Media Influence On Culture Analysis

I think culture is one of the more important aspects of society, if not the most important. Conley, in chapter three, redefined my views on culture and how regulated it is in everyones lives. Conley also writes about the media’s influence in our everyday world and how inclined we are, as a country, to live up to their expectations. “Culture is the sum of the social categories and concepts we recognize in addition to our beliefs, behaviors (except instinctual ones), and practices” (Conley). Being from Rapid City, South Dakota, I haven’t really been introduced to cultures that are much different from mine. Nobody strays too far from the typical American culture. Yes, each individual practices their culture a little different, but ultimately …show more content…
Nonmaterial culture includes ones values, concepts, beliefs, behaviors, and social norms, while material culture includes everything that is a part our constructed environment and physical environment (including technology). A strong relationship is present between these two. Take the first cell phone for example. The idea, or concept, of a cell phone first had to be thought of. Next, that idea was to be translated into a physical object (which was done …show more content…
These are also the most influential, especially the television. Television shows air 8,760 hours a year. Commercials are aired 2,102 hours and 15 minutes out of that year. This means 1/4 of all the television we watch is dedicated to watching commercials. Most of those commercials try to persuade viewers to purchase a product or item they are selling. Very few commercials stray off that path. There is a substantial amount of young viewers that watch television and really process the information and images they are watching. This is exactly what the media wants. Make-up commercials have recently changed their target audience from older adults, to younger adults, teens, and even children! Of course, every female falls in the target audience, but some ages are a more profitable market. The media, specifically advertisements on TV, display women that are supposedly flawless, and try to help women who aren’t by persuading them to buy make-up or beauty products because that’s what America wants. I believe this to be wrong because America idolizes people that are flawless and more or less rejects people who are. My perspective on cultures has changed drastically in this chapter. I didn’t fully recognize how much of an impact culture had on my daily life or anybody’s life for that matter. Culture exists in basically everything we do, consciously and unconsciously. I also found