Positive and Negative Images on Social Media and TV

Topics: Social Media, Television Words: 363 Pages: 1

Table of Contents

Introduction
Discussion
Social Media: Positive and Negative Images
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Having lost its status as the most influential medium, TV still exposes society to various beneficial and negative images. On a positive note, diversity in TV series has been growing, affecting the number of characters to represent women, racial minorities, and sexual minority groups (Williams, 2021).

Discussion

In TV media products, there has been an increase in positive role models for previously underrepresented groups, for instance, Mr. Anagonye, a Black scholar from The Good Place, Leslie Knope, an ambitious female politician in Parks and Recreation, and so on (Williams, 2021). In terms of negative images, the increasing popularity of TV shows centered on drag queens’ life has caused concerns among parents and lawmakers (Del Barco, 2022). For instance, the famous RuPaul’s Drag Race TV series is considered a problematic representation of performances as the participants’ outfits and makeup are often explicitly sexualized (Del Barco, 2022). For that reason, limiting children’s exposure to such content and the images of drag shows has become a legislative initiative.

Social media (SM) represent another source of information assisting in popularizing both positive and negative phenomena and attitudes. SM images that can affect society positively include the growing incidence of diversity-informed post illustrations and narratives. For instance, these include images that depict the peaceful coexistence of different races, nationalities, and religious movements (Iatridis et al., 2022). Increasing diversity in sports, political institutions, artistic communities, and other fields find reflection in social media content, ensuring various groups’ representation in the virtual space (Iatridis et al., 2022). In terms of negative images, there are various SM influencers to promote ambiguous and hateful attitudes toward others. For instance, Onision, a blogger active on video-sharing SM platforms, has produced a large amount of content to humiliate overweight and physically unattractive people and mock mental health issues (Haasch, 2021).

Conclusion

SM users can also be exposed to controversial images of legal adults engaging in physical contact with their underage counterparts. For instance, a TikTok influencer Zoe Laverne was caught on video kissing a boy younger than 14 (Haasch, 2021). Thus, SM users should filter the content they are consuming, especially when it comes to underage individuals.