Media Impact

There’s no denying the media plays a huge role in how we perceive the world and it can promote change in both positive and negative ways. TV shows, movies and Internet websites can influence different culture’s life styles and it isn’t always perceived positively.  In March of this year youths in Iraq were stoned to death by extremists for adopting western clothing and hairstyles. It seems that at this time many Iraq citizens aren’t ready to accept these western trends and many are still living in the dark ages because practices such as stoning are still a norm. This aspect of media in strict places like these, in my opinion, is negative and unproductive. These youth were influenced by western culture and because of where they live, they paid for it with their lives.

Tank Man

Now obviously not all media exposure is as negative as the example. Media coverage around the world helps us stay connected with the world and aware of what is happening around us. It can broaden our consciousness of the world and even inspire change. Take for example the “Tank Man.” News coverage of this mans bravery and willingness to stand up for what was right was spread around the world. I personally feel inspired and from this man’s actions I can see that even one person can make a difference by standing up for what he/she believes in. To me, 
and I’m sure many others, he is a symbol of hope.

The Internet

The cyber universe is a vast land filled with fountains of information on virtually any subject. It can provide awareness for various campaigns around the world such as the protests against the use of Guantanamo Bay. More recently it was a place for people to ban together to petition against passing the Internet censorship laws and SOPA and PIPA. In the US SOPA and PIPA are acts that are suppose to help to prevent online piracy but the terms of the acts are too broad and could easily become abused. Because of the large out cry of protests across the Internet the progress of SOPA and PIPA have thankfully been delayed.

Approaching the Internet

Now one must remember that the Internet isn’t perfect. It is filled with loads of information but this material is unfiltered, which means that anyone can post any type of “factual information” without having any accurate sources. So this just means that you should be careful with selecting sources and take certain information with a grain of salt.

Additional Information:

News article about youth in Iraq being stoned the death for wearing “western styles.” (WARNING: contains graphic images): [Link]

Info on what SOPA and PIPA entail: [Link]