“Best and Worst Celebrity Diets”, “Paparazzo killed by oncoming traffic after photographing Justin Bieber's Ferrari”, “Lady Gaga packs on Pounds”, these are the headlines that are filling our newsstands and TV’s. Why do people buy tabloids rather than newspapers? Why do celebrity based TV shows light up TV screens more than news channels? Why have gossip and celebrity oriented headlines come to constitute most of our media?
In modern day society celebrity news and gossip make up most of our media. As children and teens delve into the absurdities of the Kardashian’s or the Jersey Shore, they turn their backs on the happenings of our world. How often do you hear someone talking about the chaos in Syria or the oil crisis? Not too often. Now, how often do you hear about the latest celebrity scandal or celebrity relationship status? All the time. Media has become so preoccupied with raising their ratings that they feed us endless stories of celebrity gossip, weight loss tips, or heartbreaking stories that prey on the victims of the tragedy. Mean while the significant events occurring throughout the world receive little mention, a simple acknowledgement at most.
Do you think that the newspapers are telling you the absolute, unaltered truth? Chances are they are telling you what they want you to believe. They are telling you what is acceptable and what is not. They are telling you their side of the story. Why did the media focus on the individual, victims of the shooting at Sandy hook and badger them until they could get no more information out of them? Was it not enough that friends and family had to deal with this tragic event? No, the media wants something that will bring in the readers, something that will ensure that tears well up in your eyes and you think to yourself: I’m so lucky that that didn’t happen to me, all of this at the cost of the victims. A broader look at the massacre would have been just as heart-wrenching and tragic as the dozens of stories telling us how wonderful the children were, how much the families grieve, how much they will miss their relatives, and how painful the calamity was; but it would be less painful for the families involved.
How about Hurricane Sandy? The pictures and videos that crowded the news were those of complete devastation and despair. Sandy was portrayed as a horrible storm that ravaged all of New York City and destroyed hundreds of homes, and although this is true they did not show the broader picture. They failed to acknowledge the areas that were less damaged, instead they focused on the tragic, gut-wrenching stories of horror and loss. Instead of advising people on how to deal with the storm and its effects, they replayed the same footage of destruction and tragedy over and over. While other areas like Staten Island were hardly even mentioned. When the people were in need of information and support, all they got was tragedy and horror. Media should be concerned with our needs not theirs.
Furthermore the overwhelming amount of celebrity gossip and popular culture in mass media is damaging our society. The images of beautiful actresses, thin models, and cool celebrities crowd the minds of the young population of viewers. Resulting in self conscious, self-hating teens, girls that aspire to be like the thin beautiful actresses of TV shows, children that crave to be more like the violent heroes of the action movies, and a public that is ignorant to the truth and blind to the reality behind media’s opinion. Although it is a sad truth the public is becoming more ignorant of political and world issues. And though it is sad to hear more people know about the amount of pills that Britney Spears swallowed than the current wars in this world, more people know about whom Kim Kardashian is dating than the current political situation in the United Sates. And whether we like it or not our society is moving farther away from that which is important and closer to that which clouds our minds .
And with that in mind I declare my independence from:
Media that distorts the truth and only passes their opinion, thus creating a biased public that is unaware of the reality of the issue.
Media that places the latest celebrity relationship status, weight gain, or scandal over world news and global issues.
Media that distorts the minds of children and teenagers by telling them the ideals in beauty, fashion, behavior, and mindset.
Media that chases after tragic stories of loss, death, and betrayal rather than relay the bigger picture and leave victimized families at peace.
Media that cares more about its profit than informing the people it is meant to enlighten and connect to the current state of the world.
Although it provides us with news, and communicates to us the events occurring in the world, the media in its current state does more harm to our society than good. And unless it changes its priorities and views of appropriate and necessary news I declare my independence from media and its negative influences on our society.