Ashley CoelloProfessor AJ LashSYG 2010/Contemporary American Social ProblemsApril 4, 2014Mass MediaEvery year the evolution of technology continues to grow more and more as it advances over time. Media not only plays a huge role in society but has become a part of our individual being and lifestyle. The problem with the media is that they have interfered with one of the most important elements for any type of relationship, namely communication. It is not just communication but media has taken over the life of society, instead of being productive we choose to watch television not just for one show but for an entire season in one sitting or instead of completing math homework we can go and plug the questions into a search engine. The scope of this issue has profoundly affected the United States in many ways. It has become impossible not to communicate and not come into contact with the media. According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2007, the average adult watched 1,613 hours of television, listened to 177 hours of recorded music and watched 61 hours of home video. Aside from technology, there are forms of print media that we still use as a nation, including newspapers, magazines, and, once again, technology using the Internet. The media shows the reflection of this nation wanting less free time to interact with each other. Technological developments have increased media choices. I feel like this problem becomes global in so many different aspects. Everyone is influenced by the media even without owning the technology. For example, the media distracts us from being productive and doing what we need to do and then all over the world those countries without media, the people in need are not known, the need... half of the paper... of the advertisers. For example, commercial television and radio depend on their revenue and therefore advertising products have actually been promised. The media appeals to every class. Of course, the upper class has more advantages in engaging the mass media. Since the beginning of new ways of communication, ideas, knowledge and profit have been mixed. Media doesn't necessarily have to be watched, it can also be read. Journalism is also another way in which media is used. Journalism has been used as an independent institutional source of political and social power that can observe and monitor the actions of other higher powers such as religion, economics and politics. Conflict theorists argue that the media is controlled, so those who control it are able to manipulate what is real by changing the things we see, hear, and read on a daily basis. Page cited.