Prosocial or Antisocial??

What stand would you take if you had to decide if the media influenced prosocial or antisocial behaviors? Personally I think this is a trick question because it portrays both types of behaviors. Almost in any television show or movie or game or any other form of media you can pick out one of the two behaviors. As a viewer you have to decide how you are going to decipher the information being presented to you.

Truthfully as a society we can complain all we want about the negative influences that the media presents, but when we choose to watch television shows that shine a light into bad behavior such as violence and sex it is solely our fault. There are going to be negative scenarios placed in front of us but I think it is our job to teach how to be above the influence. In a perfect world, people would see the bad and want to do good; and see the good and want to do better. But the reality of it is, is that we live in an imperfect world and constantly tempted to do badly. How can we make it seem like doing right is just as much fun as doing wrong?

Media is always going to present a side that someone finds offensive, it is simply the way of life. If we cannot eliminate the antisocial behaviors entirely off of the media, we can certainly push to not support it as a society. Little steps can be made to move towards prosocial behaviors, which I believe would better the society as a whole! I know I will make the steps needed to better future generations behaviors... will you?

Prosocial Behavior: Education

Complete opposite of antisocial behaviors are prosocial behaviors. “Prosocial behavior includes behaviors and positive qualities that we want to encourage in our children and our society: cooperation, altruism, sharing, love, tolerance, respect, balanced nutrition, contraceptive use, personal hygiene, safe driving, improved reading skills, and so on” (Straubhaar, LaRose, and Davenport, 2008). Although my recent posts have discussed the negative affect media can have on society, there are many positive behaviors that come from media influence as well.

Informal education efforts are seen through a plethora of shows. Children have endless amounts of opportunities to become educated inside and outside of the classroom. Shows like Dora the Explorer, Bob the Builder, Blue’s Clues, etc. have a positive effect on the youth. Not only are the shows entertaining for the children but also they are educating them without the kids even realizing they are learning. It brings joy to me when my niece gets excited about Dora the Explorer. She has learned a tremendous amount of information simply from the media. This particular show teaches a foreign language and touches base into simple science. There are other television shows that help ready the youth for school in different ways! Regardless of what show is being watched, knowledge is being gained.

Distance education is reflected by an older genre. “Television is a familiar distance learning medium for college students at large universities who watch lectures live or on tape via closed-circuit television or cable systems in their rooms” (Straubhaar, LaRose, and Davenport, 2008). I know through personal experience with online classes that I tend to learn more from online lectures than I do in class. For some reason when I am in a large environment I get easily distracted, but with online lectures I can watch on my own time with zero distractions. It seems like virtual school is becoming more and more popular.

Education isn’t the only prosocial behavior that can come from media influences but it is definitely one that I found most beneficial. It is easy to look for the bad that comes out of media before trying to find the good, which is why I truly believe that the positive influences get overlooked. I definitely think that society is influenced by what they see through the media whether that is a positive experience or a negative one. I just hope that people can find the good in the media and continue to reiterate those positive outlooks for our youth.

Source: Straubhaar, J., LaRose, R., & Davenport, L. (2008). Media now:

Understanding media, culture, and technology. (6th ed., p. 428-430).

Boston, MA: Wadsworth.

Antisocial Behavior: Sexual Behavior

It is extremely interesting to see, after reading the text, that there was at one point really strict self-censorship standards with sex in the media because sex is literally everywhere in today’s television shows and movies. We have all heard that “sex sells” and the financial benefits earned through media broadcasts prove that statement. Think about some of the more recent movies released in theaters like No Strings Attached and Friends With Benefits. The movies are based off a common theme… casual SEX!

“Adolescents who watch a lot of television sex are twice as likely as those who see little of it to engage in sexual intercourse in the year following their exposure” (Straubhaar, LaRose, and Davenport, 2008). This statement makes perfect sense. Once an idea is brought to your attention, does it not remain in the back of your head always? With media continually placing sex in the minds of society, it will become trendy. The sad part about this whole scenario is that sexual behavior is not only in adolescent movies and shows but children media as well. Where do we, as society, draw the line and say that is enough? I want to feel comfortable when I become a mother letting my child watch shows with no harm.

I know personally I will not adapt and conform to this era of casual sex. I do not want to enter a relationship with this idea of "no strings attached". I'm sure plenty of people in today's society have different stands on this issue and I would love to hear where you stand!

