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* Sunday, April 29, 2007 *

and ladies and Gentlemans ......now for the much awaited workpiece by CHEN ZHENGXIAN!!!

In today society, the television and other forms of mass media have become increasingly important in structuring the lives of people. It is this independence on the mass media for information that has led many people to believe that the mass media have desensitised our generation of people towards acts of violence and brutality in the world today.

There are many ways in which the mass media have desensitised people towards acts of violence and brutality. One of the reasons as to why the mass media are responsible for the prevalence of violence and brutality in the world today is the mere fact that people are dependent on the mass media for information, education and entertainment. Generations of youths have grown up watching educational programmes and reading books. The mass media have imparted knowledge and moral values to them. Imagine if these television and books were to sensationalise acts of violence and brutality. Would the children not grow up thinking that acts of violence and brutality are perfectly acceptable methods of expressing themselves? Unfortunately for us, this scenario is already happening in the world today. Many comic books and animated films aimed towards our children blatantly glorified heroes who resort to violence as an alternative to anything at all. Take for example the comic book hero, Batman. Many avid readers of this comic book read it not because of Batman's exemplary behaviours toward the elderly or his contributions to charity, but because of Batman's ability to knock out criminals with a single punch. Is it any wonder that televised wrestling event such as the world wrestling entertainment's have one of the highest number of viewers.

the advent of the internet has also caused the mass media to play an even larger role in the prevalence of violence and brutality. The internet allows everyone and anyone to find whatever their hearts desire in a matter of seconds. Images and text such as pornographic pictures and sensitive government documents are easily obtained through the internet. Furthermore, with government intrusion kept to a minimum, the internet has become a haven for people seeking to satisfy their curiosity or desires about things as repugant as self-mutilation. The internet has essentially allowed people free access to whatever information they seek, whether or not the information is suitable for them.

The media's acceptance of explicit song lyrics, movies and television programmes featuring blood and gore has led to an increasingly violent society. The influence of the mass media is great. For many people, if the media approve of acts of violence as method of expressing anger, then it is becomes perfectly acceptable for them to do so as well. Many songs featuring themes on sec, death and violence can be heard on radio today. Just twenty years ago, these songs would have been considered appalling and socially unaccepetable. Due to the influence of the mass media, we have become highly desensitised towards these expressions of hate and violence. It has become perfectly acceptable for a song to be about violence and hate.

man y youths today feel that it is highly desirable to be in a gang or a secret society. Movies, television programmes and books portraying gangsters as unsung heroes help to foster this desire. Most of the time, the advertisements from the media withhold certain information from their target audience in order for to attract more people and to ultimately sell products. Our belief that everything the media portrays is true and inevitably fractured our ability to judge right and wrong. People tend to be without checking for themselves to see if it is ethically and morally acceptable. Thanks to the media, our moral values have eroded greatly over the years.

Yet this prevalence of violence cannot totally be attributed to the mass media alone. Tribes of aboriginal people living in Papau New Guinea fight among themselves. Territorial fights break out often. Most of these people have never even laid eyes on a television set or a book, much less be able to read. Yet, they resort to violence to settle disputes. Other tribes of people are actually cannibals who eat the body part of fallen enemies. While we may find such behaviour shocking, they believe that such acts grant them strength. violence has become ingrained in their lives without the presence of mass media.

It has become clear that the mass media are gently responsible for the violence and brutality in the world today. The question is not to find out just how responsible the mass media are in desensitising people towards acts of violence and brutality but how we can amend these changes to our moral and social values.

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8:38 PM