Electronic Media & Its Effects on Audience

We all know that media is a form of communication, but not just any form. It is the most vast and versatile form of communication. Any content represented through media is seen or read by millions of people, and each and every person perceives it in a different way. Media does not present or displays things randomly on paper or screen; it is thoroughly analyzed and then placed in front of our eyes. It is basic rule of media to play with their audience in every possible technique. Now the common man does not understand the tactics and strategies played out by media, they are consumers and they will consume anything that is going to be presented in front of them.

Media has the quality or skill to attract and influence the viewers. It shapes the mind by feeding the consumers with something that is false, a myth or partial reality. Once the consumers start praising this false representation (which they do not know about) the media turns up in exaggerating their presentation even more rather than keeping the head down. If the common sense is lost among men, the media pushes it to stay lost so that there may be no chance of getting sanity back. That is the principle of communication for media; it is wide, reaches millions at the same time and is influential more than any other form of communication.

Media reaches to us through many mediums such as; press, magazines, journals, news channels, entertainment channels, radio shows and the internet. Basically the print, electronic and digital media (which includes everything) on which we are dependent now. In this era and age, media cannot be stopped and reversed; it is only going to grow larger every day. Since it is true that in this modern age we are dependent on media, we have nowhere to go. We have an urge to consume something from the media and now it is hard to distinguish from what is real and what is fake. We are just mere puppets in this world of media and digitalization.Consumers are those people who feed off the content or information provided by the media. Now each consumer has a different response towards media but one thing that is common among these people is that they always come back to find information from media.Print media and it’s effect on audience. Print media includes books, magazines, news paper etc.

This media is good for the advertisers and marketers because print media is more trustworthy than television or internet. Newspaper is an easy medium for spreading awareness and get a deeper insight into what’s happening. Reading and writing skills of an individual can be improved. One should admit that the genders are objectified in media. There are extremely negative impacts of publicizing on ladies and girls. These things led to #MeToo because men started seeing women as objects. Media define their own sense of what beauty is and should be which creates a complex among the people. We all know the "Barbie Doll" look, a woman should be tall, white blonde, should have the perfect skin, silky hair and slim to be considered gorgeous. That is how it is represented in the films which neglects the natural beauty.

This image is created by media itself and that is why they beautify each and every women that has to work on screen. Just like women, men are also represented according to the media’s definition of beauty. In media men are presented like an altered person, it is expected from man to be strong, well built, perfect beard, tall and fair. Just like women are treated in media platforms, the same way men are treated. All over magazines, bulletins and advertisements we see picture perfect models promoting clothing brands or makeup products. This increased the use of their products but it led to rise in eating disorders, self-harming and people being insecure about their faces and bodies. Media is the reason why every other child wants to be “famous”. They don’t feel like they need to learn new things or study. They think they can earn a living just by being famous.

The state of intellect of a society can be way better controlled through media. Media numb us towards violence by showing criminal tv shows like breaking bad, dexter and advocating it by calling it a storyline. Watching these shows leads to the aggressive behavior specially amongst youth. Video games are promoting violence openly but we are too blind to see it because they make it look like normal. It also improve mind and body coordination. The children and teenagers are most vulnerable to media, no matter what they watch or follow it has deep effect on their understanding. Children have a tendency to adopt things, when they are open to television, video games or the internet. When they witness gorgeously presented person on media, they start to idolize him/her. This idolization makes the children adopt their personality, manners and even looks. In media there are certain contents which are related to sex and pornography, both boys and girls develop the feeling of sexual arousing for their opposite gender. This is influential or attraction developed by the media for the audience, but when the viewers are children it tends to have a deep effect on the thought process of them.News channels showing footages that are insensitive for young minds. The emotional content of movies, news and tv programs can influence their mental wellbeing. It can do this by straightforwardly influencing their mood, and their mood can at that point influence numerous angles of their thinking and behaviour. News bulletins too got to compete with entertainment programs for their group of onlookers and for their prime-time TV space, and appear to do this by emphasizing emotionally significant material such as wrongdoing, war, starvation, etc. at the cost of more positive material. Most of the people fall for fake news due to lack of trust in news channels and government also fake news appeals to our thoughts and emotions. People spread fake news about politicians just because they support another political party. Fake news won’t be a problem if people stop falling for it and look for facts and check if it’s true or not before sharing it. We don’t question the credibility of the source so how will we know the difference between fake and true news.

To increase the appeal of news or information media often hypes it by adding some things by themselves. What we see contains the owner’s personal opinions. Biases and assumptions, what we view it not true even in documentaries. Socail media like facebook, twitter, instagram etc are powerful media platforms. It can bring political and economic change in our society. We all know zainab’s rape case. People hyped this topic and the rapist got their punishment. If these platforms are used for positive reasons it can change the society. Our cultural is what our beliefs are and media has effect this thing so much that we follow different cultures. People are becoming aethiest who don’t believe in any religion or God.

Obesity is increasing, people are glued to their screens all day and neglect outdoor activities which is important for physical and mental wellbeing. Conclusion:With new technological inventions, like internet, mobile phones and television, many form are electronic media are at our homes and work places. The influence of mass media is so powerful that it can make or break our beliefs, shape people minds and their public opinions, start a movement for a right cause. It even can ruin a person’s life because once it’s on the internet it’s always there. Agenda and propaganda setting theory is the proof the media effects public opinion strongly.