Source: Straubhaar, J., LaRose, R., & Davenport, L. (2008). Media now:

Understanding media, culture, and technology. (6th ed., p. 419-420). Boston, MA:

Wadsworth.

Antisocial Behavior: Prejudice

“Media are very effective at creating stereotypes because they are sometimes the only source of information we have about other groups and because they can present a distorted view of those groups” (Straubhaar, LaRose, and Davenport, 2008). Society is easily influenced by what they see and hear in the media. It is sad to say but forms of intolerance such as sexism and racism still exist in our culture and is promoted through the media.

Racism is seen through all races. The Cleveland Show and Family Guy are two great examples of shows where one is majority black and the other is majority white. Both shows exhibit racist comments and gestures that are supposed to be seen as humorous. Sometimes we want to be blind to the fact that it still exists but the reality of it is that it is there whether we want to admit it or not. Our culture has come so far breaking away from such viewpoints, but then there are shows like I mentioned previously that help to reiterate the traditional racist views. How are we supposed to move forward and rid of these views when media is presenting prejudice views in an extremely negative light?

Sex- role stereotypes are heavily promoted in reality shows; think about shows such as America’s Next Top Model and Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Girls aspire to be stick skinny and beautiful even if it means being unhealthy. According to the text, “Gender stereotypes can make us unsatisfied with our own bodies” (Straubhaar, LaRose, and Davenport, 2008). America’s Next Top Model places an unrealistic image in females’ heads that they can look like the women on television. Keeping Up With The Kardashians on the other hand portrays a very high maintenance style of living. The luxurious materialistic things that these people have on television makes viewers think that what they have is not enough even if in reality it truly is. Not many people will ever see the large amounts of money that the Kardashian family has yet people still strive to obtain the same lifestyle as them, which is nearly impossible.

Society would have a positive experience if they were given the opportunity as individuals to form their own ideas instead of being influence by stereotypes. I think that each individual would have a more satisfying life because they would truly believe that what they had is more than enough and would be grateful for the little things. Eliminating shows that portray an extravagant life or an impossible body figure to obtain would open the door to endless possibilities for viewers!

Source: Straubhaar, J., LaRose, R., & Davenport, L. (2008).

Media now: Understanding media, culture, and

technology. (6th ed., pp. 419-420). Boston, MA:

Wadsworth.

Antisocial Behavior: Violence

Media plays a significant role on violent acts of behavior. Studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between violent behavior and watching violence on television. “Television is indeed packed with violence- three-fifths of all prime-time shows include it, at the rate of 4.5 violent acts per program” (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, 2008). Although television is a primary source for violence, video games and movies have contributed towards the issue.

Think about it, violence is everywhere on television. It prevails from cartoons for children to television series for adults to any genre of movie. Sometimes it is extremely difficult for viewers to grasp what is real and what is pretend. People are entirely influenced by what they see on television. It doesn’t help when children are starting off watching cartoons like Tom and Jerry and Bugs Bunny that include guns, weapons, hitting, blood, etc. Society is placing these images in the youth’s mind and then wants to punish them when their actions reflect what they see on television. As the youth continue to grow up different shows will be targeted to their age group including violence. Even when the reach adulthood there are shows such as Burn Notice or NCIS that allow scenes to play of people being beat up or tortured and presenting it in a way as thrilling, which only leads viewers to misconstrue the consequences of such actions in real life.

Consider the affect video games have on the youth. Take Call of Duty for example; my younger cousin anticipated the arrival of the newest game and had to have it the minute it was available. I am not a big fan of video games; so I decided to see what all the hype was about and watch my little cousin with his friends play the game. They were screaming and yelling and slapping each other fives when they killed someone or won a battle. It was baffling to me to see this rush they got when they were acting in violent manners in the game. It is safe to say after watching these boys I agree with the statement “antisocial behavior is contrary to prevailing norms for social conduct” (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, 2008). Shortly after they were done playing the game, the boys got physical with each other and just wanted to wrestle.

If we were able to eliminate violence all together in media, do you think violent acts would lessen in society? Let me know where you stand on this issue!

Source: Straubhaar, J., LaRose, R., & Davenport, L. (2008).

Media now: Understanding media, culture, and

technology. (6th ed., pp. 419-420). Boston, MA: Wadsworth.