Mass Media, General View

In this article, we ask "what are mass media and its effects?" Mass media messages may be divided into those intended to influence viewers and listeners (advertising) or they may be unintentional (aggression). The mass media may influence our behaviors, attitudes, cognitions or our physiological arousal. It would be safe to conclude from our review that the mass media is a contributor to a number of antisocial behaviors and problems. We must keep in mind, however, that the mass media is but one of a multitude of factors that contribute, and in many cases not the most significant. Nevertheless, it is one of those factors in which proper interventions can mitigate its impact, and further one factor which can be controlled with reasonable insight. In this article we have discussed a number of these techniques.