We can’t deny that the media has a lot of power over the audiences. It can be very manipulative, influential and persuasive over our political and social views. Everyday when I wake up first thing in the morning, I check my emails, social media and messages to see what is going on in our world. I receive information through online news. However, I consider myself more resistant to media influence when it comes to news because I grew up in Thailand where all news is controlled by the government and distrusted. You could not trust what was being reported. For entertainment, shopping, etc. I could be more easily affected by advertisements because it is harder to validate every advertisement.
When I want to receive news, not only do I watch it on TV, but I also read the news online from different sources to get the most accurate information and different points of view. I think the media is very fragmented and depending on the organization’s political leaning focused on serving a specific audience type. The media sends out information they want their audience to believe, especially nowadays it would be insensible if we would react to it without validating with other sources.
On the other hand when I see pictures on instagram of beautiful places to visit, special discounts of merchadises or pictures of famous people I am not as wary as when I am getting news. Images can more easily persuade me to accept the information they are presenting very quickly. These are propaganda images in society.
Another example, when I see facebook ads about things I am interested in for instance exercise equipment, shoes, facial cream, etc. Those types of targeted ads can be very tempting with propaganda images that just tempt me to click on them. By showing how products look fantastic on models. Advertisements for either print, video and movies are very persuasive to audiences. Sometimes I don’t even realize I have absorbed that information automatically just by watching the same ad over and over. That is how much power the media has over people's decisions and it plays such a vital role in our view of society.
The media also has the ability to control information that is being presented on things shown in the movies or information in news. Media can easily misrepresent certain ideologies or truth and dominate our political interest and ideas. This has made the media lose credibility over time. Distrust in the media is growing and I feel this trend will continue and is not necessarily bad if it results in people researching topics more.
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