To begin, the first example of media's influence on society is through the examination of media's impact on children. At each age, the media affects children differently. Each s

Josephson states that at about the age of two and a half, children dramatically change their approach to television. Although they spend about the same amount of time near an operating set as younger children, they pay attention three or four times as much, to the point where they are paying attention for almost half the time the set is on. The effects of media have now become three to four times greater. This means that if there is violence, it is much more likely to have an effect on children at this age. Toddlers are capable of learning verbal and non-verbal behaviors from the television. While this does not necessarily mean that they will become violent through watching it on television, it does lay the groundwork for future influence.

Let us look at the media's influence on young women first. A study was conducted on the effect of advertising and programming on body image distortions in young women. The results indicated that the watching of TV programming and advertising could alter a woman's perception of her body shape in just thirty minuets. It is estimated that 5% of women have the body build required to be a fashion model (Jhally, 2000), and that one in 40,000 women meet the approximate height, weight, and shape requirements to be a fashion model (Wolf, 1991). Everyday, women purchase magazines and other forms of advertisement in search of new ways to loose weight, alter their appearances, and modify their bodies from their predestined state. Eating disorders are of the most common symptoms among today's young women. The media even has effects on people that have been isolated from television. In 1999 the "New York Times" published an article; "Study Finds TV Alters Fiji Girl's View of Body". In accordance with traditional culture in the South Pacific nation, a nicely rounded body is the norm for men and women. Even when someone announces they are "going thin" it is considered a worrisome condition. A Dr. Becker and her colleagues surveyed 63 Fijian girls whose average age was 17. The study began in 1995 after satellites began beaming television signals to Fiji. In 1998 the researchers surveyed another group of girls that matched the height and weight of the previous ones. 15% in the 1998 survey reported that said they had induced vomiting to control their weight and 29% scored highly on a test of eating disorders. 50% of the girls who said they watched television three or more times a week described themselves as fat or over weight. All the girls said they wanted to look like women from the east.

At infancy, they can pay attention to an operating television set for short periods of time, if an adult physically directs them toward the television set. According to a study by, Wendy L. Josephson, Ph.D, "infants who watched television for longer than a six minute span showed signs of tiredness, such as crying, fussiness, and yawning." She states that there is no evidence that violence in the media has an effect on infants, but just to be safe, parents should limit television viewing.

Regardless if the media has had a negative or positive effect on teens, it is most obvious that it at least has had some kind of affect or influence on their daily activities. As a society, we must understand the significance of mass media and how it can change teen perceptions, particularly about sex, for the worse. If most parents knew how television could influence their teenager, there would be a lot less television sets in American homes.

Teenagers have an endless amount of exposure to mass media. It has been

In conclusion, it is evident that the media influence society in many different ways. From infancy, television viewing will influence the behavior of a baby. As a child grows older, television becomes even more of a factor as the child gets older. According to research, children will experience over 100,000 acts of media violence within one year. While the media influences how individuals percei

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