Jump to content
Urch Forums

138 Some people claim that the growth of mass media has stif


Recommended Posts

138. Some people claim that the growth of mass media has stifled intellectual curiosity. Others, however, argue that the availability of so much information and entertainment has encouraged individuals to expand their intellect and creativity.

 

Explain your position on this issue. Support your views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

The issue of whether the growth of mass media is good or bad for intellectual curiosity is a controversial one. Opponents of mass media growth claim that too much mass media leads to a dumbing down of our society. Proponents say that increased availability of information and entertainment stimulates the mind. However, in the final analysis, I believe that the growth of mass media adds to our intellect and creativity.

 

The first reason for my belief is that the larger availability of information gives us choices and the trigger to evaluate these choices. For example, if we were not aware of different sources of energy and their pros and cons today, we would not have the ability to evaluate the benefits of hydrogen cell cars over gasoline. Having this information enables us not only to make the appropriate choice of cars in our personal lives but also drive national policy and funding of research as intelligent citizens. The increased availability of information increases our decision making ability. It also facilitates new ideas about how to combine various products and services existing in the marketplace to create new and efficient composites. The B-to-B model, for example, is the product of this very explosion of mass media information availability.

 

The second reason for my belief is that increase in mass media entertainment opens our eyes to new cultures and new ways of thinking, leading us to be more tolerant and less afraid of different cultures, ultimately leading us to a higher level of emotional intelligence. Not only that, it also leads us to be more intelligent in unexpected situations of crisis. The humane and calm response of the people of New York to the Sep 11 attacks can at least partly be attributed to their enormous exposure to cross-cultural entertainment and culture. It is also evident in the works of fusion musicians like the Colonial Cousins of India, that unhindered availability of entertainment from a multitude of sources has led to an explosion in creativity in arenas where it could not have, in the absence of the knowledge and familiarity with these arts.

 

Because of all these reasons, I therefore believe that the growth of mass media leads us to be a more intelligent people and fosters our creative instincts, rather than suppressing these qualities.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 8 months later...

Please comment

 

 

The issue at hand is whether mass media has helped encourage creativity or stifle it. In my opinion, the availability of vast source of information helps in developing intellect and curiosity.

 

Humans have urbanized from primitive ages to globalization era by slowly building on previous information. With increasing knowledge of humans more information is necessary to satisfy their curiosity. Increasing access to vast source of information through mass media has catered to the need of increasing curiosity of humans. Mass media also provides for information on which new and better human ideas can be based. It is a vast source of information through which new areas and dimension of human thinking develops. Thus, it fires insatiable creativity in humans. For example, a program on cars can make us look at cars as much more than just a mean of transportation. This may trigger a curiosity to know about cars or other means of transport.

 

Secondly, information through mass media may also help to provide for a missing link in some innovative idea. This may help in improving the idea and also to make it a reality. For example, a scientist working on some computer program may come across wildlife program which shows a predator and prey relationship that may be used in the computer program. This new information may trigger new dimension and area in his project.

 

Finally, mass media provides knowledge about various aspects of life. This helps us in perceiving an issue from a different standpoint. For example, information about various cultures and civilization in the world may help us to improve our society. This knowledge may help us to judge flaws in our society and replace them with good points of some other culture. This makes us more intelligent and tolerant.

 

In conclusion, I think that mass media has helped increase human creativity and intellect. The vast source of information provided by mass media has helped increase our knowledge and also foster our creative thinking.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 years later...

There is much controversy about the mass media. Some say that the growth of mass media has stifled intellectual curiosity, while others argue that the availability of so much information and entertainment has encouraged individuals to expand their intellect and creativity. In my view, I do not agree with the first argument, in other words, I believe that the growth of mass media adds to our intellect and creativity as illustrated by two needs: information needs, entertainment needs, socialization needs.

Firstly, information needs. Mass media brings us large availability of information, so we can screen-out better samples and contents for variety projects. For example, university students will need to submit their theories at the end of semester; they won’t have enough time and energy to study the company from head to toe. However, the mass media could provide lots of relevant information for students to analyze and to write. It also encourages the development of new ideas or new statement.

Secondly, entertainment needs. Mass media helps to open our eyes to new cultures and new ways of thinking. The difference between Asia and West can be presented through many aspects, such as life style, food, etiquette, etc. Mass media can pass along information with greater speed, its coverage is huge.

Thirdly, socialization needs. Mass media provides variety way of communicating. Cyberspace is often thought of as impersonal, it’s actually a haven for interactive between two people, even among a group of people. Such as MSN, AIM, ICQ, chat room is the most famous place for strangers to interact with each other. People can learn about various aspects of life and help us in perceiving an issue from different standpoint in real time. Additionally, playing interactive games with others could be more fun than paling game online alone.

In conclusion, I think that mass media has brought us the advantages more than its pitfalls. Therefore, I cannot agree with the claim that the growth of mass media has stifled intellectual curiosity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is much controversy about the mass media. Some say that the growth of mass media has stifled intellectual curiosity, while others argue that the availability of so much information and entertainment has encouraged individuals to expand their intellect and creativity. In my view, I do not agree with the first argument, in other words, I believe that the growth of mass media adds to our intellect and creativity as illustrated by two needs: information needs, entertainment needs, socialization needs.

Firstly, information needs. Mass media brings us large availability of information, so we can screen-out better samples and contents for variety projects. For example, university students will need to submit their theories at the end of semester; they won’t have enough time and energy to study the company from head to toe. However, the mass media could provide lots of relevant information for students to analyze and to write. It also encourages the development of new ideas or new statement.

Secondly, entertainment needs. Mass media helps to open our eyes to new cultures and new ways of thinking. The difference between Asia and West can be presented through many aspects, such as life style, food, etiquette, etc. Mass media can pass along information with greater speed, its coverage is huge.

Thirdly, socialization needs. Mass media provides variety way of communicating. Cyberspace is often thought of as impersonal, it’s actually a haven for interactive between two people, even among a group of people. Such as MSN, AIM, ICQ, chat room is the most famous place for strangers to interact with each other. People can learn about various aspects of life and help us in perceiving an issue from different standpoint in real time. Additionally, playing interactive games with others could be more fun than paling game online alone.

In conclusion, I think that mass media has brought us its advantages more than its pitfalls. Therefore, I cannot agree with the claim that the growth of mass media has stifled intellectual curiosity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...