In contemporary society, people are greatly influenced by mass media. Although watching television and reading newspapers is no longer as popular as before, people spend more time in front of the computer listening to music and radio, reading news and information, interacting with other people in social networks and watching television programs and films. The development of cell phone technology allows people to do almost everything they can do with computers. Nowadays, people live in a world "saturated with media sounds and images". (McQuail, 2008, p.456) In this essay, a general introduction to social change and media influence will be discussed in the first section. The second section will introduce Golding's four concepts of news media and their effects. The effect of the media in the political area, such as propaganda, will be examined in the third section. Subsequently, the methodological research on violence in the media and its problems will be analysed. The final section will critique the problem of early theoretical research on media effects. The process of industrialization accelerated the development of mass media. The mass media continues to develop. At the same time, society has also changed. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, society was changing from a traditional social system “in which people were closely related to each other” into a complex system “in which individuals were socially isolated.” (DeFleur & Ball-Rokeach, 1989, p.159) Therefore, individuals are vulnerable to the influence of mass media. In the first decade of the 20th century, "the public was alarmed by new forms of communication such as daily newspapers, moving images, and the media." radio broadcasts." (DeFleur & Ball-Rokeach, 1989, p.147) Today,...... half of the article...... S., 1989. Theories of mass communication. 5th ed. New York: Longman.Livingston, S., 1997. Beyond the “CNN Effect”: The Media-Foreign Policy Dynamic: Norris, P., ed. 1997. Politics and the Press: The News Media and Their Influences. London: Lynne Rienner Public, Inc. p.291-319Available at:http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=gn7gTOuVGWIC&dq=Livingston+cnn+effect&source=gbs_navlinks_s[Accessed 19 February 2010]McQuail, D., 2008. McQuail's Mass Communication Theory. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Ruddock, S., 2002. Media strategies in conflict and the politics of counter-terrorism. Politics, [Online] 2002 VOL 22(2), p.76–85Available at:http://ics.leeds.ac.uk/papers/vp01.cfm? outfit=pmt&requesttimeout=500&folder=10&paper=1063[Accessed February.20 2010]