preview

Media Influence On American Culture

Better Essays

There is no doubt that the media has a huge role in American culture. The media is prevalent on every medium, from newspapers, to television, the Internet, and mobile applications. However, the controversial argument of whether American culture is more influenced or more informed by the media still stands. “American culture” is what I consider to be the social norms, fashion, topics of discussion, current events, and mindsets that are popular within the general American population. The “media” to me refers to all forms of news and popular culture from sources such as television news sources, online news websites, online blogs, and social media networks - basically any public medium with a large audience (in this case, the American …show more content…

These major companies along with their local news counterparts also have a huge online presence, with their websites and accounts on every popular social media network like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The study from Croteau and Hoynes mentions that 65% of adults in the US have broadband Internet access at home. This makes the networks more relevant to the younger population, who mainly use the Internet. To reach the older population that prefers reading newspapers, other news companies continue to produce newspapers in addition to their online presence. The media is inescapable due its large and easy availability. Due to this, the media has a huge influence over American culture because everything the media presents is seen by millions of Americans. This makes the media an influencer instead of just an informer, because the media is the main source of how information and news are spread. Everything the media produces and publicizes becomes American culture.
Besides the media’s wide availability, another major factor that makes the media a powerful influencer over American culture is the media’s ability to select exactly what is spread to these mass audiences. Specific stories and topics can be publicized over others, and others could just be omitted. Since the media is the main source of information for the majority of the population, the stories, topics, and events that the media features on television, newspapers, and websites are what is directly affecting and

Get Access