Contemporary Society Report: Analyzing Social Media & Mental Health

This report analyzes the impact of social media on the mental health of teenagers by examining three articles. It evaluates the suitability of these articles for academic study, considers media ownership and control, and discusses the representation of groups and events. The report also explores how audiences are shaped by the media and vice versa, highlighting the power of media to influence attitudes and beliefs. The analysis uses the CRAAP test to determine the credibility of sources, concluding that trusted information is essential for academic study. This document is available on Desklib, a platform providing study tools and resources for students.

Reading Contemporary Society

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................1
DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS.......................................................................................1
Article – 1...................................................................................................................1
Article – 2...................................................................................................................2
Article – 3...................................................................................................................3
DISCUSSION...............................................................................................................4
Ownership and control debate..................................................................................4
Representation of groups and events.......................................................................4
Ways by which audiences are shaped by the media and how they shape the
media.........................................................................................................................5
Suitability of sources for academic study..................................................................5
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................5
REFERENCES.............................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Using of trusted information sources is very essential for the academic study.
It is important to learn the manners in which the mass media sources are dissimilar
and similar to academic information by investigating different materials and
resources. Seeking help from this, individual can become aware about varied forms
of mass media in the community along with the impact they have on their perception
as well as comprehension. Considering this, the main aim of the current research
report is to analyse three articles which are related to the topic “Impact of social
media on mental health of teenagers”. In this regards, the report will going to
evaluate whether the information available in these articles are suitable for the
academic study and will consider the ownership and structure of the mass media. In
addition to this, the research report will also throw light on different sources in
relation with the manners people or their situation are presented and will also
deliberate on the ways this influences perception of the public along with opinions
within society. The final section of the report will include conclusion which presents
the summary and final thoughts of the whole research work.
DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS
Article – 1
Bibliographic information
Head, L., 2022. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announces investigation
into TikTok, impact on mental health for children. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.wtkr.com/news/tiktok-investigation-va-attorney-general-joins-probe>.
[Accessed on 4thMarch 2022].
Who owns the news publication?
The news publication is being owned by WTKR
Who is this publication aimed at?
The publication is being aimed at observing the influence of social media TikTok on
the mental health of children concerning to anxiety, stress and depression.
How is the group/thing represented in the article?
In this article the authors have utilized children specially teenage and young
adults and exaggerate on how continuously spending time over TikTok is harming
children and teenagers both physically and mentally. In addition to this, anxiety,
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depression as well as stress being generated from utilizing these sites were also
mentioned significantly. Emphasis was being done for understanding the influence of
social media on the mental health of these adolescents through including live
interviews of sufferers.
How bias is the article and in what ways does this present itself?
The article is bias up to some extent and it includes biasness related to omission.
Some of the information is solely presented one sided and the other side is omitted
in the article.
Is it suitable for academic study?
Yes, the present article is suitable for the academic study as it is being written by
professionals and is also published in reputed publication.
Article – 2
Bibliographic information
Chauhan, S. and Yachu, S., 2022. Mental health in India: Impact of social media on
young Indians. [Online]. Available through:
<https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/mental-health-in-india-impact-of-
social-media-on-young-indians-facebook-instagram-youtube-twitter-7778499/>.
[Accessed on 4thMarch 2022].
Who owns the new publication?
The news publication is being owned by The Indian Express.
Who is this publication aimed at?
Due to the occurrence of social media in the present times, there has been changes
being noticed in the way individual convey as well as cooperate. Thus, the main aim
of the publication was evaluating the impact of social media on mental health of the
pre-teens.
How is the group/thing represented in the article?
In this newspaper article, the negative impact of using social media on
children is focused. The article is horrifying the audience through majorly
emphasizing on the impacts and diseases young ones can have if they use social
media continuously
How bias is the article and in what ways does this present itself?
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It includes biasness related to expediency as some of the information is presented
and reported prior all the facts are being available as well as checked.
Is it suitable for academic study?
Yes, the present article is suitable for the academic study because it includes
detailed study, methods also describes the outcomes being obtained.
Article – 3
Bibliographic information
Ghaffary, S., 2022. Biden threatens Big Tech over its “national experiment” on
children. [Online]. Available through:
https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/3/1/22957507/biden-state-of-the-union-social-
media-mental-health-children-accountability-frances-haugen>. [Accessed on
4thMarch 2022].
Who owns the new publication?
The news publication is being owned by Recode
Who is this publication aimed at?
The main aim of this newspaper article is to hold social media platforms as they are
accountable for the metal harm of adolescents.
How is the group/thing represented in the article?
In the present newspaper article, the reporter has utilized eminent personality
such as Biden who is vowing to the public to hold social media platforms as their
continuous use is harming children and is not good for their mental wellbeing. The
president itself criticises and blames social media platforms as they are
experimenting on children for increasing their profit margin. For the first time the first
man of America has made a statement about the social media. For the purpose of
maximizing the audiences, many of the media firms look for dramatic new products
which preferably containing controversial, eye-catching as well as famous people.
Similarly, in this newspaper article, the reporter has used famous personality so that
it will have more impact on the audience.
How bias is the article and in what ways does this present itself?
No, the article is not biased at all and has considered all the fairness and ethical
considerations.
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Is it suitable for academic study?
Yes, the present article is suitable for the academic study because the information is
