Media Effects & the "Jersey Shore"

These days people have to question whether reality shows are really real. They are filled with drama and lunatic behaviors that play a major impact on viewers. I for instance, love reality shows! and I feel they influence my views about the world and even make me question my moral values sometimes. "Jersey Shore" is one of my favorite reality shows, it follows the lives of eight young cast members from Jersey, as they vacation in a party house down in Miami. With their every day actions they have made it seem like sex is not a big deal and that it is OK to have sex with random people every once in a while, something I used to think was degrading and self disrespectful.

"Jersey Shore" has played a major role in media effects. Media effects is exactly what it sounds like, it is a process which changes the way society think and behave, influencing the path their life will take. Radio, television, news papers, magazines and film are all different kinds of media we are exposed to every day of our lives. If media did not exist every ones life would be steering in a completely different direction; because media plays a major impact in our every day decisions whether we admit it or not.

I will admit I am a perfect example of how media effects do occur. I always thought sex was something truly sacred that you would only do with someone you deeply cared about and trusted. On the other hand, the "Jersey Shore" cast members approached sex a total different way. I never imagined people were so liberal and feeble minded when it came to something  I thought was supposed to be private. In the show they almost make it a goal to go out and find a different sex partner every night, when they do it is as if they feel a sense of accomplishment and their peers find it as something perfectly normal and cool. They would literally have sex with people they had met that same day and there was never any remorse or regret. After watching this show repeatedly, it made me question whether my view on sex was antiquated, was I wrong? Did I need to get with the program and get more sexually experienced? Than I stopped myself and realized I was being a victim of media effects, which is something pretty much everyone experiences.


Below is a video explaining the basic gist of "Jersey Shore"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQH5_EU0Wqs