For this question, tell me at least 2 ways in which the media has influenced the

Question

For this question, tell me at least 2 ways in which the media has influenced the perception of death in popular culture. The role of the media can be inferred from popular television shows and movies, news coverage, and musicians and bands. The suicide of Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain led to unprecedented public attention being focused on suicide and its prevention. On the other hand, television series like Game of Thrones depict violent deaths so often that viewers become inured to death.

Do you feel media influences on attitudes toward death affect all cross sections of the population uniformly or are there some subsets excessively susceptible, like adolescents or young adults?

How do you think media can be used to prevent suicides?

Explanation / Answer

Two ways in which media has influenced the perception of death in popular culture are:

1) The glorification of death on social media by young people: Be it a suicide or a life-taking disease, death has become a matter to be celebrated. This has made young people not fear death. They empathise with the dying person's negative emotions rather than finding solutions to it.

2) Song lyrics: Music can be a great influence on its listeners. The lyrics touch their hearts. Many music bands write their songs about death and portray the concept of death or suicide as a very heroic step thereby influencing them.

Media influences are more in case of adolescents or young adults. This is because

1) Among all the cross sections of the population, adolescents and young adults are the ones who uses social media most actively. The glorification of death is also done massively in this particular field of media.

2) Moreover, adolescence is an age of inconsistency and confusion. They seek to learn behaviour from role models. Mostly these role models are celebrities whom they admire. When such role models speak about death in a very comfortable manner, then it has a direct influence on the confused adolescent.

The following ways could be adopted by media to prevent suicide:

1) Communicating ways of dealing with life stress and not glorifying suicide.

2) Extending psychological counselling to people who are suicidal through the use of social media forums.

3) Making people aware about positive psychology and health.

4) Celebrities being positive role models for adolescents.  

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