Visual entertainment media has played a role in shaping American culture and its values in a variety of ways utilizing various methods such as television, video games, music videos, and the Internet. Crime, violence, fashion, foods, romance and education are just a few categories in which values can be molded or stem from by viewing visual media, all of which comes with both negative and positive aspects. As people watch television and surf the Internet, they are subjected to tons of advertisements for various things.
Advertisements may be for things such as products, services, activities and even political messages. These advertisements not only affect an individual’s mind, they affect culture as well. Advertisements help to set new fashion and trends; they can promote gatherings and political points of view. Advertisements draw us to shop for particular products and services based upon the marketing strategy and not the value we receive. They guide us to form opinions based upon their endorsement alone but also can guide us to, new and otherwise unknown of, products and savings.
With television, computers and video games common in most homes, the list is endless for the amount of information that transfers into our homes daily. Much of the information that we receive, changes the way people live their lives and how they react to situations around them. News broadcasts, programs, movies and streaming videos bring all kinds of information related not only to violence, drugs and crime, but also to education, development and religion.
All this information influences people and brings upon change to American culture and values. Social influences of visual media entertainment, comes with both blessings and challenges, as it can draw people together, and it can also push them away. Television programs, movies and gaming are known to bring people together socially with events such as, family movie nights or Monday night football gatherings and siblings can bond with each other while playing video games together. Video games can provide fun education and development of motor skills.
Although all the benefits of visual media entertainment sounds good, addictions can form, and pull people away socially and mentally, causing hardship. Many visually social media sites and games allow a person to communicate through both voice and instant messaging all while engaging in other activities, such as gaming and tweeting, with people all across the world. People can become someone whom they are not or someone whom the desire to be. This has captivated the attention of many and led them into a “cyber social world”, they can’t escape.
When the do attempt to re-engage in social activities, outside of the world of visual media entertainment, they don’t adapt well and can’t seem to engage in normal everyday face-to-face communications, thus resulting in breakdowns of once close family and friend relationships. Like anything we engage in, in life, social media influences our behaviors and affects our attitudes. If used in moderation and for productive purposes, it can prove to be very beneficial, but if it is taken advantage of or used in the wrong manner, it can lead to self destruction. “Viewers-Be Aware”.
