The media is part of our lives and has an enormous influence on our society. The importance of media is growing every day due to the great connectivity that exists around the globe. For this reason, it is necessary that each one of us becomes aware of the power of the media. This allows us to be critical of all the information we receive daily.
It is necessary to take into account that the media not only communicate but also offer their own perspective on every event that takes place. Our duty is to analyze the information we receive and draw our own conclusions.
The Importance of Media in Our Life
1. Being Aware of the Reality
Different media inform us about what is happening in the country and in the world. This information helps us to be in touch with reality and to understand what is happening around us and, of course, to understand what is happening to the other.
By analyzing the information we receive, we create our own opinions about different topics and concepts. That mental exercise strengthens our personality since we adhere to some opinions and we move away from others. The important thing is that our opinions and perspectives develop peacefully, respecting those who think differently from us.
2. Building a New Reality
The media creates its content according to what they themselves want to communicate or based on what the public wants to see. The continuity of certain media content, for example, a television show, depends on the success that reaches it. That means that if a singing talent show succeeds and generates a lot of money, several similar TV shows are going to appear. Therefore many people will want to participate in these programs, becoming an inspiration for those who want to be famous. In this way a new reality has been created: the path to immediate fame is to participate in a television talent show.
The Importance of Media in Education
1. Developing Critical Sense
The media is very important for education, as it helps to develop a critical sense in children and teenagers. Radio, television, and the internet offer us a myriad of options for us to choose the one we like the most.
It should be noted that the means of communication tend to set borrowed patterns. They influence each individual to choose one option and not another. That’s why it’s important for teachers and parents to foster a strong personality in children and teenagers. In this way, they choose according to their own convictions.
2. Knowledge Contribution
Thanks to its enormous power, the media brings knowledge to countless different topics. This serves to bring children and teenagers closer to various sources of information and develop curiosity about what they want to learn.
Teachers should guide students to properly analyze the sources from which they extract information. This will help them differentiate the quality of the data they receive, which can be good, regular, or bad. Keep in mind that what arouses a child’s interest today could become an inspiration for their professional future.
The Importance of Media in Democracy
1. The Right to Know the Truth
Democracy is so far the fairest system of government that exists today. It allows the people to elect their rulers and then control what they do as public officials.
The media play a fundamental role in this process. Journalists must strive to tell the truth about the lives of politicians and show them as they are. In this way, every citizen can evaluate politicians. According to each one’s criteria, he or she will vote for the one he or she finds most honest and capable.
Unfortunately, during this process, sometimes interests of various kinds arise that prevent us from seeing the politician as he or she is. The media can manipulate the image of a politician, according to their convenience. Therefore, each citizen must strengthen his or her own criteria so that he or she can make better choices.
The Importance of Media in Our Society
1. They Determine Our Place in the World
The media greatly influences society. They inform people about what is happening. It permeates people’s lives by creating their own criteria and opinions. In this way the media moves the masses, creating different social movements. In turn, each member of society indicates the future changes that are coming.
The media plays a very important role in exposing various social problems, thanks to which different solutions can be deduced, in addition to responding to those who do not fulfill their tasks. In this way, authorities in different areas of government are evaluated according to their work.
2. Promote Massive Changes
Undoubtedly the media accompany the masses during each of the changes that take place. Over the years people have changed their way of informing themselves, preferring some media and leaving others aside.
One of the most important changes that have taken place in the media is the popularization of the use of social networks. People interact with other users, create opinions, and set trends, among other behaviors.
A study conducted in collaboration with the agency We Are Social and the agency Hootsuite found that in the world there are 3800 million users of social networks. This figure was updated in January 2020.
The 5 Most Popular Social Networks are:
- Facebook: 2450 million users
- Youtube: 2000 million users
- WhatsApp: 1600 million users
- FB Messenger: 1300 million users
- WeChat: 1151 million users
These data mean important changes in social behavior. Today, social networks propose a new form of virtual socialization, with diverse virtues and defects.
Conclusion
The importance of media is such that an intense mental exercise of critical analysis is required. Every day we receive a lot of information about the most diverse topics. Our duty is to constructively criticize the information we receive so that our thinking is not manipulated in favor of other people’s interests. This learning begins in childhood and lasts a lifetime.