IndexTelevision: TV Shows and FilmsLack of Belief in ReligionMediated CommunicationPublic OpinionMass media creates many opportunities and provides many recreational activities, along with the ability to express oneself, but American society has allowed itself to be trapped in It is greed and the desire for money that is creating a society whose priorities and values ​​are not established. With the sole desire to attract opinions, companies take any measure to attract the attention of others, regardless of the influence it will have on society. Social media has created many problems, but one notable example is a belief system that reduces consequences. Excessive television use also creates problems regarding critical thinking styles that will continue across generations. Along with these issues is the way society communicates using mediated conversation which diminishes the emotion of a conversation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Introduction Media has existed in various forms for centuries, but with the emergence and interest in mass media, has American society let it take control of their lives? Mass media began in the form of newspapers and magazines and transformed into televisions, cell phones and applications, creating an entirely new form of communication that society was unwilling to take control of. Mass media has increased dramatically in the last century and is causing the decline of American values ​​and the development of society. Although the media creates a plethora of resources that are made easily available to the public, it brings many issues into society that the public does not know how to respond to. Television: TV Shows and Movies The values ​​of American society are influenced by many factors including location, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, and even people's personalities. The most notable influence today, that of the mass media, is merging into one numerous values ​​brought by many cultures around the world. With so many perspectives, considerations and scenarios, it has become easier to answer each with a black and white solution. A talk show, which discusses various relatable issues, takes a black-and-white approach to solving all its problems: To attract viewers, these shows focus on the bizarre and promote a distorted view of what it means to be "normal." They offer unrealistically simple solutions to complex problems, dispense dangerous advice, and ignore the off-screen consequences for guests who have been encouraged to "courageously" reveal deeply personal aspects of their lives. With so many viewers, these talk shows will say whatever panders to their customers, or they will try to find a medium where all parties can relate to keep viewership high and create a profit. Rather than focusing on influencing their viewers' behavior for the better, talk shows will indulge in what their viewers want to hear: a short-term solution to their dilemmas, while neglecting the long-term goal. Furthermore, all television programs, films and radios depend on earning money from viewers, so they take any measures to attract the attention of the general public. All these shows overestimate the influence they have on millions of people. With this in mind, according to Krantz-Kent (2018), “During 2013-2017, the civilian noninstitutional U.S. population ages 15 and older spent an average of 2 hours and 46 minutes per day watching TV ”. A small amount of time spent in front of the television can beused for entertainment and humor, but if done excessively, children are influenced by actions they see on TV. To attract the attention of these consumers, advertising related to sex or violence is often used. , which devalues ​​the issue of both, creating a form of beliefs about sex and violence that typically keep false ones off television. If programs provide television for the purpose of gaining views and making a profit rather than the benefit of providing television whose purpose is to educate, there is no doubt that these television characters are influencing the public's tolerance for such unjust actions and values. while they play an important role in the development of society's morals. While there is television that protects against sex, violence, and drugs, almost anything can be made available to anyone, making children of all ages susceptible to it. With so many children fixated on the television, it is difficult for parents to control what they see, no matter how hard they try, which means that the means of teaching children morals are in the hands of those behind the television screen. ReligionToday media focuses on the ideology that if you want something bad enough, go get it; however, the media overlooks the consequences when it comes to making yourself “happy.” This being a common ideology, chaos ensues due to the desire for short-term happiness and the neglect of long-term consequences. This ideology emerges from the lack of religion; “Only 43% of Americans identify as white and Christian, and only 30% as white and Protestant. In 1976, approximately eight-in-ten Americans (81%) identified as white and identified with a Christian denomination, and the majority (55%) were white Protestants.” Without religions the moral order is missing and everything is left to the decision of the individual. If American society began to look at the long-term consequences that television does not foresee, instead of being blindsided by the desires it offers, then society's values ​​would not be in danger. Unfortunately this is not the case. For example, social media was designed for the purpose of sharing photos, beliefs, and experiences with the world. Social media can be a place where strangers often influence others. There are so many shared opinions that most people, whose values ​​are undecided, are influenced by the opinions that benefit them the most, such as doing what satisfies them in the short term. Brain Development Moving forward, the media has impaired human cognitive abilities, causing the average person's attention span to substantially decrease. According to McSpadden (2015), the average person's attention span has dropped to eight seconds. Attention span is the amount of time a person is able to devote their full attention to something. This has greatly reduced the creation of difficulties in studying and carrying out other tasks. For example, “students today…have difficulty with reading and writing tasks, show less creativity, become bored and easily distracted, lack perseverance, give up easily, and have difficulty remembering instructions and thinking about problems.” This decline in attention span creates problems that may seem subtle in an individual, but with the widespread decline, society takes a step back in students' learning abilities. This attention span is the effect of watching too much TV: since reading and watching television make very different demands on the brain, prolonged television viewing could "reduce the stimulation of theof the left hemisphere fundamental for the development of language, reading and analytical skills". ... can influence mental ability and attention by decreasing mental traffic between the hemispheres ... and can discourage the development of "executive" systems that regulate attention, organization, and motivation. This shift in how society is formatting its thinking is not only harming its own generation, but all generations that follow in two ways. The first is that it is creating itself a society whose primary recreational activity is watching TV, which offers little advantage over reading a book or similar recreational activities that have been declining due to television, phone applications, and other popular media. being part of everyday life for most people, it will continue for generations, losing the value of other non-electronic recreational activities. The second way that watching too much TV damages the social structure is due to the change in critical thinking that will be passed down to descendants, changing the way future generations handle information, losing the desire for reading and other activities. Mediated Communication Because of media, the way society communicates has changed dramatically. The mass media have devalued communication. We have gone from a majority of face-to-face communication to a majority of mediated conversation. Mediated communication occurs in the form of texting, commenting, writing a letter, or sending an email. Face-to-face communication has a richness that cannot be seen in mediated conversation. All feelings and meaning are lost in mediated communication, as stated by Adler, R.B. and Rodman, G. (2017), “Social scientists use the term richness to describe the abundance of nonverbal cues that add clarity to a message verbal". The loss of these qualities in mediated conversation allows people to feel more comfortable saying things they normally wouldn't have said if they were face to face. For example, if someone accidentally made a mistake, it would be easier to show anger through a text message rather than in person due to the lack of emotion on the other end of the conversation. While this obviously varies from situation to situation, it remains clear that the effects of mediated communication have negative aspects. With the excessive use of mediated communication, it becomes more difficult for children and adolescents to respond when strong emotions are portrayed. Beyond that, mediated communication can be done so quickly and easily that it significantly loses its value. With this new form of communication changing the way society communicates, it is also changing the personal relationships they have with close friends, family and significant others through how they support each other, show honesty and deception , express and understand emotions and a way of communicating. abundance of similar actions. It is completely changing the nature of communication, creating a completely new communication culture or society. Public opinion The negative effects of the media have not only been studied, but the majority of the population believes that the values ​​of American society have also declined. According to Balan (2011), “74% of Americans believe that the nation's moral values ​​have declined over the past twenty years, and a large majority holds the media responsible for contributing to that decline.” This shows that the Americans have understood the issue, but how will they find a solution? Beyond that, many hold Hollywood responsible..