MASS MEDIA IN OUR LIFE.

There are different kinds of mass media: press, telephone, television, radio and the others. A mass medium is a means or a method we use to send a message to someone else. Even for the simplest communication we must have a sender, a message, a medium and a receiver. Most people are in the habit of reading news because it is interesting and important. Reading is the source of new information. In my view, press is the mirror of current events. Every day millions of newspapers and magazines are published all over the world. Now it is difficult to say how many different newspapers and magazines are issued in our country. There are different national and local papers, dailies and weeklies, some that are issued three times a week and even monthlies. They satisfy different tastes. People subscribe to various papers and magazines, but they have one common aim. They want to know what is going on in the world, in the country, city, town or village, what people are anxious about. That′s why papers and magazines inform the readers about the current events both at home and abroad. They inform the readers of all important developments, pay full attention to the most important national and international affairs, carry commentaries on the most interesting events. There are interviews with well-known people and celebrities. There are also articles on art, sport, music, new books. Everything printed corresponds to people′s interests, as our press is democratic, following the principles of freedom.

Radio and TV are mass media which keep people informed on the topical issues of the day. Both on the radio and TV you can listen to a programme on sports, art, news, music and weather. And it′s an important advantage. Besides there are a lot of entertaining programmes on TV, a lot of feature and documentary films which provoke hot discussions. TV brings the world to our rooms. We see people in our country and in other lands and learn about their customs. There are a lot of TV programmes: news, different talk-shows, TV games (quizzes), concerts, sports programmes and serials. A lot of this programmes are very popular. For example, news deals with political and social problems of a modern society. Their aim is to give analysis of the problems and show different points of view. But tastes differ. Some people are against TV. They say that TV is doing a lot of harm. It occupies a lot of spare time. People used to have hobbies, to meet with friends, to go to the cinema or theatre.

Some people prefer the radio. Radio is preferable to TV when you are at work and need information or have to focus your attention on something else. For example, when you drive a car it is better to listen to the radio than watch TV. But both the radio and TV play an important role in our life as well as newspapers and magazines.

But to my mind, the most widespread mass medium is the Internet. It is used all over the world. You can find any information you like there.

As for me, personally I use all kinds of mass media, because I am eager to know the news round the world, the life of the people and their problems, the economic and political situations in the world. I think that mass media help people to advance in politics, in economics and in education. In my view all kinds of mass media are interesting. I like to watch TV and to read newspapers and magazines. TV helps me to relax after a hard working day and newspapers give interesting and important information.

MEANS OF COMMUNICATION

I believe that nowadays the most important means of communication is the Internet. It is used everywhere: businesses use the Internet to provide access to complex databases, such as financial databases; companies carry out electronic commerce, including advertising, selling, buying, distribut­ing products, and providing after-sales services; businesses and institutions use it for voice and video conferencing and other forms of communication that enable people to telecommunicate, or work from a distance.

The use of electronic mail over the Internet has greatly speeded com­munication between companies, and between other individuals. Media and entertainment companies use the Internet to broadcast audio and video, in­cluding live radio and television programmes. They also offer online chat groups, in which people carry on discussions using written text, and online news and weather programmes. Scientists and scholars use the Internet to communicate with colleagues, to perform research, to distribute lecture notes and course materials to students, and to publish papers and articles. Individuals use the Internet for communication, entertainment, finding in­formation, and to buy and sell goods and services.

Now it is hard to imagine our life without the Internet and mobile phones. They give us wonderful possibilities to get connected with friends and family at a long distance, get new information wherever we are and keep control. But each medal has its reverse and we are to accept the draw­backs we are bumping into. We feel naked and lost control in case we forget our mobile phones at home. We are unable to read ordinary books or attend libraries to find some necessary information. These means of communica­tion made our life easier but at the same time they made us addicted to them. As a result we spend more time talking over mobile phones and surfing the Internet that drinking coffee with friends, having picnic with families or just walking with children in a park. Having connected us with the whole world they made us lonely.

What concerns my own opinion I believe that computer addiction as many other types of addiction can be cured only if the addicts themselves want to be cured. They have to change their lifestyle and began to study or do something else to switch over. I am sure I wouldn’t want to imagine the future of human beings if they preferred sharing their lives with machines instead of with people.

Radio and television are mass media which keep people informed on the topic issues of the day. The difference is that on TV you can see every­thing you’ve heard about. And it’s an important advantage. Besides, there are a lot of entertaining programmes on TV, a lot of feature, documentary films which provoke hot discussions. But watching TV is often a waste of time.

Radio is preferable to TV when you are at work and need information or have to focus your attention on something else. For example, when you drive a car, it’s better to listen to radio than to watch TV.

But both radio and TV play an important role in our life as well as news­papers. They give the full coverage of the latest events, comment on the most important developments, political and domestic affairs. They acquaint

us with different views and opinions. Thus, they contribute to the develop­ment of the information network.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that technology is there to save your time. But I think it is there to give people new ways of filling their time. Take personal computers for example. Learning how to use all the fea­tures of a new Pc uses up all the time that having a computer saves.

A recent survey showed that more than eight out of ten young people would rather text their friends that actually speak to them in person. And ac­cording to the same survey, 25 % of people would answer their mobile phone even during a moment of being in a WC. I ask you, is this really a better world?

Television is one of the greatest inventions. And I should add that now we are beginning to forget what the world was without TV. Thanks to TV we get a great amount of information, have possibilities for education by watching documentaries, science programmes and by learning the most important issues of the day

Thus, we can say that TV is a great force which attracts millions of peo­ple to the screens. But tastes differ and some people are against TV. They say that TV is doing a lot harm because it occupies almost all of our free time. People used to have hobbies, to meet with friends, to read books, to listen to music. Nowadays many people sit watching TV hour by hour. They don’t read books, they don’t do sports, they begin to forget the art of conversation. Watching TV for a long time may lead to poor health and ruin eye-sight.

Although television was invented less than a hundred years ago, it be­came very important to us as it gives us information. What makes television so popular, is that having information which provides television people be­come successful. When people watch television, they not only get informa­tion but also learn. If viewers want to learn something new, they are free to watch special educational TV channels which deal with high quality docu­mentaries about history, science, culture, nature, etc. These are the advan­tages of television. One of the disadvantages of this means of communica­tion and entertainment is that it is getting more and more dangerous as there is a great amount of violence on TV. Many people think that children and teenagers are influenced by the aggression-promoting programmes and films which instruct them how to do illegal things, steal, injure or even kill people. TV is become more dangerous for young people because their im­mature minds absorb the violence they watch and then it transforms into their behaviour. Children who watch TV may start fighting with the real world which contradicts the fiction they watch on TV.

When we think about the future, we imagine something really revolu­tionary like time travel or telepathy. It appears that our life is becoming more and more comfortable and successful with all the new means of com­munication and new devices - plasma TVs, portable computers, wireless Internet and smart phones. Though it seems as if everything has already been created, inventors surprise us with new gadgets every year. We don’t know what can be invented in 10,20 or 50 years from now. It is always pos­sible that new ways of keeping in touch will appear and replace the old ones. What we need to know is whether new means of communication will be available in the future and whether they will change the quality of our life. Sometimes we take it for granted that there is a contradiction between the advantages of new technologies and the disadvantages we can’t help noticing. But the thing that worries most of us is what we are going to do about the changes that all these new inventions bring along and they will af­fect our lives. If we don’t do anything about TV, Internet and mobile phone addictions today, it might be too late tomorrow.