Media's Impact on Our Desires, Self-Esteem, Expectations & Prejudices - Essay Sample

How does the media potentially shape our desires, our self-esteem, our expectations of others, and our prejudices towards others?

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The use of media to carry out different activities such as marketing, campaigns, and entertainment has exploded to epic proportions. Given that its use comes with specific standards that are considered correct, such explosions have subjected people, especially women, to the extreme pressure of fitting into the imposed media standards. From advertisements to the presented epitomes of excellent marriages and families, people are being subjected to insurmountable pressure, which reshapes their behaviors, self-esteem, expectations, and prejudices towards others. In connection to happiness and self-esteem, media makes one less happy the more they use it. As observed by Laroche, Habibi, Richard, & Sankaranarayanan (2012), in their study, the use of media platforms such as Facebook is directly correlated to less happiness and life satisfaction. They suggested that this is because Facebook conjures up a perception of social isolation in a way that other solitary activities do not.

Why is representation so important, and what are the consequences of the lack of diverse and accurate representations in popular culture?

In the wake of social equality struggle, severe issues like media presentation are often not looked into or considered secondary to systemic problems. Poor representation usually has no serious consequence, but it can have a damaging impact on how marginalized racial groups are treated and perceived alongside their self-esteem and image (Patrick, 2016). Media representation is essential given the increasing presence of TV shows and movies across the globe and the degree of media consumption in society. Additionally, stories inform how people view and characterize others and how people see themselves. Lack of diverse and accurate representations in popular culture might lead to greater reliance on media stereotypes when creating ideas about individuals from a different race. According to Laroche, Habibi, Richard, & Sankaranarayanan (2012), audiences replaces media stereotypes with reality when they have not interacted with a specific racial group. Additionally, the aggravating racial tension, the erasure, and negative portrayals of black people grossly impact them when they see themselves.

How does dominant media perpetuate hierarchies while marginalizing specific communities? What groups receive the most visibility?

Media has historically been offering more coverage to the white people as compared to other races. The disproportionality in media coverage has led to the erosion of different cultures, and other races often look up to the white culture. Media barely covers the marginalized communities, and if it does, it usually is wrong. Most of the press coverage is for the white communities, and this ranges from the movies to new coverage.

References

Laroche, M., Habibi, M. R., Richard, M., & Sankaranarayanan, R. (2012). The effects of social media-based brand communities on brand community markers, value creation practices, brand trust, and brand loyalty. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(5), 1755-1767. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.04.016

Patrick, P. (2016, March 17). Miss Representation Documentary Film'11 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIQB8c5RnuU