The Impact of Media on Society

Throughout society, the impact of media is apparent. A quiet evening at home is often spent in front of the television or at the computer, surfing the web. One form of media whose impact has declined over the years is the print media.

Originally, the most prominent form of media in society, the use of magazines, books, and newspapers have declined over the years due to the onslaught of higher technology versions. Magazines have been relegated to doctors' office waiting room tables and books have become yet another CD to listen to while driving to work.

Looking at it today, many people would have a difficult time realizing just how important the written word was in the overall development of popular culture. It is the oldest form of propaganda as well as the first way people had of continuing their heritages and stories from generation to generation.

Before there was a written language, all stories were passed down by word of mouth. Parents would tell their children the stories passed down from their parents and those before them. Each time a story was told, details would change and memories would be forgotten or skewed until true events became legends and legends became fairy tales.

The invention of the written word allowed for these same stories to be put down on paper and preserved for centuries to come. True histories were able to be recorded and recalled when necessary while the legends and fairy tales were written down also to be preserved. Throughout the years, what was once used as a way to keep facts straight became a means of informing others far and wide of the happenings in different areas. As families traveled to new destinations, letters were able to be sent through the pony express, which of course led...

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...ook like, rather than what they think or what they do.” . While the media may not itself cause these issues, and certainly was not the first way the idea entered the mind, it is considered a cohesive reason the ideas have managed to stay around as long as they have.

“It's hard to believe that [so many] of our wants and needs are based on the images presented to us” (Judge, S) in the media. However, this is the case entirely. We see an ad for a double cheeseburger and suddenly we are hungry, when moments before we were not. We see an article about the sexual abuse of children in Rwanda and we are on the bandwagon to aide in the cause against child abuse across the world. Driving to work in the morning, we pass billboards for beautiful sunsets over beach side resorts and realize that it is far past time for a vacation.