Media Communication and Society: Impact of Media on Crime and Contemporary Social Issues

This report discusses the impact of media on crime and contemporary social issues. It covers media representation of crime, commentary on the role and impact of media in the 21st century, and reflection on the use of media.

Media Communication and
Society

Table of Contents
PART ONE......................................................................................................................................3
Media representation of crime.....................................................................................................3
PART TWO.....................................................................................................................................4
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
Commentary on the role and impact of media in 21st century....................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

PART ONE
Media representation of crime
In this era of digitalization and globalization one of the necessity element in the society is
the media as it is an important part that plays a significant role in the whole world. It represent
many things like the latest information of the things going around the world, information related
the crimes, health and safety, etc (Dobrescu and et.al., 2021). So, media also report on the
highlights of the crimes that are conducted in the country as as well as in the other countries in
order to make the people aware about the misdeed. Media report about the crimes related to the
murder, rape, domestic violence, child abuse, threats and harassments, etc. It covers or report all
the type of offences to make the citizens informed. The media gave a positive as well as the
negative effect on the crime rate and also on the aggressive behaviour of the public. It is one of
the debatable subject that have a contradictory point of view which means that media act as an
important variable that have the power to influence the other variables of the society. The main
aim or the focus of the media coverage is about the crime related stories. Sometimes media
present the reports in such a way that effect the feelings of the citizens and can represent the
offence in a wrong way or manner (Choi, Yim and Hicks, 2020). Many news about the crimes
are boasted by the media reports that gave a negative impact on the society or the whole world.
On the other hand it makes the people aware about the crimes and also suggest the ways of
protection.
Media have a great influencing power that directly affect the understanding and the
perceptions of the public and can be able to spread a message or the information about the
offence in the whole world and tell about the intensity of the crime and its effect on the people.
Sometimes it reports on the sensational issues which means the issues related to the emotions of
the public and can creates a panicking situation or contributes to moral panic. The coverage or
the reports of the media very rarely examines or analyse the cause or the reason behind the crime
(Kleeman, 2020). It is only interested on the highlights of the crimes whether it will creates
problems for the people. Now a days public or the people are also interested about the news or
the latest updates of the crimes only. They like to get the information about the offences and
react on the basis of the information without analysing the actual situation. Events mainly the
violent events or the crimes that are provided through the CCTV footage or the videos from the
mobile phones are more trustworthy as compared to the media reports because it reduces the

dramatic impact of the media towards the audience. So, in this way media represent the crimes or
the other offences that gave a huge impact on the public.
PART TWO
INTRODUCTION
Media plays a significant role in the society and it has a power to influence and
manipulate the people and can control them in many ways such as physically, mentally and
emotionally (Wahlström and Törnberg, 2021). This report shows that the media have a positive
as well as the negative role in the society and it also gave a high impact on the whole world. It
also shows the current issues related to digital and social media as the use of social media
platform is increasing day by day.
Commentary on the role and impact of media in 21st century
Power in and around media
In this new era of modernization or globalization social media plays an important role
and is growing rapidly in the 21st century. It is also very helpful and plays a vital role in our day
to day or daily life as it is that platform which gives us detailed and the adequate information.
Mainly the role of social media is to give information , to give education and also to entertain the
public. It has the power to influence the people and encourage them to make changes in their
views and opinions and also their way of thinking. It is one of the important and the essential
tool that facilitates the public with relevant information as well as have the capacity and the
ability to entertain them (van Laar and et.al., 2019). The work of social media is commendable at
the time of crisis situation as it put efforts in order to handle the matter or the situation
effectively and peacefully. In this world of digitalization the role of social media can be in a
positive way or can be in negative manner. It has the power and the potential to lead the whole
society or the nation towards the dangerous situations such as wars, disputes among the
countries, etc. So, in this way the work of media directly affect the whole nation as in today's
world every individual is connected or in touch with the media.
Contemporary social issues with digital and social media
Along with the advantages and benefits the social media have some drawbacks or the
limitations such as cyber bulling, reduction in the academic performance, cyber crimes, negative
performance at the workplace, etc (Tyagi, 2020). Following are the social issues or the
challenges of digital and social media-

