Mass Media and Our Health
Mass media has done a lot of different things to our society. It has played a role in how we portray ourselves, it has shaped culture, it has opened up an eye to the world around us. Mass media has done a lot for us and shaped a lot of what we think. But what about our mental health? Have we seen any benefits or draw backs?
One side of the argument states that people who are so emerged and surrounded by social media become anxious about having conversations in person and would prefer to have a conversation through social media or over a phone. This has become more of a problem in our society and in our culture. More people are identifying with the introvert side of things over the extrovert side of things, and I am not so convinced that this is because of personality types, but more acquitted to isolation of socialization and community.
Another draw back to having all of this info on our finger tips is that we bounce back and fourth between high levels of information to high levels of information and miss the meat of what we are trying to get at. An example I read online stated that when Albert Einstein got stumped he would go out for a boat ride, and the answer to the question that he was facing would come to him. In our day, we will get off of the technology that we working on and go onto twitter and Facebook. Technically this is an information ‘breaker’ because it is not as high intensity. But it is still the same environment and has keeps your mind in the same place. It is hard to keep attention on what is being said when you have so much under your fingertips. At any moment, you can look up a video, pictures or games. The level of distraction is endless.
Endless mass communication also creates a fear of being alone. When you are just a dial away from anyone that wants to contact you, it can be a burden or a fear to be alone. This is very true of society now and culture. Think about it, every where you look, someone is on their computer or on their cell phone. If there is just a tiny bit of awkward then the electronics are pulled out and the social cues are replaced by an electronic response. Casually looking through text messages, or pretending to be busy. What is so wrong with not being busy. It is okay to be quiet and not have anything to say or anyone to talk to. I think this builds character and makes you see what is more important in life. I am not referring to social media, I am talking about people and talking.
There are definite upsides to having mass media for mental health reasons. One involves having and finding role models. In some situations, people feel like they are alone. Or like there is no one to talk to about what they are going through. Through social media, you can see and understand that you are not alone and that there are people around you that can and most likely are going through the same things that you are. Mass media provides a sense of community that some may not have had before. It brings to light different things that may have not been discussed before that would be vital to people to talk about.
We have so much at our finger tips. In ways, this could be a bad thing, like I mentioned before. But it is left to the user to balance what they can and can not handle. We can blame social media all we want, but It is not their problem to fix it, it is ours. We are responsible for what we do with our time and our multitasking.
