings of older studies may

not be relevant to younger generations.

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IV. College students today have unlimited access to different mass media, including

social media, which can significantly influence their perceptions, decisions, and

behaviors. As a result, the effects of mass media on college students is important

to research in detail. The reason is that social media can provoke body

dissatisfaction, isolation, problems with socialization, peer pressure among other

problems. Furthermore, the unlimited watching of TV series is associated with

certain behaviors and personal choices. College students can experience both

positive motivation and self-realization as well as negative dissatisfaction, peer

pressure, frustration effects of mass media that need to be studied. There can be

good things that come from the media but you have to look and see if the positive

outweighs the negative, even though the evidence does not support that.
Mass Media Effects On College Students 12

Methodology

This research was carried out at the private Aurora University from January 2022 to April

2022. A total of 28 students filled out a mass media survey to assess mass media use and

influence on them as young adolescent college students. The age range of the 28 participants

were between 18-23 years old. The participants were approached through survey questions, to

assess how these findings would correlate with other studies on the effects of mass media on

college students. When collecting this data, the who, what, when, where, and why are as

followed. The participants were college students between the ages of 18-23 years old. What we

do is to survey the students, analyze the qualitative data, and see how that lines up with other

data already out there. The survey was out for a week and 28 participants completed the survey

questions in that time. When collecting the data, the method of using survey questions on mass

media was effective. The survey can be helpful with higher response rates, quick data

compilation, quick response rate, less time consuming and larger participant targets. Some

disadvantages would be difficult to develop rapport with the target audience, no visual aids and

lack of questions depth. When looking into possible ethical issues that can be involved with

surveys, steps were taken beforehand to ensure the considerations of the participants were intact

with what was distributed to them. Making sure confidentiality and informed consent were

highly emphasized. The participants partook in the survey voluntarily and there were no issues

reported from them.

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Results

When collecting the survey data, the mode was collected for the nine multiple choice and

one open ended question. Each figure posted starting on page 16, represents a survey question

and the mode for each. Figure 1’s mode was 2+ hours spent on media a day. Figure 2’s mode

was Yes (Do you get your news from social media). Figure 3’s mode Friends on who they follow

most on twitter. Figure 4’s mode was Entertainment when looking at what they hope to gain

through following who they follow. Figure 5’s mode On the Internet (Where they feel most

exposed to ads). Figure 6’s mode was Sports when looking at what they watched the most.

Figure 7’s mode was Yes (Have you ever compared yourself to someone in the media). Figure

8’s mode was 3 plus (How many times a week do you send or receive a link to someone you

know). Figure 9’s mode was Yes (Do you strive to be like any media figure that you follow).

Figure 10 was an open ended question and 8 out of 28 participants decided to respond to this

figure. The question was Anything else you would like to add? The responses go as follows: I

think it's a good way to get information. Don't believe everything you hear on the internet. It

provides me with cute seals so I'm not complaining. I hate it, I wish it didn't exist. Media now is

mine and many others main source of news and is also used to distract ourselves from other

things going on in our lives. Love it. Mass media is slowly becoming a problem in the world

today, by limiting real understanding of face to face communication. Great way to get news

updates, but a lot of it is fake. There was a lot taken from these findings through the survey

questions. Certain survey questions and themes stuck out while looking at the results. Question

1, 6,7 and 9 all and a theme/idea that connects them through their answers recorded. There were

92.9% of the participants that said 2+ hours spent on the media and 4+ hours spent on media that

was represented with the chart in figure 1. Figure 6 shows what the target audience looks for in
Mass Media Effects On College Students 14

the media to focus their attention on with Sports (78.6%) and TV drama (14.3%). This leads to

Figure 7 that shows 71.4% of the participants do compare themselves to someone in the media

and 55.6 of the participants saying they strive to be like those people in the media as shown in

figure 9. When looking at all of this, the theme to take away is that the participants spend 2-4+

hours a day on social media and they spend more than 90% of it looking at sports figures and tv

drama figures. The sports figures have a body that they work on 24/7 365 days a year and the tv

drama people tend to be influencers that model and get on those shows for their physical

appearances. When 71.4% of the participants compare themselves to those sports and tv media

figures and 55.6% of them strive to be like them, there can be unhealthy repercussions because

of those that make them have a certain body image in their head they want to perfect and

achieve. This all goes to show that given the amount of time engaged in media and what they

watch on media, can affect their perceptions, behaviors, and decisions.