 Fear of missing out (FOMO): It refers to the feeling of insecurity or the fear that the
other person are living the better life and their life is full of fun and excitement. These
feelings came from the various sites of social media such as Facebook, twitter, Instagram,
watsapp, etc. as in today's world everyone is posting their pictures as well as the stories
on these sites. This fear can cause many problems for the people like anxiety, self-
esteem, increase in the use of social media, etc.
 Isolation: One of the biggest issue or the problem related to the use of social media is the
increase in the feeling of loneliness among the people as the usage of digital platform
make them isolated (van Laar and et.al., 2020). People do not indulge in the other
activities like spending quality time with the families and friends, going out for fun and
enjoyment etc. they only busy in their mobile phones or in the use of social media. So,
this will make them isolated and also affect their overall well being.
In addition to this, some other drawbacks are inadequacy about life, depression, self-
absorption, etc. These issues may takes the life of the people in danger and creates many
problems for them and also causes unrealistic and unfavourable situations for the public
(Wartman, 2019). Now a days mainly the teenagers are get affect by the use of social media as
they use it as a primary and necessary mode of communication and are fully dependent on the
digital gadgets.
Reflection on the use of media
Date Type of media
used
Time spent Reason for using
this form of
media ?
Does this relate to
any of the themes
discussed on this
module ?
12/11/21 Digital online
Guardian paper
30 minutes Getting the latest
information about
the Vaccine
Booster roll out.
For example,
relates to Lecture
3 on media
representation.
03/11/21 TV 1 hour To get latest news
updates around
the world.
Relates to Lecture
1 on
communication.

15/11/21 Twitter 45 minutes I get the new
updates on the
latest design and
fashion that I can
use in my day
today life.
It is related to the
usage of the
social media
platform.
29/11/21 Facebook 20 minutes To be in touch
with the friends
and relatives
It is that platform
where we can
communicate
with the other
people.
07/11/21 Instagram 30 minutes Get the
information about
the trending reels
and to post the
pictures.
It is related in
terms of the
videos and the
stories posted by
the people in
order to interact
with each other.
15/08/21 Radio FM 45 minutes To listen and
enjoy the music.
Related to the
news updates and
the songs as per
the preferences of
the individual.
05/05/21 You Tube 15 minutes To see the videos
about the recipes
of different types
of new dishes.
This is a platform
where people can
make their own
channels and post
their videos
related to various

type of things.
21/06/21 Tik Tok 30 minutes To make the
videos on the
basis of the trend
in the society and
also to increase
the followers and
likes on my
video.
It is related to the
entertainment.
That gives a
platform for the
individuals to
show their talents.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that media gave a high impact on the whole
society and there are some issues or the problems that takes place such as cyber crime and
cyberbullying etc. These problems effect the people in a negative way. However, it can also be
concluded that it is one of the important or the essential part of the society that plays a vital role.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Choi, J., Yim, H. and Hicks, R.D., 2020. Direct and indirect effects of crime-related media
consumption on public confidence in the police. International journal of police science
& management. 22(1). pp.38-49.
Dobrescu, C. and et.al., 2021. A game of mirrors: Western/Eastern European crime series and the
struggle for recognition. Journal of European Popular Culture. 12(2). pp.119-134.
Kleeman, J.K., 2020. Victims and the media: A semiotic analysis of hate crime reporting and the
media. The American Journal of Semiotics. 17(4). pp.247-267.
Tyagi, V., 2020. The Impact Of Globalization On Culture In The 21st Century. Journal of
English Language and Literature (JOELL). pp.102-105.
van Laar, E. and et.al., 2019. Determinants of 21st-century digital skills: A large-scale survey
among working professionals. Computers in human behavior. 100. pp.93-104.
van Laar, E. and et.al., 2020. Determinants of 21st-century skills and 21st-century digital skills
for workers: A systematic literature review. Sage Open. 10(1). p.2158244019900176.
Wahlström, M. and Törnberg, A., 2021. Social media mechanisms for right-wing political
violence in the 21st century: Discursive opportunities, group dynamics, and co-
ordination. Terrorism and Political Violence. 33(4). pp.766-787.
Wartman, S.A., 2019. The empirical challenge of 21st-century medical education. Academic
Medicine. 94(10). pp.1412-1415.
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