Media Manipulation Essay Example
Media Manipulation Essay Example

Media Manipulation Essay Example

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  • Pages: 2 (516 words)
  • Published: November 23, 2018
  • Type: Essay
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The media and advertising impede our capacity to be fully human. Mass media, including radio, television, and newspapers, endeavors to mold public opinion on various issues. It seeks to manipulate the values that parents and society at large have instilled in us, thereby undermining our humanity. The media inundates us with messages that strive to sway our attitudes, desires, and decisions. They urge us to purchase specific products, vote for certain political figures, or support alleged "worthy" causes. This continuous barrage of media and advertising forces the public to conform instead of allowing individuals to express their own beliefs as human beings.

Media propaganda plays a powerful role in influencing public opinion through various channels of communication, such as radio, magazines, newspapers, television, and films. These forms of media serve as educational tools that provide individuals with information about th

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eir roles within society and culture. The main objective of advertising is to promote a product or service or support a political figure using any available means, even if it involves manipulating the general public. Companies strive to increase consumer awareness of their products and convince them that their offering is superior to that of competitors', as demonstrated by the ongoing competition between McDonald's and Burger King restaurants. Through this subtle manipulation, the public unknowingly becomes deceived into purchasing goods.

Parents play a crucial role in shaping one's values, but the media often contradicts this influence and attempts to create confusion. Despite parents teaching their children that smoking is wrong, advertisements on television show wealthy and attractive individuals smoking. These messages subtly imply that smoking is associated with luxury and beauty, enticing viewers to try the product. Value

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acquired from infancy are essential for one's humanity, yet the media interferes with these values, resulting in significant conflicts in human lives.

Advertisements, commercials, and carefully crafted messages bombard consumers through various channels such as radio, television, newspapers, magazines, posters, flyers, mailings, and billboards. The creation of these advertisements requires great skill, effort, research, and financial resources. As a result, the average Canadian is exposed to over 2000 commercial messages daily. It is not surprising that consumers are more likely to purchase products with appealing and catchy commercials. While a truly unaffected individual would not be influenced by this propaganda, such a person is either non-existent or extremely rare. In reality, every human being has formed opinions or beliefs based on what the mass media has portrayed to the world.

The mass media hinders our ability to fully embrace our humanity, as it encourages us to act according to the propaganda we are exposed to. This manipulation influences our values and attitudes, which are no longer shaped solely by our upbringing but also by what is portrayed as popular and commonplace in the media. Advertisers rely on appealing to the general public in order to unconsciously persuade them to purchase their products or utilize their services. Through subliminal messaging, both the media and advertising dictate what clothing to wear, what foods to consume, and what behaviors are deemed appropriate, thereby promoting conformity rather than individuality among people.

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