Influence Of The Media On Identity

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We are often bombarded with bad news whenever we tune into the media. Violence, police brutality, homosexuality, even the ridiculous things that celebrities do are becoming headlines for modern media outlets. With all the bad news, it is difficult to understand what the media 's influence is because it is often polarized; it becomes very challenging to know what the true influence of the media is. The media has a strong effect on the identity of young people. However, if we can understand how the media affect the identity of young people, we could understand a bit more about what “identity” really means.
So what is identity? We are not born with our identity; it is something that is constructed socially and often changes depending on the social circle that we are in. Identity is “the self-concept, which is the knowledge of who we are, combines with self-awareness to develop a cognitive representation of the self” (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2010, p.118). In other words, the internal and external factors are combined to make us who we are. Now, let’s add in internet media outlets, such as Facebook, Twitter, and even Instagram or Snapchat are now considered an "extension of everyday life and a tool of cultural change" (Singh, 2010). Therefore, our identity …show more content…

Researchers noted television 's power to influence even people who are illiterate. Smith-Speck and Roy (2008) explained that even individuals who cannot read or write can be highly influenced by advertising to purchase certain products, or develop certain lifestyle values. It is this media picture that portrays, and actually molds, our society 's value system. In essence, media is conveying what we should buy, who we should be, or who we should become, in order to be "happy". Unfortunately, whether young or old, this seems to be

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