Technology And The Media Essay, Research Paper

Technology and the Media

Technology and the media have affected people in various ways over the past thirty years. They have influenced the way that people feel and think about certain issues pertaining to, not only the United States, but the rest of the world, too. I also believe that technology and the media help to shape our society, and create social norms.

With the invention of magazines and models, came the world wide known idea of the “perfect man” and the “perfect woman”. This idea caused insecurity and a lack of self confidence and worth mostly among women. For example, in the sixties and seventies, there was a model by the name of twiggy. She was called Twiggy because her extremely thin body looked like a twig from a tree. Because of this new model and the emphasis on her tiny, skeletal body, woman became anorexic and bulemic – believing that they need to look exactly like Twiggy to be socially accepted, and good about themselves. This “”waiflike”" appearance that the women during the sixties and seventies were striving to achieve, took the emphasis off the importance of exercise and healthy eating. Although, we still have models – which I believe we always will – people today have become more aware of individual body types and styles. For instance, companies, now, use all kinds of models – young, old, thin, overweight, etc…- to advertise for their company. Society has put more of a focus on eating right, exercising, and being the right shape and size for your own individual body.

Also, the television has played a big role in the way lifestyles have changed over the past thirty years. When I turn on the television today, I see sex, violence, and profanity blatantly thrown in my face without any precaution to whom might be watching – which shows a huge change in the way people feel about those certain issues being portrayed so commonly (like they are no big deal). I remember when I used to watch the Dick Van Dike show at night with my mom and sister, and how innocent it was. In fact, people during the time that Dick Van Dike was a new show, believed sex to be something only discussed at home from our parents, or not at all. On the show, Dick Van Dike, the husband and wife were married, yet they did not show them sleeping in the same bed – they slept in two twin beds in the same room, but on opposite sides of the room – there was also never any profanity used on the show, and hardly any violence. Other television shows portrayed this type of innocence, like the Lucy show, and even Bewitched. In my opinion, the television shows nowadays that portray ideas of sex before you’re married, cheating on your partner, killing, and profanity give younger children a twisted idea of how life is. The idea of having sex with anyone at any time, I believe, can lead to people getting sexually transmitted diseases more often, because they have these television planted ideas that if they don’t use protection (or whatever) they will be fine. Contrarily, television has improved in some areas. For example, companies now advertise through commercials about saying no to drugs, being proud of who you are, parents paying more attention to their children’s lives, and how to reach out when either you or someone else is being sexually physically, or mentally abused. Television commercials also advocate against drinking and driving, which is a very important issue in our society, today, because of all the hundreds and even thousands of people that are killed each year because of drunk driving.

There are many positive and negative effects that come from technological and media changes, and still will – especially with the increased use of the internet. I think the important thing is to believe in ourselves as much as we can, and focus more on the physical and mental health of our own individual bodies.