Media nowadays is everywhere; saving some exceptions, practically everyone has access to TV and maybe even internet; so everyone is vulnerable to the content exposed in TV shows and social network. While it`s true that people can search whatever they want, most will stay with what was given to them. It could be through the advertisements, the journal or even the videos that are recommended to each one of us while being active in social websites, so it is true that the ones who gives us these suggestions are holding some kind of information about us that gives them power to search and find things we would like to see.
Those who are in charge of giving us information must be aware of what they`re giving to us, because it is responsible of a big part of the personal and cultural formation we`ll have. The media is so powerful because it reaches all of us through movies, TV shows, advertisements, music etc. It can give us an idea of what our world "should be" and people will follow it. This process is clear through what we call Beauty Standards (for an example) and how women suffer from the irrealistic ideal of body that is expected of them. It affects most -if not all modern young women and it is a consequence of irresponsible use of media.
If we are not responsible about what we do, we`ll be giving some information we may not want to give; sometimes consenting to something we don`t want to consent simply because we don`t fully understand what is going on and decide to trust with the first logical explanation that appears in front of us. That is why we should be aware of our doings in the internet: because as it is a powerful tool for us to make progress these days, but it`s just as powerful for those who mean no well. That can go from leaking pictures of celebrities that have their privacy exposed to the public to strategies of maintaining power.
To be responsible in this environment is to not believe in everything you see without having your own research. It is to keep your mind open to all different opinions you find while doing your research too, so you won`t fall in the same opinion as everyone, to understand the subject in discussion from different points of view. It is important to keep in mind that every article you read is the opinion of one person(even if it`s not theirs, but the opinion of the journal they work with) and there are many interests involved behind the information you`re given. It is important to see how every word in the articles can go along with these interests, because they can make you think about something in a way you`re expected to.
An great example of this is the following article (it is in portuguese)
Protest against world cup ends up in confront, vandalism and 230 are held
Now, reading the article isn't really needed when you already have the matter in discussion in the title. It says that the protests ended up in vandalism and that the 230 that were held were accused of breaking things around the city like criminals. It is also said that they were part of the movement called "Black Bloc" which is responsible of acts of vandalism around all country; they`re known as being violent and extreme when it comes to their acts of protests and they have very low reputation with most of brazilian people. They`re even accused of "killing the movement" since their violent ways leaded to heavy repression from the Police (PM). Basically it says that the manifestors were in fact assaulted by the Police, but this is justified by their violent actions that left the PM no choice but to repress.
This is the part where your own education and research comes in, because without it, it would be easier to believe all what was said in there. So what do think of it? The world cup was really successful in financial terms but who gains from it? If it was that good why would there be so many movements around the country against it? Was it really only the Black Bloc responsible for killing the act? It is important to come to your own conclusion, but not only from articles that state the vision of the Police, but also from the manifestors that were there in that day.
This article wasn't responsible because it didn`t stated the point of view of all those who were affected, so you couldn't rely only on it. The people who were in the act were simply viewed as "Black Blocs" who were nothing but vandals and it was also said that the PM found Molotov cocktails and other stuff that can be used as weapons in their backpacks to justify the repression. (Which is questionable.)
If there were some aspects in the point of view of those who were repressed, there would be a whole different story to come on with and it would let us think about it and come to our own conclusion which is the whole of the newspaper.To inform superficially and to take sides trying to "passively" justify what happened is a way of alienating people and to show bias which is the opposite of that the media should do, even more if it is a journal with so much influence like Folha.
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