Self-censorship Essay example -- Essays Papers

Self-censorship During the time of my life age zero to six, I watched television. I listened to music. I watched movies. From a stroller, my mother would push me approximately the grocery store as she shopped. I would read various signs posted around the store. Frozen. Watermelon. Pasta. Where did I learn to read? Not from books, teachers, or educational toys. I learned to read from a daily diet of Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. Individuals who blame media for the downfall of society are shortsighted. The existence of televisions Power Rangers or video game consoles Grand Theft Auto does not explicate craze in schools, or on the playground. There are more factors influencing todays children. As I came home from preschool to The Price is Right to now as I sit in front of my Internet-connected information processing system and type this paper, screen time has always been a part of my life. Has this given me a belie view of reality? Has my media use desensitized me, making me prone to committing acts of violence? Do I feel that my sense of self is defined through spending money and purchasing material goods, or that I have distorted views of reality and of the other people in my life? I grew up with media. I was raised in a media-containing environment. Then what sets me apart from the student shooters at Columbine? As our surroundings shape and influence who and what we are, the media in our lives influences and impacts our worldviews. Currently, there is fault on both the transmitting and receiving ends of todays media. Inappropriate messages are received by the wrong audiences due to inactive parenting and irresponsible media. Corporations who are driven by p... ...he comedy of the sexes. The Velvet Light Trap. Fall 1990. Found in Pomerance, Murray and Sakeris, John. Popping culture. Pearson Education, capital of Massachusetts 2004. 6 Lull, James. Media, communication, culture a global approach. C olumbia University Press, unseasoned York 2000. 7 Postman, Neil. Amusing ourselves to death Public discourse in the age of show business. New York Penguin Books, 1984. 8 AskMen.com readership statistics retrieved from <http//www.askmen.com/whoarewe.html. Accessed on 1 May 2005. 9 Ahlers, M. Expert Malvo said he was the spotter, not shooter. CNN.com 8 Dec. 2003. Accessed from <http//www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/08/sprj.dcsp.malvo.trial/index.html on 15 Dec. 2003. 10 Holloway, Sarah L., and Gill Valentine. Cyberkids children in the information age. New York RoutledgeFalmer, 2003.