The cultural effects model argues
that media coverage in particular issues results in most people believing the
media’s views being correct. For example, media coverage of unemployment and
single parent families, give the impression that they are ‘scrounging’ and
claim benefits. This also affects the
elderly with people having the beliefs that they do not claim the benefits that
they are rightfully entitled to. The media use something described as the
hypodermic syringe theory, which means that the media ‘inject’ ideas, attitudes
and beliefs into the audience.
The media is often full of
stories over exaggerating about the youth culture. For example, the media will
describe anybody who wears a tracksuits and their hood up are automatically a ‘thug’
and a danger to society and scare the older generation into avoiding them
completely. The media gradually gains ideological values, which are transmitted
over a long period of time. It has only been in the last few years that people
are now associating teenagers who wear ‘hoodies’ are automatically trouble;
this has slowly become more and more exaggerated by the media, therefore
causing the passive audience to be afraid of this image. The more media being
consumed by the audience, the more they begin to believe things, this is called
the cultivation theory.
