Media Essay
This essay went along with our guerilla ad. My essay topic was the negative influences that advertising has on the public. Here is my revised and final essay:
Media’s Negative Influence
Walking down the street today there are advertisements everywhere you look. There are ads on vehicles, windows, in the sky and even on eggs. In the 1970s, the average American was exposed to approximately 500 ads per day compared to now they see more than 5,000 per day (Schamotta). People have become numb to ads because there are so many. There are many levels of media ranging from an intense look at what media really is to simply using a certain color to attract customers. The public may not think that they are being affected by ads but they are. The media’s influence began with the widespread use of newspapers in the eighteenth century. The purpose of newspapers was to let people know what was going on in the community. In the 1920s the radio was introduced. It was not until the 1950s when TV became a massive influence (Diggs-Brown). Then the internet was introduced. In 1989 the World Wide Web was invented, but the internet did not become mainstream media until a few years ago. All of these different forms of media use advertising. Advertising has a negative influence on people through their use of various techniques to manipulate the public.
The study of advertisements on the public is so intense and intricate that there is a branch of psychology dedicated to media studies. Media psychology focuses on psychology to media and as Dr. Bernard Luskin states, “represents the convergence of psychology applied to the media, technology, communication, and is an art and science” (Luskin). It is used to research ways of improvement to media forms, develop media standards, study behavioral, sociological, and psychological effects of media, and for educational purposes (Luskin).
Media consolidation negatively affects advertising because there is no diversity in the messages that are being shown to people. The diversity in ownership of companies controlling the media in the United States has radically reduced over the past two decades by 90 percent. This decrease allows less of a range when it comes to the things that are shown, heard, and read. Although there are regulations against this unequal ownership, these companies have found ways around the rules. The five corporations that still stand are AOL Time Warner, Viacom, The Walt Disney Company, Vivendi Universal and Sony (Mind Control Theories and Techniques Used by Mass Media). AOL Time Warner controls DC Comics, Cartoon Network, HBO, and TNT. Viacom owns MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and Paramount Pictures. The Walt Disney Company owns ABC, ESPN, History Channel, Miley Cyrus, and Selena Gomez. Vivendi Universal owns Universal Studios, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, and Mariah Carey. Sony owns Colombia Pictures, Colombia Records, Christina Aguilera, and Beyonce (The Vigilant Citizen). Those are only some of the various things that these businesses own. Since these corporations control so much of the media, they control what messages are spread to the public.
Today, media is the main source for entertainment. People think of it as a way to pass time and most do not use it to their advantage. Although, the mass media is not just about entertainment, it is propaganda that is controlled by the government. “Political and economic power in the United States is concentrated in the hands of a ‘ruling elite’ that controls most of U.S.-based multinational corporations, major communication media, the most influential foundations, major private universities and most public utilities” (Jacobson). But why does the government need to run it? Walter Lippmann, an American journalist and media critic, believes “the general public is not qualified to reason and decide on important issues. It is therefore important for the elite to decide ‘for its own good’ and then sell those decisions to the masses” (The Vigilant Citizen). That is not how a democracy works; a democracy is government system that is run by a whole population, not just a few “elite.” “Propaganda is no longer the coercive or authoritative communication found in dictatorships: it has become the synonym of entertainment and pleasure” (The Vigilant Citizen).
Advertising is also used to get people to buy products. There are many ways that advertisers influence people to purchase their items. The three types of advertising are informational, transformational, and irrational. Informational advertising is rational and focuses on how the product works and is beneficial. Transformational advertising focuses on the user and how the product will improve the user’s life. For example, alcohol ads show that the consumer will have a lot of friends and enjoy themselves. Irrational attracts people with emotion and rely on trust from the consumer to purchase their products (Boykin). Another technique is to use emotion. For example the insurance company, Allstate, uses fear of their loved ones safety and future as a reason to use their insurance. On a larger scale “studies have shown that images of children trigger in women an instinctual need to nurture, to care and to protect” (The Vigilant Citizen). Sex is also an enormous emotional appeal that is quite often used in advertising today. It connects to our instinct to reproduce and can also hold attention.
A huge method is subliminal perception. Subliminal perception is when a message is shown and the person receives a different message without being consciously aware of it. Images and words are placed in certain orders to convey a message without the public being aware. An example is hidden provocative drawings in ice cubes. Product placement also affects people. A product is worked into a movie or show and is associated with the characters that enjoy the product. In a standard setting like that, the product does not seem like a typical commercial advertisement even though it is still advertising to the public. Another tactic is desensitization. This is when certain issues are slowly presented in the world and then finally introduced as a whole. Violence is a good example of desensitization. It is in video games, movies, music videos and all over the news. Since it is everywhere all of the time, people are desensitized to violence without even noticing.
The world is full of color and colors can evoke particular feelings for people. Colors can also entice people to buy certain possessions. For instance, fast food restaurants usually use reds and oranges; studies have actually shown that these colors can encourage people to quickly eat and then leave (“Using Color”). It does not just apply to restaurants though. “Impulse shoppers respond best to red-orange, black and royal blue. Shoppers who plan and stick to budgets respond best to pink, teal, light blue and navy” (“Using Color”). Simple choices of color have an effect on things that people buy. Wording is also a huge form of getting people to purchase things. Lutz believes that advertisers use weasel words which are words that seem to be saying something when they really are not saying anything at all. Some of these words are “help”, “virtually”, and “like”. “Helps” aids, it does not cure and “virtually” means “not in fact.” “Like” is used to compare an object to something else, but that does not mean it is that exact thing. Advertisers use colors and words to get people to purchase what they are selling (Lutz).
Even though the media uses several tactics against the public it does have its benefits. Media allows people to know what is going on anywhere in the world. It also connects people socially through social media. Social media allows people to collaborate easier and can help children be more creative. The internet allows for people to find out anything that they want to know. All types of media, especially social media has its share of positive qualities.
The media controls the population through several negative methods. The biggest authority comes from five corporations that have power over the media. This is bad because the focus is more on making money, which means more advertising. Subliminal perception and desensitization are ways of influence because of their prominent use in advertising which makes people comfortable with uncommon topics that should not be so publicly eminent.6 A way that the media influences people to buy products is through emotional appeal. Advertisers subconsciously persuade people to purchase their goods. Along with emotional appeal is behavioral appeal in which advertisers use colors and wording to make people feel certain ways. These tactics are just some of the ways that the media uses advertising to manipulate the masses. People need to be aware of such exploits and make sure not to fall so easily in the traps that the media sets.