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Grace Scopp
Ms. Wilson
HELA 10
24 February 2015
Effects of Media on Society
Nowadays everywhere you turn there is some kind of technology aiding people in
everyday activities. In fact many are beginning to rely on it. There is a right to be left alone
based on a principle of inviolate personality.(Mitcham) This quote explains that many people
want to be left alone but the media doesnt care and wont stop. Although there has been a series
of policies and laws made to try to protect the amount of information being collected about a
person while using the internet, as more electronics are being created those policies are
becoming less and less effective. This topic needs to come to light because our private lives are
being breached and the media is beginning to affect our lives, minds, and privacy.
The media highly affects our everyday lives because it allows us to document where we
are, what we are doing, and who we are with. It causes us to get less sleep, has even increased
our countrys overall violence, and causes us to be media heads (see appendix A). The average
number of sleeping hours has decreased in inverse proportion of the average hours a day of
internet use (Luskin). This is unhealthy because for a person to be fully functioning and alert you
need 9.25 hours of sleep; if sleep is decreases America will become frayed. Media has also
disturbed Americas safety; media assisted like identity theft have taken new forms from the

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observational learning available (Luskin). People in America are becoming media heads causing
them to be reliant on technology, being so dependent on it is having an effect on our brains.
The media has begun to have effects on the brain. Many may be surprised but technology
and the media has some very negative effects on our brain and the way we function. Attention
spans are decreasing and research has been done showing that there is a direct link between
exposure to media stimulation and Attention Deficit Disorder (Luskin). It has also been shown
that Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) has increasingly been diagnosed each year (Luskin). Even
though diagnoses of these disorders have increased our IQs have risen because of the interactive
game play learning that is being used (Luskin). Another way that media controls our mind is by
supplying us with fake information. For example, in 2005 New York Times revealed there has
been a large amount of prepackaged news created by US Government departments and then
disseminated through mainstream media (Shah). News and information being given out is most
of the time sensationalized hoping to make you biased toward a certain side of a topic. It is
important to be aware of that not all media is truthful so that the public isnt so susceptible to
lies.
Although the media affects many things in life, the most concerning item it effects is
privacy. You may have noticed the constant pop up ads on your computer asking for personal
information or telling you about the newest thing and as time has gone by these ads have
increased. Americas privacy is in danger because businesses have found ways to profit off of our
information and criminals have found ways to hack into our computers and gather personal
information themselves though these pop up ads (Claypole). Our privacy is diminishing and it
may not seem like it is the publics fault but technology doesnt collect any personal information
unless chosen to provide it to them. Be diligent about any information provide about yourself

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because it will be sorted and kept forever (Privacy Policy). In Europe, Canada, and other
countries across the world protection of citizens private information is considered a human right
but in the United States only certain classes of information are protected under federal law, in
fact most of the information is considered fair game (Claypole).
As you can see the media affects our lives, minds and privacy in so many ways and we
need to find a solution to the negative ones. There are many solutions to the problems we face
but some basic ones are to be on your phone, computer, and other electronics less often and to
make restrictions on what the media can and cant do. This is a topic that you should not ignore
because before you know it, your life will be overrun with commercials, ads, and technology.
Restrictions need to be set so that everyone can live a life without the paranoia of being watched
and not have to worry about our world being overtaken by the media.
Appendix A

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Work Cited
Social Media: Invading Privacy and Devaluing Face to Face? 2012. By Alexdrichak.
Luskin, Bernard. "Brain, Behavior, and Media." Psychology Today. 29 Mar. 2012. Web. 25 Feb.
2015. <https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-media-psychology-effect/201203/brainbehavior-and-media>.
Claypole, Therdore F. "Advertisement." Privacy and Social Media. 1 Jan. 2015. Web. 25 Feb.
2015. <http://www.americanbar.org/publications/blt/2014/01/03a_claypoole.html>.
Shah, Anup. "Media Manipulation." - Global Issues. 16 Mar. 2005. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.globalissues.org/article/532/media-manipulation>.
Mitcham, Carl. "Privay." Gale Virtual Reference Library. Encyclopedia of Science Technology
and Ethics, 1 Jan. 2005. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.