The current research is analyzing positive and negative effects of mass media on college

students with reference to their importance and outcomes for those students’ behaviors, decisions

and perceptions. While Mass media can be educational, mass media affects college students'

behaviors, decisions, and perceptions. These college students are the biggest audience for mass

media and are the biggest consumers too. Because what they see on social media can influence

them through falsified information. This all goes to show that given the amount of time engaged

in media and what they watch on media, can affect their perceptions, behaviors, and decisions.

Now finding out how to make these college students more aware of how they are being

influenced is the next step to take. Starting discussions with other community and class members

can spread awareness on the effects of mass media and why they should manage their time on all

media sites.
Mass Media Effects On College Students 15

Figures Title: Survey Questions

[Figure 1]

[Figure 2]
Mass Media Effects On College Students 16

[Figure 3]
Mass Media Effects On College Students 17

[Figure 4]

[Figure 5]
Mass Media Effects On College Students 18

[Figure 6]

[Figure 7]
Mass Media Effects On College Students 19

[Figure 8]

[Figure 9]
Mass Media Effects On College Students 20

[Figure 10]

Anything else you would like to add?

- I think it's a good way to get information

- Don't believe everything you hear on the internet

- N/a

- It provides me cute seals so I’m not complaining

- I hate it, I wish it didn't exist

- No

- Media now is mine and many others main source of news and is also used to distract

ourselves from other things going on in our lives.

- No

- Love it

- Mass media is slowly becoming a problem in the world today, by limiting real

understanding of face to face communication

- Great way to get news updates. But a lot of it is fake.

Mass Media Effects On College Students 21

References

Alhabash, S., & Ma, M. (2017). A tale of four platforms: Motivations and uses of Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat among college students? Social Media+ Society, 3(1),
2056305117691544.

Campbell, R., Martin, C. R., & Fabos, B. (2010). Media and culture: An introduction to mass
communication (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Davis, S. E. (2018). Objectification, sexualization, and misrepresentation: Social media and the
college experience. Social Media+ Society, 4(3), 2056305118786727.

Morgan, J. A. (2017). Cultivating a career: Effects of television binge-watching and character

identification on college students’ goal occupations. IU Journal of Undergraduate Research,
3(1), 48-53.

Park, N., Song, H., & Lee, K. M. (2014). Social networking sites and other media use,
acculturation stress, and psychological well-being among East Asian college students in the
United States. Computers in Human Behavior, 36, 138-146.

Saleem, N., Hanan, M. A., Saleem, I., & Shamshad, R. M. (2014). Career selection: Role of
parent’s profession, mass media and personal choice. Bulletin of Education and Research, 36(2),
25-37.

Swiatkowski, P. (2016). Magazine influence on body dissatisfaction: Fashion vs. health? Cogent
Social Sciences, 2(1), 1250702.

Wahab, N. A., Othman, M. S., & Muhammad, N. (2017). The influence of the mass media in the
behavior students: A literature study. International Journal of Academic Research in Business
and Social Sciences, 7(8)
Mass Media Effects On College Students 22

Wang, F., Lin, S., & Ke, X. (2015). Just entertainment: Effects of TV series about intrigue on
young adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 529.

Yu, U. J. (2014). Deconstructing college students’ perceptions of thin-idealized versus non

idealized media images on body dissatisfaction and advertising effectiveness. Clothing and
Textiles Research Journal, 32(3)

Dandamudi, V. A., & Sathiyaseelan, A. (2018). Binge watching: Why are college students glued

to their screens? Journal of Indian Health Psychology, 12(2)