How Entertainment Is Ruining Society
We as humans create stories to tell ourselves about our lives, other people, and things around us. These stories help us assign value to what is happening in your life at this very moment.
Stories also give you an explanation for why someone or something has done something. It’s not always true, but we often assume that their actions were motivated by good reasons.
It is no coincidence that one of the most powerful forms of storytelling comes from media. Media teaches us how to think about the world by presenting both fictional and non-fictional narratives that shape how individuals perceive others and themselves.
Entertainment is a large part of American culture. Since entertainment can teach us about many different topics, it should be used with caution.
Media influence grows more prevalent every day, so it is increasingly important to recognize its effects on society. At this risk level, I believe there are three main ways that entertainment is ruining society.
Movie content is changing
Recent hits like The Greatest Showman, Mission Impossible - Fallout, and Spider-Man: Homecoming have all been focused on celebrating individualism and self-love. They feature elaborate musical numbers, comic book adaptations, and extended set pieces that emphasize strength and confidence.
These films appeal to both young and old audiences, and are some of the highest grossing movies of the year.
They also showcase how much money you can make in the movie industry by being yourself and offering non-traditional storylines with strong characters.
It’s no wonder why these films were so popular!
Movie content is constantly telling us something about society. And it’s not a good thing.
We are living in an entertainment-obsessed culture where everyone seems to be sharing their experiences via social media, posting and tagging themselves for hours on end.
This overexposure creates mental clutter. There’s too much input coming in from every source, making it hard to focus on anything specific.
And we’re only experiencing this bombardment of stimuli through our own personal lenses - what kind of stories do we tell ourselves?
What kind of people do we include in our inner circle? These questions get pushed to the background as we struggle to prioritize our daily lives.
We become less conscious of our behaviors and more likely to behave irresponsibly due to subconscious effects. Substance abuse and addiction thrive in such an environment.
The effects of media
Over the past few decades, the amount of content in our daily lives has exploded! Gone are the days when people had to get out to the TV or movie to find something interesting to watch.
Now, every home is equipped with a full-fledged entertainment system that accesses all sorts of content, from YouTube videos to Netflix movies to Twitch streamers.
There’s just too much content available for it to make sense to focus your time on only one type of medium. As such, most adults have trouble focusing on anything longer than twenty minutes at a time, which can be both frustrating and counterproductive to establishing long term relationships or hobbies.
In this article, we will discuss some ways that modern technology is affecting society. Some of these changes are obvious, while others require closer inspection. Let’s look at the five biggest problems caused by media today before deciding what you can do about it.
The influence of the internet
With every passing day, the media is getting more insidious in its appeal. Technology has allowed for infinite amounts of content to be produced, distributed, and consumed quickly. This has created a situation where people are constantly exposed to new material, which changes how they perceive society as a whole.
The average person today will spend most of their time online listening to music, watching videos, or reading articles. What these individuals do not realize is that everything they read, watch, and listen to tells them something about what kind of individual they are.
For example, if someone reads an article stating why dogs are better than cats, it can affect their perception of animals. If someone listens to music with lyrics describing death, suicide, violence, etc., it can have long-term effects on how this person views life.
If someone watches a movie depicting strong characters, good leadership, etc., it can shape their view of humanity. People are influenced by what they see, hear, and talk about, and the media teaches people various lessons.
Popular culture is affecting kids
As we know, popular media has a powerful influence over young people. They are exposed to large amounts of it, especially through technology.
Media such as television, movies, music, and video games teach individuals and cultures about good values and bad habits. What messages these products contain affect how children grow up and what kind of adults they become.
Some studies show that exposure to certain types of entertainment can lead to negative effects in adolescents. These include higher rates of violence, substance abuse, and sexual activity.
Others find no correlation between media use and negative changes.
This article will discuss some ways that popular media influences society and why it is important to be aware. Then, we’ll look at some examples of how media affects teens and young adults.
Too much entertainment is bad
We are constantly exposed to too many forms of media, which can have disastrous effects on our society. Technology has made it easy for almost anyone to access lots of content at any time, so people do not focus on individual activities, but rather use their time watching TV, surfing the net or playing video games.
Many studies show that excessive amounts of media exposure are linked with higher rates of mental health issues and substance abuse. People spend more time in front of screens than ever before, making this an increasingly common habit.
Addictive behaviors are rampant in our culture, and one of the main reasons is the rise in technology. Devices such as smartphones, computers and televisions facilitate constant accessibility to entertaining stimuli.
By exposing users to various types of content, technology helps develop passive attitudes towards life. On these devices, you find yourself looking at something even if you are not doing anything else - kind of like eating junk food because there’s nothing better to do at the moment.
This concept was famously described by psychologist Albert Ellis in his book Why Can’t I Stop Talking? He called it “dreary-mindedness.” According to him, when we feel bored we will try to make up for it by talking about things that don’t really matter to us. This applies particularly well to individuals who enjoy listening to talk radio or watching reality television.
Too little entertainment is bad
We are living in a culture where we have too much entertainment, of all kinds, accessible to every person at any time. With this accessibility comes low tolerance for anything that is not entertaining!
This includes things like watching documentaries or listening to music that was never before available to the public. This also includes staying in place for an entire movie instead of getting up and doing something else because you just didn’t care about what was happening on screen.
By having too many options, there isn’t really a need to watch anything beyond your normal routine unless you make an effort to look outside your normal circle.
This doesn’t create interest in content that wasn’t already popular, it creates idle content that people may or may not enjoy.
If someone wants to see Adventure Time then they will go out and find it, but if they don’t then there won’t be much motivation to watch it unless someone else does.
We live in a society where everyone has access to everything, which makes it very difficult to focus on anything specific without making an effort to do so.
Content will still exist, but only due to the efforts and resources dedicated to it by its creator(s).
There’s a balance
We as humans need to learn how to separate entertainment from us. Technology has connected our lives together, but it also brings out bad qualities in people.
We are exposed to negative things all the time through media. It is very easy to get distracted by flashy or dramatic scenes or sounds, which may influence you more than anything else.
These distractions could be related to your job, to studies or just because there’s nothing else you want to watch at that moment.
It is important to know what types of media affect you and why so that you can better regulate them.
There will always be new forms of media coming around, and some will stay for longer periods of times.
Some tips for parenting
Media exposure has become so pervasive in our lives that it is almost impossible to shield your children from it. They are exposed to media at every level, starting with TV shows, movies and videos, moving onto gaming, and then music and podcasts.
Media influences how we think and behave as individuals and as a society. It also shapes what people perceive to be important or relevant - both positively and negatively.
It seems like there’s always something new happening, something flashy, something entertaining. And because entertainment is often marketed towards young audiences, this influence can last a lifetime.
Parents today seem to have a constant battle on their hands when it comes to educating and protecting their kids against the effects of excessive media use.
Here are some things parents could do to help mitigate the negative impacts of entertainment on their children.
Should I limit my child's screen time?
Screen time limits for teenagers are becoming increasingly common, but should you really limit how much time they spend watching television, using smartphones, tablets and laptops, and playing video games?
Most teens need somewhere around 2-3 hours of active screen time per day to stay productive and succeed in school. So if you're planning on limiting their screen time, you'll probably have to go into strict routines otherwise they won't be able to get enough work done.