Mass media has so much influence and is a part of our daily lives that we are often unconscious of their presence. Sources can be from advertisements, billboards, any direct/indirect messages whereas receivers are the audiences feedbacks.
During my Media Diary research, one mass media that i mostly found are Advertisements, which sometimes can be perceived as a false reality to mould a person and surrounds our culture. One advantage is the demand of product and services which helps an economy bloom in profit. The downside however, advertisements attracts consumers to purchase their product in order to be satisfy which leads to comparison with other people's belongings. An example of advertisement that I found mostly in magazines, newspaper and billboards is the Marie France Bodyline Slimming ads. By looking at the picture of a slim model, the advertisement mostly attracts female audiences. The media message sent across this ad is telling women that they are only accepted in society if they have a perfect body image. However, this will most probably result in eating disorder, low self-esteem and purchasing the product itself.
Secondly, Radio targets consumers which also advertise products and provides wide variety of programs and entertainment. Different radio stations are competing in airing advertisements, number of playlists and entertainment. An example that i noticed is Hitz.fm and Fly.fm. One station is airing more ads and playlists compared to the other. The downside however, ads causes interruptions in the entertainments which leads to audiences to listen to one radio station more than the rest.
Thirdly, Newspaper is the most well traditional reading material which contains articles which might not be 100% accurate to one another. However, in the modern society people are choosing to read online news which is cheaper and unlimited number of times to read and search for the articles whereas newspaper has a short life and can be thrown or recycled. An example I found is the Star News Malaysia newspaper, which can now be read online on Star News Malaysia online.
Lastly television is the most used among audiences which transfer messages and entertainment to audiences. However, in this generation people prefer to use online television to have access to download shows, read reviews and watch a range of TV shows accessible online. What I came across during my media research is watching Desperate housewives online which can be viewed unlimited time and have the ability to skip ads which normal television can't perform to do so.
In conclusion, mass media is a part of our daily lives and without it life would be so uneventful. It has both advantages and disadvantages, but if it's not properly used it can dangerously affect our society. Therefore, we should not depend much of the influences and peer pressure from mass media.
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