Media Influence

The media is one of the most powerful forces in our lives today and, like most places we look to for health information, it can be a good influence or a bad one.  Often it can affect the choices we make, quite often without us even knowing.  At times it’s hard to tell the difference between an article made to inform us and an advertisement trying to sell us something.  So, when using the media to help us make choices, it’s important to question whether the type of media you are using is a reliable one or not.

Television

Television is one of the most popular forms of media in the world, with many young people spending as much time in front of the television as they do at school!  While you have to be careful about how watching loads of TV will affect you physically, you should also be careful about what you watch.  There are many health and lifestyle programs on TV, giving you all kinds of advice on how to look and act, and how to become a healthier and better person. Remember, just because things are on television doesn't automatically mean they are correct. Many of these programs are on "commercial" television stations that carry advertisements, meaning that both the TV programs and the ads may be trying to sell you products related to health.

The Internet

The Internet can be a fun and quick way to get health information from all over the world. It is important though to remember that just because you found information on the ‘net, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s true.  One of the best things about the Internet is that anyone can add a web page or site for everyone to see, but when you are looking for information it can be one of the worst things, because it’s hard to know if what you’re reading is the truth or something that somebody has made up.  It’s important then to look at who made the site and to ask yourself whether there are better people out there to give you the health information you want.

Newspapers

Many newspapers feature health, beauty and lifestyle sections.  On the whole there is little useful health information in newspapers for young people. However, if you do read newspaper health sections look carefully at the information they are providing. These sections are often just advertising features (large paid adverts) that try to look like the rest of the paper to trick you into taking them seriously.  Look for any small print (usually near the title) that tells you if it's advertising.  Also, because newspapers combine health, lifestyle and beauty information, it's important to tell the difference between each topic.  Most beauty information deals with beauty products which have nothing to do with your health.

Magazines

Most magazines for young people cover health only as part of lifestyle, relationships, music and gossip. These types of magazine often give you unrealistic goals about how young people should look and behave, and their health information is often "sensationalised" to make more interesting reading, especially about sex. These magazines are poor sources of health information, and you should check anything you read in them with other sources.

Radio

Many radio shows, especially commercial radio stations, feature advertisements. It’s also important to realise that the radio announcers themselves are paid to advertise products, even though they may sound like they are just talking about a product in between songs.  If you are unaware of this you may take this advertising as advice.

Movies

When people smoke cigarettes or drive a certain car or use a certain product in a movie, it may be because the companies that own that product have paid the movie makers to have those products in the movie.  What the companies are trying to do is to associate their product with the exciting events and glamorous people that are in movies.

How the media can affect you

The media constantly bombards us with information that influences much of what we believe. This influence can come from advertisements, but also from articles in newspapers and magazines and from the pictures on TV and film. All of us know that adverts are trying to influence us to buy products. But the articles in papers and the programs on TV also influence us strongly. Because we look up to movie stars and other people on TV or the movies, the way they behave on film can influence young people to think and act in the same way.

It is important to remember that what we see people doing on TV is mostly just fiction made up to entertain or shock us, and that this has nothing to do with healthy and fun ways of being. Also, remember that actors are often shown acting in certain ways in movies (such as smoking) because a company is paying for the program to support their products (like cigarettes).

The media influences us because communication with the media is usually just one way, from them to us. You can communicate back - but only by refusing to listen, watching less or choosing something else. You can't choose what the media shows you but you can be in control by choosing how much you watch, hear or read.

How to avoid media influence

You can't avoid the media trying to influence you, but you can make educated decisions about what you see in the media. Here are some tips to help you:

•           Be aware of the media.  Media influence does exist and every one is vulnerable to it.

•           Remember that the makers of a product want you to buy it. Ask yourself: "Do I really need it?" 

•           Also ask: “Is what they are saying about the product true?”

Here are some questions you should ask yourself to see if what you are being told is reliable:

•           Have other people told me that this information is good?

•           Did I look in many different places, and decide that this is the best information?

•           Is the person who has supplied this information an expert in this area?

•           Am I the one who will benefit most from this?  Is anyone trying to sell me something?