How Does The Media Influence Our Mentality

Over last few decades, media’s face has been changed a lot. Earlier there were only telegraphs by which we could send our messages to our known ones. But with the technology advancement, some more equipment came into the market and changed the way of communication. And now we have radios, newspapers, magazines, telephones, television and a revolutionary contribution in media that is internet. But the million dollar question is how does the media influence our mentality? We are social beings and have the need of information and communication in order to meet our daily requirements. We are relying on media for every single issue such as education, health care, entertainment, travelling and many more such things.

Media Owners- Earlier there were many market players in the field of media. But over the years and because of stiff competition, many of them got merged with the existing and huge players. Right now only 5 companies namely VIACOM, TIME WARNER, WALT DISNEY, NEWS CORP, AND VIVENDI UNIVERSAL are grabbing almost 95% share of all the media. It is very natural that if there are few competitors then same information would flow through all the channels. They have the power to shape up the mentality of the audience. They know how does media influence the mentality of the audience and they are using it for their benefit.

Fear Of Competition- Competition is so stiff that each and every TV channel whether it’s an entertainment channel or a news channel, are showing the useless and violence oriented content to attract the audience. In the Olympic race of getting highest TRP’s, all the channels are violating the social beliefs. The fear of competition is climbing all the ladders of restrictions.

Influence On Mentality- How does the media influence our mentality? This is a big question but the answer is in front of us. We behave the way we are taught through media. The finest example is movies. Young generation wants to copy their icons because it is being told by media that if you do not do so then you are not cool. Young people are attracting towards injurious things like alcohol and smoking only because they have seen their favourite star doing that in the movies. The mentality of the young generation is substantially influenced by the brands endorsed by their superstars.

Shaping The Society For Better- There are always 2 sides of the coin. And the positive side of media is that it is helping the society in being aware of some deadly disease like aids, many big brands are doing the promotion through social welfare activities. Idea is promoting itself by giving a message to save trees, papers and use mobiles. Movies are inspiring youth to do something creative. Media has opened number of avenues to choose from. Consumerism is on its peak level. Communication barriers are being totally removed. Government can interact with us through media. Students are getting valuable information without much effort that will help in building their carriers. Media is playing a vital role in making us competitive at international level.

Augments Violence–Because of lack of information and fear of losing TRP, the channels are showing information that may have some other meaning. The finest example of this is the attack of 9/11. Channels were propagating the news in such a manner that people also got violent and started supporting the terrorism by the name of revenge. News channels were flashing the news again and again with catchy headlines which were offensive and created a wrong image of the attacking country. The mentality of the people was so turned to negative that they also supported the Iraq attack. Media was responsible for changing the mentality only because the officials told them to do so. People are fighting over their caste, colour and regions. No one is fighting for humanity.

In the nutshell, it can be said that technology is showing its impact on almost every group of people. There are many positive and negative outcomes of having media in our life. Media should understand its role and influence on the people. Media should always have the aim of serving the society and humanity. Then the answer to the question how does the media influence our mentality? would always be positive.

Picture- Valentin.Ottone