Media’s Impact on Society 4 – Social Media and Politics

Such values such as freedom of speech and freedom of press, which have always been so fundamental to the “American model” of democracy, have in the past decades gained countless new avenues of expression and ways to reach out across the country and across the globe. Individuals now have as much of a presence in the social media cloud as many professionals and celebrities do, and their opinions can be viewed and commented upon by just as many other media participants. A striking field in which we can see this new social power take hold is politics. For as long as there have been democracies and republics, the people’s opinions have been voiced in one way or another. The stones ancient ruins of Rome and Greece still sometimes scrawled with political graffiti of the time, proclaiming, “Up with Person A, Down with Person B.” In ancient Athens, their form of democracy entailed that every citizen make their opinion present, since they all represented themselves. It seems that since the spread of political opinion is so instant and available, the equivalent of painting a rallying cry or slogan on the Roman Forum walls, there are more individually specific political views circulating. This can also be attributed to the simultaneous availability of enormous amounts of information and misinformation that the Internet holds.

This is not to say that citizens should not have their own personal political views and make them known; in a way, this sort of social media facilitation of private opinion helps diversify the societal atmosphere, and makes politicians more aware of what they need to accomplish for their constituents. There are even recent phone apps to help aspiring politicians figure out who their best constituents may be. The main issue is that people who may not necessarily have a full understanding or even a real political opinion are then called on to choose sides, and in response to that, politicians or other figures who are present in social media can make claims to please their audience superficially by making the “cool” choice.

This is not a political situation or tactic at any means exclusive to the modern social media situation. Whenever and wherever there are officials who rely on the trust of the people for their power, there have been some such officials who play off of their society’s superficial wants or appealed solely to their perception of a public role model. On both sides of the American political spectrum, for example, there are examples of “hollow campaigns”, or politicians staying within the realm of what is popular and socially admired by the majority.

Like I said, this attitude towards politics will never go away, especially because, above all, it works: these people get elected to their positions, and it is not until they are in the position of power can the voters see exactly what they represented. Social media has given a significant rise to this approach to politics in more developed nations, especially since it simultaneously spreads the reinforcing concept of these popular trends that politicians are personifying. Unfortunately the research and in-depth understanding of specific representatives’ platforms is not as popular as simply following them on twitter or sharing their facebook status. All I’m saying is that the social media should not be the sole source of political information for potential voters. Both the political and social presence of the individuals who can affect change in our stead should be the priority, and though no society will ever purely have such focus, I think that when the information is as available as the internet makes it, then we should be closer to it than we are.

Media’s Impact on Society 3 – Videogames

This entry is a little different than those before. The previous two were about a way that modern media conventions have been or might one day negatively effect the world around us. Today’s entry, however, is more about the cultural myths surrounding one of the more hotly contended media outlets – video and computer games.

When most critics of the medium see a video game, they see the violence the game engages, the disregard for authority figures, and generally most of them view it as a waste of time. Most modern titles revolve mechanically around killing all of the “bad guys”, and several games are based upon committing as many crimes as possible in a realistic environment, or just generally causing chaos. While I do agree that these video games are certainly not appropriate for all ages, thats simply because the target age audience for entertainment software is expanding and parents should use discretion and refer to the ESRB ratings. Not all video games should necessarily be placed in the same condemning category of “mind-numbing”. There’s scientific evidence behind the benefits of regulated play (though the general science of video games is still mostly an enigma)

Many developers focus specifically on problem-solving games; strategy and puzzle games become more and more complex as the possibilities of the gaming reality unfold. Various game mechanics change the way physics works in the alternate reality, and players have to adjust to these new standards to win. The award winning game, Portal (a version of which is on display for the public to play in New York’s Museum of Modern Art), for example features a game mechanic which allows the player to reach new heights and leap impossible gaps, using a portal gun to accomplish all these things and solve logic puzzles. Other games similarly play with perspective in ways which can only be accomplished through complex coding systems. Games like these, which some youth educators are starting to use as well, have been shown to increase mental flexibility and problem-solving capacity over a long period of regular play.

