Question

Find out why critical analysis & understanding of information received through mass media is important and how it can be done? (5 marks)​

Answer 1

Answer:

I’m going to address this assuming you mean media in the broader sense and not just “the news”. This means TV, Movies, News reporting, Facebook, Twitter etc. News reporting is a major element of media but I would argue that televison, movies and social media have become much more important with the rise of the internet.

Media influences culture. It can shape the opinions of society to suit the desires of those creating it. In a democratic society, where officials are elected and laws are formed based off of public opinion, media is one of the most important influences on public policy . Governments use the media to control their subjects. Businesses use the media to sell their products. Regular people use the media to gain fame and fortune.

The power of propaganda makes media the most influential force on earth. It can be used to do amazing things or bring about terrible evils. Everything from the abolition of slavery to the rise of Hitler was achieved through using the media.

It is more important now than ever to understand how powerful a propaganda campaign can be. It’s ironic that even as there is more information available to people than ever, people see less and less of opposing opinions. Sites like Facebook enhance the power of propoganda by filtering out anything not suited to your taste, greatly impeding your ability to see all sides of an issue and think critically. Advances in the field of psychology and other human sciences have given enormous power to those with a large audience for their media.

The short answer is media is important because it has the ability to influence people. If you can influence enough people there isn’t much you can’t achieve, good or bad.