Culture refers to a way of living of a group of people. It is a crucial condition for existence of human life. Culture varies from one ethnic group of people to another. On the other hand, media represents any technological means that are intended to reach a large group of people and convey a certain message to them. In combination, media and culture have emerged to have a great impact on the lives of people by affecting the self-perception of individuals in a negative manner. This has occurred through reinforcing the issue stigmatization. This paper focuses on the effect of these two aspects on the lives of people and the possible strategies that can be laid to curb these negativities.
Culture and media are among inevitable influences on one’s life. They pose great impact on the lives of people in various ways and most of these impacts are negative. There are several things in the world we are living today that influence the way we understand and make sense of the outside environment (Hooks, 2008). Constituents of self-perception are physical, psychological, and social qualities, which can be influenced by the person’s attitudes, habits, and ideas. The culture we reside is a facilitator to most or all people experiences in life since it represents the immediate environment which allows events to take place. As a result, it creates a perception for people to hold an absolute belief in and act as a direct result of what they have encountered in their cultures. For instance, the mode of dressing has to a great extent affected individual’s perception and thinking. There has been a tendency to think that people who belong to a certain class or category have their own dressing code. For example, it has become a belief of many, especially the youth, that those ladies who walk in public half naked and men who hang bling on their necks are celebrities. Therefore, any individual with a passion of being associated with celebrities try all they can to embrace these cultures.
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Apart from culture, media represent another major factor that has influenced perceptions of people. Information is constantly communicated to the public through media. Different people perceive this information differently depending on one understands. Depending on how people perceive the information relayed, they are affected and influenced to various degree. This is enhanced by the fact that most people tend to consider others’ actions decent and right thereby forgetting about their common and normal standards of living. For instance, vices such as pornography, homosexuality and lesbianism have been exposed to many people through the media. As individuals persist in watching these contents, they develop an interest on what they see to the extent of trying to practice them.
In order to keep each culture alive and embrace the work that is done by media, these effects diverted from having negative effects to positive effects. This will be achieved if people take an initiative of embracing all cultures and make them equally important. This way, no culture will be considered superior to the other. Moreover, media should take a role of educating the public. As a result, people will hold on perceptions they have towards their lives, and to be selective on what they watch and listen to. Through this, individuals will not embrace everything that is exposed to them.
Basing on the above argument, it is vivid that the effects that media have on social life of an individual can have a further profound influence on his/her way of living as well as self-perception. However, this does not mean that people should stick to their cultures only or avoid technological development such as media so as to avoid immorality. People should appreciate all cultures and keep updating themselves through media but focus on things that are of importance in their lives. Through this, people will be able to adapt to new changes without abandoning their personal ways of living.