Video game analysts have even done studies on how entertainment software influences the way the subconscious works as well. The way that more adventure-based games progress through various challenges can influence the way that the players see their own goals. Every quest progresses naturally after the next and never seems too far out of reach: an optimistic view of success. This mental process of small victories on the road to a larger one can carry over into the everyday life of some gamers and improve their happiness, self-esteem, and overall quality of life.

Despite research serving both sides of the argument, no one really knows whether to completely accept or reject video games as such huge cultural influences. Human thought usually dictates that if something is fun then it must be bad for you. I argue that more studies are necessary to make that claim with videogames.

Media’s Impact on Society 2 – Celebrities

Everyone these days has a favorite celebrity. Icons of the stage, the screen, music, even politics are more accessible to the common people than ever through social media and more pervasive media presence. In some cases however, this heightened accessibility can lead to dangerous obsessions, and though many posit that these obsessions have existed for as long as celebrity itself, the increased presence of modern stars across the internet increases the power and sway they hold over their fans, though often through no fault of their own.

Through their humor, relatability, or general attractiveness, young celebrities are at the top of social media platforms, most notably Twitter. Some people cannot go a day without keeping up to date on the most menial parts of these celebrities lives. The general youth trend (so strong that it’s been made a common stereotype of our generation) for many years now has been that everyone shoots for celebrity, due to how idolized and attractive they and their lifestyles appear to us. Though the argument has been made that modern youth do not yearn for that status any more than did the youth of previous generations, it does not seem to be the yearning that causes the stereotype, but the increasingly prevalent sense that fame is an entitlement. Some celebrities have spoken out against this attitude and encourage their fans not to seek fame through that sense of entitlement. Many other celebrities, on the other hand, seem to encourage the stereotypical attitude.

Lots of celebrities are so popular that jokes have been made about them, or even worse, violent behavior. There have been accounts of some of Justin Beiber’s fans cutting themselves in an attempt to keep him from smoking marijuana. Countless fights have broken out amongst fans in competition between different celebrities for whatever reason. I still don’t believe that America is overly obsessed with celebrities, but I do believe that the nature of prevalent social media platforms makes it easier for youth to fall into a routine of near dedication to the more popular figures appearing in the media.

Huffington Post Debate on “America’s Unhealthy Obsession” : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/30/liz-smith-jo-piazza-unhealthy-obsession-with-celebrity_n_1389734.html

Media’s Impact on Society 1 – Stereotyping

For generations the children of technologically developed nations have been watching television commercials, playing video games, and in general consuming more media than their parents did when they were children. Though in modern times, those creating the media that shoots around the globe have to follow more regimented ethical guidelines than the previous technological generation, many claim that there are still boundaries being crossed and wrongly stereotyping beliefs being impressed into the youth that consume these media.

Perhaps one group of people’s that is not only often misrepresented, but considered to be fair game for such stereotyping, are Aboriginal and indigenous tribal peoples from around the globe. Since their cultures have so drastically adapted to match a modern context, the false notion that these peoples, such as Native Americans, indigenous Africans, and Australian Aborigines, are long gone, and only ever existed in a highly romanticized past. In her article,  “Indigenous Representations in Commercial Video Games,” ( http://www.abtec.org/blog/?p=175%27 ), Beth Eileen writes,

In commercial video games, indigenous peoples are stereotyped and appropriated—at worst, they’re killed for points; at best, they’re the half-breed hero in Red Dead Revolver and GUN (where, by the way, you start off killing Apaches). (…) In fighting games, there are T. Hawk, Nighthawk, Nightwolf, Wolf Hawkfield — all stoic, folded arms, body paint, leather – the “keeper” or “protector” of his people, but who are his “people”?

Most portrayals of these First People’s societies are harshly negative and are so impressed upon the belief systems of children everywhere. Observations made of how Native American children take in this sort of media show that even they have learned to associate the positive attributes with the white protagonist and the negative characteristics with the non-white characters. Furthermore, they almost never see realistic views of their lives or life experiences in these media.

The Cowboy and Indian serials that were so popular in the mid 20th century are may be gone. But are the ideas they carried, ideals of the white-man’s quest to bring law to a lawless land filled with painted savages, still affecting modern audiences in different ways? And how can any member of this audience understand a very modern and proud people’s when all they about them is through negative portrayals of the people they were?