assignment

Media Literacy and Media Effects

Institution

Name

Tutor

Course

Date

1) Would Potter (the author of your media literacy reading) argue that being media literate as it relates to this program is important? Why or why not?

Media literacy can be described as an ability of an individual to analyze as well as evaluate and most importantly to create a media in various forms. Therefore, an individual literacy is very important since the effects which the media has can indubitably not be underestimated. It is worth noting that the adolescents and teens have watched a lot of television programs which have various impacts on their lives. In this regards, by helping them to become media literate, protecting them will be achieved especially from the pressures from advertising which include smoking and drinking as well as drug and sexual activities which are not good for such youths.

Consequently, media literacy can help an individual in building communication skills and most importantly encouraging them to consider the various interpretations which are contained in the messages in the media. In this regards, they will have the ability to portray themselves and others in a perspective which will indubitably improve their habits which entail the ritualistic viewing of the behaviors which are acceptable. In addition, this can lead to an improvement in the habits of the entire family which will, in turn, lead to promotion of the proactive behaviors among the members of the family (Silverblatt, p. 123).

It is worth noting that media literacy is not bashing of the media since the goal is not to ridicule such media. This is because media are dominant forces in individual cultures and thus very crucial to their lives especially of the teenagers. This implies that the evaluation of the media should be fair. Consequently, it is worth noting that the media literacy is not a silver bullet wand and thus will not solve the problems of any individuals. Thus, good interpretation of such media messages is needed which can be achieved through one becoming media literate.

2) How does this television program compare to what you normally consume on television? (i.e., is this a program you usually watch? Is it similar to other shows you watch often? Is this program nothing like what you normally watch?) How is this relevant for your own personal media literacy? How might this program impact you, given your own building blocks of media literacy? [Hint: this is where you should start tying media literacy and media effects together.]

The television program compares to what I usually watch in that the characters on both films tries to portray the same message. This includes advertising some stuff which is sometimes not appropriate for the young people. This implies that media literacy is very important since by understanding the messages which are being portrayed and understanding its negative impacts, I will have the ability to know what is good and what is bad for me (American Academy of Pediatrics & Films Media Group, p. 23).

The program is indubitably very impactful since it is a building block to my media literacy. This is because, by watching it and following each message, it gives me the ability to evaluate and analyze the various messages which are being aired on the television program. In this regards, I will gain the knowledge on the various effects of the advertisements and messages which are contained in the film. For instance, by watching the celebrities in the film smoke and drink while using drugs and having sex, I will develop the knowledge on why such actions are wrong, and thus I should not try to practice such. Rather, I will develop the courage to advise my fellow friends on the effects and the dangers of practicing such activities which we watch on the television programs.

3) Given what you are reading about media effects, how might media scholars expect you to be affected based on this one program? How might their expectations change, based on how you responded to the first half of question two? Your answers to question three should include what theory or theories support those expectations.

With regards to the readings about the media, the media might affect me in various ways basing on this television program. It is coherent that there are various effects which are described by potters. In his theory, potters depicted that people ought to become aware of the effects of the mass media on the individual as well as to the entire society. Potter analyzes the media literacy intervention with various negative effects which I believe it has effects on me as well as a result of watching the film especially with regards to media violence (Straubhaar, LaRose, & Davenport, p. 52).

Moreover, the interventions which should be done to realize that there are great differences between the media violence as well as real-world violence are achieved. This is achieved through the negative emphasis on its effects on viewing such material and focusing mainly on the avoidance of the effects which entails an evaluation of the characters which uses violence.

4) Similar to question three: how would scholars expect the general audience of this program to be affected over time?

The scholars would expect the general audience of this program to be affected over time by becoming addicted to such television program. This is because such audience will indubitably spend a lot of time clued to such program which will lead to diversion of their attention from particular tasks they were expected to do. This lowers the motivations of these people especially the teenagers and the students. This is because they mainly rely on the technology as well as internet so that they can learn and gain knowledge and become the experts in the activities going on in their daily lives.

In addition, the media effects which are expected for the audience include effects which the kids can undergo which entails social networking. This will affect the social life of this audience especially ten kids since the contents which will be aired in most cases are not appropriate. These include media violence and acts of sexual activities which can indubitably change the behavior of this audience (Baran, p. 46). This leads to negative impacts of all the audiences the young generation will retort to engaging themselves in such dirty activities which in most cases are not acceptable in the cultures.

References

American Academy of Pediatrics, & Films Media Group. (2016). How Does Media Figure Into the Lives of Kids?

Baran, S. J. (2012). Introduction to mass communication: Media literacy and culture. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Silverblatt, A. (2014). Media literacy: Keys to interpreting media messages.

Straubhaar, J. D., LaRose, R., & Davenport, L. (2013). Media now: Understanding media, culture, and technology. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.