The media and its effects on society Nowadays the media plays a crucial role in our lives. It serves as a bridge that connects people to the world, leading to a global exchange of information and knowledge. The media also offers a platform for people to express their thoughts on political and social issues, providing space for different perspectives. Unquestionably, the media influences our lives in almost every way. Turning the page of a magazine, listening to a tune on the radio or flipping through a television channel, the media somehow plays a role in our lives. Different media coverage can influence public interpretation as well as influence the dissemination of information. Effective media coverage can lead to a positive public viewpoint, while poor media coverage can cause disinterest among people. Therefore, the media is a potential means of shaping our understanding on a particular issue. It is able to popularize certain topics for the mass audience to take up and discuss. For example, the vaccine controversy, an ongoing debate over whether or not vaccines cause autism, has not reached any conclusion, partly due to the influence of the media. The media attempts to provide fair coverage for both sides of the issue – the pros and cons of vaccines – giving space to some extremists to spread their pseudoscientific claims, resulting in public discomfort. Despite overwhelming evidence dismissing the association between vaccines and autism, a number of parents still fear that childhood vaccines can cause autism. The vaccine controversy highlights the potential power of the media. Specifically, by choosing what to broadcast and how to broadcast it, the media manipulates public attitudes toward certain debates. Concern about the safety of vaccines has been present among the public since the late 18th century. When vaccination… half of the paper… alth 98, n.1 (2008): 244-253.Gould, Madelyn, Patrick Jamieson, and Daniel Romer. “Media contagion and suicide among young people”. The American Behavioral Scientist 46, no. 9 (May 2003): 1269-1284. Gross, Lisa. “A Broken Trust: Lessons from the Vaccine: The Autism Wars.” PLoS Biol 7.No.5 (2009).Offit, Paul. The false prophets of autism: bad science, risky medicine, and the search for a cure. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010. Rochman, Bonnie, “Jenny McCarthy, Vaccine Expert? A Quarter of Parents TrustCelebrities,” Time Health & Family (website), accessed October 21, 2013, http://healthland.time.com/2011/04/26/jenny-mccarthy-vaccine-expert-a-quarter- of -parents-trust-celebrity/. Slevec, Julie and Marika Tiggeman. “Media Exposure, Body Dissatisfaction, and Disordered Eating in Middle-Aged Women.” Women's Psychology Quarterly 35, No. 4 (December 2011): 617-627.