Research Paper

a.The growing usage of television has greatly impacted the social relationships of America’s youth.
b.
-amount of time youth spend watching television
-fantasy vs. reality on television
-vulnerability to influences of characters
-producers ability to shape character, which shape children’s views
-children form social stereotypes
-fast-paced lifestyle in TV creates anxiety in children
-TV creates an image of risky lifestyles that children imitate
-sexual attitudes in children are altered
-children do not spend as much time with parents forming true social bonds
- Parents should monitor child exposure to television
c. My sources have varied from books to scholarly journals to political cartoons. All of the sources have been able to validly explain the psychological effects of television on children, often using statistics to supports themselves. All of the books I have read have been very interesting. I have become aware of many different effects of television on children that I did not know of prior to this assignment.
d. My favorite source is the Handbook of Children and the Media by Dorothy G. Singer and Jerome L. Singer. It ties together many different aspects of children and the media. It also does a great job explaining the psychological effects behind the direct actions of the children.
e. One of the most interesting facts I learned was that children are not able to determine to difference between television and reality until about the age of twelve, which can be very harmful considering children learn by imitating others.

research topic

Focus: Influence of the overwhelming access to media on American children

Thesis 1: The overwhelming access to media has both positively and negatively influenced America’s youth.

Thesis 2: The growing media has significantly affected America’s youth mentally, physically, and environmentally.

Choice 2- Audience

Choice 2

The Reality of Reality TV
1. I thought that this topic definitely made me analyze the whole concept of reality television. It is ironic how reality television is not really reality at all, but a staged view of what the producers want us to believe. I thought that analyzing the audience of a reality TV show was a very interesting way to analyze the human mind. It was very easy to relate my personal life to the topic of reality television because I would consider myself a very devoted viewer.
2. Reality TV reaches out to “average” Americans in order to give them a vision that average people can live extravagantly and experience a fantasy reality. Most reality television shows have contestants that are considered “normal” Americans. For example, American Idol opens its auditions to any American who is willing to try out, so it makes the viewers feel as if they too could be the ones up on the big screen. Also, shows like The Hills take an average girl and put her into her dream world where she is the center of the attention in a high-class lifestyle. Teenage girls are then able to picture themselves in her shoes by comparing their average lives to someone of such high class. When these “real-life characters” embarrass themselves on television it makes the viewer feel more confident about his or her own flaws. Even in the dream life people can make mistakes, which makes these characters seem even more normal. Reality television creates an impression that the average person is able to live their “dream life”. While watching a reality TV show, viewers are able to step out of their monotonous lifestyles and find hope that eventually they too could be living in the fame. The viewers relate with the people on reality television shows as they feel anxiety through the changes in moods during the show. This genre attempts to convince the audience that they are very similar to the characters in this skewed “reality” of reality television.

Take Charge Assignment Ideas

1. So far our discussions of current events in the media have been very entertaining. I think this assignment sounds interesting because we can express opinions on our own interests in the media. It is very intriguing to analyze the world around me and how different media affects our own opinions. I have not kept that up to date with the news, so this is definatley helping me to become more aware of social interests.

2. After reading many of the news headlines on various internet web sites it has become evident to me that heath and celebrities dominate the tabloids. I think that the issues with health food and obesity are becoming a major obbsession. It would be interesting to analyze the the difference between what the media suggests we do to help our health and what is actually happening to our health. In one article I was reading, the writer said that they may put a ban on opening any new fast food restaurants in LA, but will this actually happen? Also, people today are obsessed with celebrity gossip. They are more worried about celebrity life than their own. It seems odd that we care more about the fact that Brittney Spears' shaved her head than the fact that there have been breakthroughs in curing diseases and that hundreds of people are still dying in Iraq. Everyday people find themselves trying to compare their lives to that of the rich and famous rathing than worrying about major problems. This is where reality television has become a major factor because normal people feel that they too take part in the fame just like the celebrities in Hollywood. Everyone tries to reach out to feel that they are a part of something fun and exctiting that pulls them away from their own average life.

Trust in the Media

1. I thought the article, “Which Media Do You Trust?,” was fairly relevant to our society today. It made me think about what types of media I trust and how I go about finding out the truth in the news. I agreed with the argument, people trust different forms of media like blogs on a “case to case” basis, because that is very similar to the way I judge the media. It was easy to read because it was well organized with plenty of data to support the facts.
2. “Which Media Do You Trust?” by Mark Glaser claims that people value certain types of media over others because of experiences that they encounter in their daily lives. Slowly blogs have earned more credibility, but only certain writers may actually release plausible blogs. Glaser uses statistics, which show that only 25% of people trust blogs, while national television ranks at 82%. Although these numbers are distanced, such a broad survey may only have reached out to a few people who have experienced bad encounters with specific blogs. Blogs tend to illustrate more opinions than facts, so this definitely brings down the rankings; if everyone who took the survey had read a blog of a well credited source the results would have been much different. The article was supported well with numerical statistics displaying people’s trust in media and it is evident that more factual sources receive higher rankings. The live news shows real coverage of events, which are not distorted. In today’s society many people don’t believe things until they actually see it. Newspapers and internet sites could show distorted images, which don’t grasp the full picture. I would have used a counterargument involving crediting a blog source in a research paper in college. Many professors may not have allowed such a source because it is not necessarily accurate and subject to bias. Overall the article is well supported and takes into account the logic of most people in reference to the media.