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Fame! I'm gonna live forever!
Why are we so controlled by the media?
- Now why would someone say that? Clearly you’re not going to do any such thing. But when it comes to fame, a lot of people seem to think that immortality closely follows. And with mass communication surrounding us, it’s gotten to a stage where even my parents know who Paris Hilton is (God help us all).
When people say they would love to be famous, what exactly do they mean? Do they have a particular talent that they would love praise and recognition for, or do they just want the attention?
It’s something to think about, for example, would you rather be a famous singer or a genuinely good one? (With the technology that voice enhancers provide, that’s not a far fetched question)
But celebrities of course, could not achieve the almost hysterical status of fame that exists in today’s world without the media. Why are we so controlled by the media? As the daughter of a man who works within the television industry, I can tell you that the 14-25 year old market is the most wanted market sector in the media industry. We are prime targets. Why? Probably because of the amount of money we have via parents or part-time jobs. As most of us don’t pay house bills we are more inclined to spend our money on things for ourselves; clothes, magazines, c.d.’s, make up and sports gear.
So if advertisements are hurled at our heads every day, what is the effect on us? Do we feel a small amount of pressure from media ideals to act a certain way or to do certain things? As the generation that watches more TV than any generation before us, we might be inclined to trust or believe what we see on television despite our better judgement. And although peer pressure affects young adults and is widely acknowledged to do so, media influence is also a serious form of pressure that is generally ignored.
By Ciara Gately
The opinions of writers featured on SpunOut.ie do not necessarily reflect the views of the SpunOut.ie team or those of Community Creations. We try to give everyone a chance to have their opinions heard but we are not responsible for inaccuracies contained within these.
