Essay, Research Paper: Media Manipulation

The media and advertising hinder do indeed hinder our being fully human. Mass media including radio, television and newspapers endeavors to shape public opinion on a variety of things. The media attempts to manipulate those values instilled by parents and society in general, thus taking away from our being human. Messages designed to influence peoples attitudes, desires and decisions fall upon society urging those people to buy a certain product, vote for a certain political figure, or support a worthy cause. The daily attack of media and advertising persuade the public to be one and the same, rather than allowing them to function as humans who follow their own beliefs.
Public opinion is formed through media propaganda. The network of communication systems radio, magazines, newspaper, television, and films informs those exposed as to their roles in society and their culture. Advertising has but one purpose: to sell a product or service or to promote a political figure by any and all means necessary including brainwashing the general public. Companies try to make the consumer aware of its product and convince the world that its product is better than that of the competitor as seen with the war between McDonalds and Burger King restaurants. This misuse of triggering the subconscious minds induces the public to buy things without knowing they have been deceived.
Parents have the heaviest influence in shaping one s values. However, the media often tries to contradict that and force the viewer into thinking that perhaps they have been taught wrong, leaving them in a state of confusion. Parents try to teach their kids that smoking is wrong, for example, yet commercials showing the rich and glamorous smoking are seen everyday on television. Subliminal messages are sent to the viewer that those who smoke drive fancy cars and are beautiful people, thus enticing the viewer to smoke their product. One cannot be fully human without values, yet the media tries to interfere with those values acquired from infancy, causing a major conflict in human lives.
Advertisements, commercials, and carefully crafted messages fly at consumers over the radio, through television, newspapers, magazines, posters, flyers, mailings, and on billboards displayed across the city. A huge amount of skill, effort, research and money goes into creating these advertisements, exposing the average Canadian to over 2000 commercial messages daily. Not surprisingly the average consumer tends to purchase those products that have appealing/catchy commercials attached to them. A person who claims to be fully human would not be affected by this propaganda, yet that person does not exist or is a dying breed at best, for every human being has formed at least one opinion/belief based on something the mass media has dictated to the world.
The mass media prevents us as human beings to be fully human. Propaganda unconsciously causes the public to act in ways they may not have, had they not been exposed. Values and attitudes no longer come from one s upbringing, but are influenced by what is shown on the media to be popular and common to the world. Appeal to the general public is the only way for advertisers to trick their subconscious minds into purchase their product or use their services. The media and advertising subliminally tell the world what clothes to wear, what foods to eat, what behaviors are appropriate, etc., causing the world to conform as one, rather than stand out as individual humans.