Role of media in constructing social problems

Introduction

The media plays a very important role in the society today mainly because it is the means through which the public are usually informed about the current happenings in the world especially in the areas where the audience do not have direct experience or knowledge of the happenings (Berkman, 2014).  This is because media can be described as the channels that are used to convey news and information to the society (Coiera, 2013). Media involves broadcasting medium such as billboards, newspapers, radios, televisions, the internet among others. In recent times the media have been discovered to play a big role in constructing social problems in the world, and some scholars have even stated that media the media itself is a social problem mainly because of the many negative complex and multiple effects it has.

Role of media in constructing social problems

Although the media is an important element in today’s world mainly because it enables people to stay informed with the current happenings of the world, it has also been able to be discovered that it plays a big role in constructing social problems that face the world today (Dolgon, 2010). This is because it has been analyzed and revealed that most of the social problems that are witnessed in the society today are usually facilitated by the media. Although the media is not the only factor that leads to social problems, it can be described as one of the major influences in constructing social problems mostly because of the negative effects it brings to society (Howitt, 2012).

Role of media in promoting violence

Violence is one of the challenges that have been facing the society of today as cases of violence have been rapidly increasing. Most scholars have been able to identify that among the factors that have facilitated the increase of violence in the society is the media (Dorling, 2015). The media, through channels such as television and movies, have been discovered to have an effect on the current violence being witnessed in the society today. Researchers have identified that since most of the violent cases revolve around young people, the major factor that has facilitated them to engage in this violence are movies and other violent related scenes in televisions.

Recent research that was conducted has been able to identify that incidences of violence such as school attacks and shootings in schools have been increasing. Most of the attackers that engage in these attackers have been identified to have been influenced by movies, books, video games and other medias (Hurst, 2016). They usually conduct these attacks by trying to imitate what they had seen in those movies and video games. This has resulted in most of the youths engaging in violence which is a major social problem in the society. For instance, there was a case where school teenage boys murdered their fellow colleagues and also injured their teachers before killing themselves. The investigations were done, and it was discovered that the cause of this violence act was the violent video games the teenagers used to play with.

Role of media in promoting racism

One of the social problems that have been facing the country and the world at large is racism where people are treated differently because of the color of their skin. Although racism has reduced over the years and people of different color are not being discriminated as in the past, racism is still alive and is a major social problem (Leon-Guerrero, 2014). It has been discovered that the media is one of the factors that has been promoting racism in the society. This is because to some extent the media has been discovered to facilitate the criminalization of minority and marginalized communities. The way the media informs the society on the different experiences associated with racism can be determined to be a factor that leads to the construction of the social problem of racism discrimination.

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Most killings, shootings and violent activities that are reported through the media usually depict the African Americans as the perpetrators. This has had an effect on the society as most White people tend to have a certain perception on the African American (Loseke, 2013). The white people have had this perception because of the information passed through the media. This has increased discrimination cases against the black people as most people tend to view the black people as violent and vicious. Also, movies and magazines depict black people as slaves and hence constructing the social problem where black people are perceived to be inferior and lesser people.

Role of media in promoting discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender

Several social problems are affecting the society today with one of them being discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people (Macionis, 2015). This is for the reason that most of the people in the society have negative perceptions on this kind of people. One of the issues that have played a big role in creating this perception is the media. This is as a result of the fact that there are a lot of information passed through the media such as books, television, radios among others which tend to negatively talk about these people mainly because they are different. It has been clearly viewed how the media coverage is able to incite violence and discrimination against the minority people who include gays, lesbians, transgender and bisexual people mostly referred to as LGBT.

The media promotes this kind of social problem through several ways. For instance, there have been cases where in some countries the names of people who are part of the LGBT were published in the media with the aim of exposing them. This has led to some of these people fleeing their country or going into hiding to avoid being imprisoned or discriminated. Hence, this affects the perception of the people towards these individuals, and they associate them with negative effects. Therefore, the influence of the media facilitates people in the society to discriminate this kind of people and view them as a menace to the society.

Role of media in promoting unethical sexual behaviors

The society has been facing several social problems with one of them being immoral or unethical sexual behaviors mostly from the young people. This has been discovered to have been caused by the media. This is true mainly because of the type of things that are shown in the media (Pascale, 2013). For instance, the internet which is part of media has provided platforms where people can view pornography which tends to affect the mentality of people towards sex and also women in general. This has affected the mentality of people which has brought social problems such as some men disrespecting women because of thinking that the women in the society are the same as those that are in the pornographic videos they watch.

The media, through movies and television, have also contributed to the unethical sexual behaviors being witnessed in the society today. This is because there are several movies and films that show different people engaging in sexual acts and making them seem ethical. This influences young people to engage in sexual acts. Also, some scholars are publishing materials that are encouraging people to engage in sexual activities. This has resulted in many unwanted pregnancies being witnessed in the society today and also contributing to early marriages which end up in divorces and affecting the structure of families. Hence the media plays a role in constructing the social problem of immorality and unethical sexual behaviors.

Role of media in promoting bad behavior among children

In the past days, it was rare for children to be seen arguing with their parents or questioning them over issues. Children were always supposed to be respectful and always obey their parents. However, in recent times the children of the current generation tend to argue with their parents over issues. This has been discovered to be caused mostly by the media (Tess, 2013). This is because it has been seen that some of the movies, films or books children read through the media tend to influence them in ways they will act towards their parents and also the elderly people in the society.

The media, mostly through movies and films has been an influence in causing this social problem. This is because most of the movies usually have scenarios where children argue with their parents or may sometimes refuse to do what they are told by their parents. This is then practiced by the children who watch this, and they decide to try them at home. The children start to refuse to do duties given to them by their parents, some start to argue with them, and some go to the extent of questioning their parents and elders in the society (Treviño, 2015). This then creates an environment where children are hard headed and they continue with this attitude even in schools which ends up affecting their lives negatively as they grow up.

Conclusion

The media has brought a lot of positive effects on the society and the world at large as people are more informed than they were without the media. however, the media as seen above has also played a big role in the existence of the social problems being witnessed in the society today. This is because the media in one way or another tends to influence the behaviors of people both the young and the old (Yamamoto, 2015). The media tends to play a role in promoting violence, racism, unethical sexual behaviors among others. However, adopting proper regulations and rules that can be followed can be able to help prevent the existence of these social problems. Therefore, techniques should be developed to ensure that the media does not construct more social problems.