being collected from the good quality publication and is being written by
professionals reporters in a specified field of study. Thus, it can be said that it can be
utilized for the academic purpose.
DISCUSSION
Ownership and control debate
Speaking in relation with the mass media, it is being referred as the different
array of media technologies that reaches large group of people through seeking help
from mass communication. Talking in relation with the media ownership in UK, it is
majorly being dominated by the three major firms that is News UK, Daily Mail Group
and Reach. They are dominating around 90 percent of the national newspaper
market. In addition to this, there is less concentration in the digital landscape. Around
three or five of the social media services utilized for accessing the online news in the
UK are being controlled by Facebook. On contrary, the traditional new companies
are around 48 percent of the Facebook users’ new source. Moreover, the traditional
public service BBC has been a strong player in the broadcasting and now they have
also stepped into the digital as well as online services. There are many commercial
operators who have urged the government to control the expansion of BBC in the
online market. The regulations which are presently available are not effective in
controlling concentration and in fact has opened door for more concentration as well
as cross-ownership in the outmoded industries such as broadcasting and
newspapers. In reads with telecom, one of the major companies which are
dominating are Vodafone and BT (Briggs and Burke, 2019). Furthermore, talking
about the structure of ownership and control of mass media, it is likely to have
bearing on the political conditions of the nation. Regimes which are authoritative then
they control the media and vice-versa. On the other hand, the ownership structure
and control is also being determined by the economic conditions of the country. On
the basis of simplicity there are different kinds of media ownership and control such
as private, public or state owned, community, predominately private owned print
media and media directly owned by political parties and so forth.
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Representation of groups and events
Speaking in relation with representation in terms of mass media, it is being
referred as the manners in which media text manages the groups, personal gender,
age, civilisation, regional uniqueness, culture, events and social problems to the
audience. The texts being published in media possess the power of shaping the
comprehension as well as knowledge of the audience in regards with the above
mentioned significant topics. Because of this, mass media becomes very strong as
well as powerful in relation with influencing the attitudes, beliefs as well as ideas of
people. For the purpose of maximizing the audiences, many of the media firms look
for dramatic new products which preferably containing controversial, eye-catching as
well as famous people. According to McRobbie and Thornton (2015), moral panics
referred as helping the news agencies through adding emotional dimensions to
spotlessly clean issues. Folk devils intensify the news and content for creating
sensitive participation between the spectators. Depending upon the degree of
deviancy of people and events there is more likeliness to be included in the media
content and more likely to be stereotyped.
Ways by which audiences are shaped by the media and how they shape the media
In the context of the media studies, audience are being referred as a group of
individuals who gets the text of media through media carrier, for example, radio,
television, newspaper, magazines, mobile, internet, social media and IPod. Audience
are being regarded as one of the most important element in media because these
are people who are being influenced and shaped by the media and at the same time
they also holds power of shaping and influencing the media. According to the
audience theory, people are being affected by the media and thus, it categorises
them as an outcome, agent and mass. In regards with the audience being conceived
as an outcome it assesse the ways in which people are being affected by media
such as voting, viewpoints, decisions and violence (Pavlik and McIntosh, 2017).
Furthermore, as per the direct effect model of media studies, audience passively
accepts the media message and would display foreseeable replies in reply to these
messages. For example, listening to the news related to war, some people might get
panic attack. There were different theories pertaining to the mass media and the
important among them is magic bullet theory which states that message being
contained by the media is very strong and powerful and it directly injects into the
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intellect of individuals just like a bullet. Therefore, it has been assumed that powerful
media effects resulting to magic bullet approach. On the other hand, audience also
shapes the media as all media content and texts are being developed considering
the type of audience in mind. If audience does not like something, media owners are
required to change the texts.
Suitability of sources for academic study
There are different types of information being available on different Medias
and it is important to learn as well as analyse the suitability and quality of these
information sources for the academic study or research project. There are
information sources might be biased and some might have been influenced by
different factors. All these information sources should be avoided in the academic
studies. To evaluate the suitability of the sources, it is important than the individual
should consider CRAAP test wherein C stands for currency which means analysing
the timeliness of the information, R stands for relevance which signifies whether the
data is relevant for the study or not, A stands for authority that is the production of
data, A stands for accuracy that is reliability and correctness of data and finally, P
stands for purpose which states the reason behind the production of the information.
CONCLUSION
Thus, from the above analysis it can be concluded that utilization of trusted
information sources is very essential for the academic study as there is abundance
of data being available on mass media. Furthermore, it was also originated from the
study that the texts being published in media possess the power of shaping the
comprehension as well as knowledge of the audience in regards with the above
mentioned significant topics. In the same way, audience also have the power to
influence the media. In addition to this, this report has effectively analysed and
concluded that it is quite vital to learn the manners in which the mass media sources
are dissimilar and similar to academic information by investigating different materials
and resources. Other than this, the report has also focused on the issues around the
manners in which the mass media presents the news stories to the audience and
gives information to the general public.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Briggs, A. and Burke, P., 2019. Social History of the Media: From Gutenberg to the
Internet. Polity Press.
Deepa, M. and Priya, K., 2020. Impact of social media on mental health of students.
International journal of scientific & technology research, 9(3), pp.3796-3800.
Mcrobbie, A. and Thornton, S.L., 2015. Rethinking ‘Moral Panic’ for Multi-mediated
Social Worlds. British Journal of Sociology 46(4), p.55974.
O'Reilly, M., Dogra, N., Whiteman, N., 2018. Is social media bad for mental health
and wellbeing? Exploring the perspectives of adolescents. Clinical Child
Psychology and Psychiatry, 23 (4), pp.601-613.
Pavlik, J. and McIntosh, S., 2017. Converging Media: A New Introduction to Mass
Communication. New York: Oxford University Press.
Punch, S., Harden, J., Marsh, I. and Keating, M., 2016. Sociology: making sense of
society. 5thed. Harlow, England: Pearson.
Singh, A., Kumar, H. and Kumari, S., 2020. Impact of Social Media on Adolescent’s
Mental Health. International journal of creative research thoughts, 8(7), pp.
2320-2882.
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