Who is most affected by media?

Who is most affected by media?

Who is most affected by media?

It is logical that those who consume more TV/film are more likely to hold the views that are reflected in the version of reality that these platforms create. Research by Behm-Morawitz et al. (2016) adds that perceived realism, first person desire, and homophily are also indicators of how much someone will be affected by media. People who perceive what they are viewing to accurately reflect reality are more likely to be influenced by that messaging. Similarly, people with first person desire, or the feeling of media consumption being a shared experience rather than just a one-sided transaction, are more likely to adopt the beliefs presented on screen. Homophily involves the extent to which a viewer relates to media characters. Higher feelings of similarity are correlated with higher levels of influence from content. Overall, the higher involvement a viewer perceives to have with the characters and plot, the more they will be influenced (in agreement) with that media’s messaging and beliefs presented.

Overall, much of the literature on media messaging vulnerability among audiences distinguishes a gender difference, finding that women are more affected than men (Hammermeister et al., 2002) (Driesmans et al., 2016). More specifically, young women (ages 11-14) are the most likely to have beliefs influenced by romantic media content (Driesmans et al., 2016) (Mares & Braun, 2013). This, of course, might be explained by the fact that women tend to consume more romantic media than men. It could also be the case that women are more vulnerable to romantic media messaging because they have been more traditionally socialized to need or want relationships. Regardless, the more significant impact of media on women is a notable difference—especially as we further the discussion about how media shapes and changes beliefs and behaviors regarding relationships.

Young women who perceived reality television to be realistic held stronger genderrelated stereotypes and valued social aggression more (Behm-Morawitz et al., 2016). This makes sense because much reality TV content involves the liked characters aggressing against others for means of success. Social learning theory assumes that after seeing the benefits and rewards associated with social aggression, viewers would be more likely to perform or emulate similar behavior as means for advancement in their own lives.

Researchers Bushman and Green (1990) explored various personality variables in relation to media violence and aggression. One personality variable studied is called stimulus screening, which involves the extent to which people naturally block out certain stimuli by using selective attention. Findings included that those who were considered high screeners (those who use selective attention more) experienced fewer violent thoughts in response to observation of aggressive scenes than did low screeners. These individual differences are worth consideration, as they assist in pointing to personality types that might make someone more vulnerable to being negatively affected by media.

Who is most affected by media?

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