How do television images cultivate social attitudes?

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In today’s society, the mass media has consumed our lives from magazines to movies. As technology continues to grow, mass media expands in a variety of places. The media engages us to connect from mobile to online without being out of touch from important events. Mass media can shape a person’s opinion and even persuade someone to buy something he/she does not need. Notably, television is a primary source of media, which can influence a person positively and negatively. Television has become accessible globally giving useful information, intriguing stories, and capturing real world events. The high exposure to television shapes a person’s view on reality, such as, the images on TV can inspire people in a career field. For example, “Greater quantity of television viewing has been shown to be positively correlated with estimates of doctors, lawyers, and police officers in the real world” (Shrum 2002). For television, it can affect our viewing behavior and social attitudes. The media exaggerates reality in gender roles, the middle class unfairly represented, and a disproportion of demographics. Furthermore, television images cultivate our social attitudes in materialism, stereotypes, and violence. Materialism in television is mostly due to ads. In the 21st century, more people are able to own a television creating more viewers television programming and advertising. Television viewing in United States has increased due to a variety of programs as more people are tuned in to watch their favorite shows. According to a Journal of International Business Studies by Speck & Roy, as cited in Kubey & Csikszentmihalyi, “The average US citizen was shown to spend approximately 15% of their waking lives watching television” (Speck & Roy 1200)... ... middle of paper ... ...view reality in a whole new context. Works Cited Gerbner, George, et al. "Living with television: The dynamics of the cultivation process." Perspectives on media effects (1986): 17-40. Perse, Elizabeth M. Media Effects And Society. Mahwah, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates, 2000. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 22 Nov. 2013. Shebloski, Shannon. "Stereotypes Conveyed in Television." (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. Shrum, L.J. "Television And Persuasion: Effects Of The Programs Between The Ads." Psychology & Marketing 16.2 (1999): 119. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. Smith Speck, Sanda K., and Abhijit Roy. "The Interrelationships between Television Viewing, Values and Perceived Well-Being: A Global Perspective." Journal of International Business Studies 39 (2008): 1197-219. JSTOR. Palgrave Macmillan Journals. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.

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