MASS MEDIA IN U.S. (SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE) Essay

MASS MEDIA IN U.S. (SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE) - Essay Example Though little research has been done on the exact way the social media affects the character of viewers or followers, it has been observed that people tend to imitate the person they may admire and might even adopt their lifestyles. This is evident in American Idols where participants try to imitate celebrities (Slywester Web; Burgess Web). Stereotypes play a critical role in today’s media where groups of individuals are perceived to act in a specific way. Most stereotypes portrayed in American media are based on ethnicity and races. A good example of stereotyping was depicted in a TV show called â€Å"Jersey Shore† in which American Latinos were increasingly portrayed as promiscuous and indolent. Stereotypes are often used in American media to cause humor though they are often injurious to the groups represented. However, some propaganda is positive and helps in modifying the character of viewers or readers. Another common stereotype in American media is one that portrays Muslims as terrorist. The stereotype is because persons of Islamic origin carry out most terrorist attacks. An additional stereotype in American media is one that portrays black Americans as lesser to other races (Burgess Web). Stereotypes lead to cognitive distortion of perception regarding the stereotyped group. They are mainly based on a character portrayed by one of few individuals in a particular group but tend to be used in reference to members of the entire group. One of the distorted perceptions is the tendency to view the stereotyped group as less diverse. By this, I mean that people start viewing the persons in the group as individuals but rather as a group. Most stereotypes tend to be negative thus conferring undesirable characteristics to all members of a particular group. A good example is in the movie â€Å"the Passion of Christ† which exhibits negative stereotypes against Jews as a group irrespective of the fact that not all Jews are evil. Generally,