12-17-2012, 04:14 AM
From what I see the media gives people what they want. Violent stories stimulate and entertain people; and many are secretly glad that these violent attacks take place. They're horrified and gratified at the same time.
I don't think the killers are glorified, at least not these recent gunmen. They're embarrassing losers that committed desperate, foolish actions. But people do like to pour abuse on them, or have a good laugh at them.
People like to know about the victims too. And media does its job. As I know from experience, people don't like having to discuss important issues in depth, but they do like to know what has happened, and to be stimulated by sorrow, anger, fear, and ridicule.
The media puts issues into a box that's accessible in the way that entertainment is. They get two or three so-called experts together, and give them about eight minutes altogether to speak their mind and discuss things with each other. And whenever one person is on the verge of clarifying his point of view, the moderator switches over to another speaker: and from the chopped up thirty second comments, they precede to argue with each other.
The doctors and other experts often sound just as confused as the reporters and bystanders about the subjects they're talking about. And the Internet is so full of misinformation and confused reports and facts that it's hard to know what's what unless you dedicate hours every week trying to get a handle on all the different aspects of things.
I think people should cut their tvs off, take their ipod earphones off, turn off their cellphones, and stop being pressured by confusing media while hiding their embarrassing and scary thoughts and feelings from everyone.
I used to watch children shows with my sisters. And most of them are about teenagers that look like models insulting and making fun of the other people around them, while dealing with cellphone problems, social media networks, their sense of fashion, and high school squabbles. And these tv shows are as much commercials for products as the commercial breaks are.
Young people are brought up to feel they are better or worse than others. The people are afraid and insecure either way, and they have no other experiences to look to but these popular media outlets. And their families watch and are taken in my the same programs.
You can hear a teenager saying how much they respect and admire people that are different, or understand that some people have problems beyond their control. But those kids have their own narrow points of view about "respect", "admiration", and "being different".
And with these social networks merging with other media networks, there's not much difference between any of it.
This isn't true of everyone. But those that have public platform and that are projected into the lives of the mass majorities have the most influence. And when others seek their own platforms, they usually work in the same patterns.
I don't think the killers are glorified, at least not these recent gunmen. They're embarrassing losers that committed desperate, foolish actions. But people do like to pour abuse on them, or have a good laugh at them.
People like to know about the victims too. And media does its job. As I know from experience, people don't like having to discuss important issues in depth, but they do like to know what has happened, and to be stimulated by sorrow, anger, fear, and ridicule.
The media puts issues into a box that's accessible in the way that entertainment is. They get two or three so-called experts together, and give them about eight minutes altogether to speak their mind and discuss things with each other. And whenever one person is on the verge of clarifying his point of view, the moderator switches over to another speaker: and from the chopped up thirty second comments, they precede to argue with each other.
The doctors and other experts often sound just as confused as the reporters and bystanders about the subjects they're talking about. And the Internet is so full of misinformation and confused reports and facts that it's hard to know what's what unless you dedicate hours every week trying to get a handle on all the different aspects of things.
I think people should cut their tvs off, take their ipod earphones off, turn off their cellphones, and stop being pressured by confusing media while hiding their embarrassing and scary thoughts and feelings from everyone.
I used to watch children shows with my sisters. And most of them are about teenagers that look like models insulting and making fun of the other people around them, while dealing with cellphone problems, social media networks, their sense of fashion, and high school squabbles. And these tv shows are as much commercials for products as the commercial breaks are.
Young people are brought up to feel they are better or worse than others. The people are afraid and insecure either way, and they have no other experiences to look to but these popular media outlets. And their families watch and are taken in my the same programs.
You can hear a teenager saying how much they respect and admire people that are different, or understand that some people have problems beyond their control. But those kids have their own narrow points of view about "respect", "admiration", and "being different".
And with these social networks merging with other media networks, there's not much difference between any of it.
This isn't true of everyone. But those that have public platform and that are projected into the lives of the mass majorities have the most influence. And when others seek their own platforms, they usually work in the same patterns.