Effects of Mass Media Part II

As we talked about TV, I was surprised to find that to be considered a heavy TV watcher, you only have to watch 4 hours of TV a day. I am most certainly not a heavy watcher, but I do use TV and radio often for background noise and sometimes just for comfort when I am alone in my room doing work. But maybe, when I look at it that way, I may be considered a heavy consumer of TV and radio. I also found the Mean Scary World Syndrome to be very interesting. I do believe that TV does affect me and makes me believe that crime is more prevalent in my life. I used to be a big fan of scary movies in middle school and high school. I remember after I watched them, it would be very hard to go through the night and next few days without thinking about it and being paranoid about my surroundings. Mainstreaming does affect TV and influences opinions across all people.
I found the two-step flow very interesting and very true. I do agree with the fact that we are all highly influenced by opinion leaders, from actress and actors on TV, to the people in our very own community. I think that this idea of opinion leaders can be a negative or a positive thing, depending on what this leaders message is. But, I do think that opinion leaders are important and I do believe that as a member in society, I too, can become an opinion leader. I have really enjoyed learning about the effects of mass media and I do believe that the more educated I become on it, the better I will be able to educate and inform others on this issue that is such a big part of our society. I believe that God has a place for me in the education field and that He will reveal to me where exactly that is and how I can further His kingdom.