Prompt: News media is important in our society. Why is it so important? Is its influence positive or negative?

With the advances in communication technologies, the distribution of information is significantly faster and globalized. In this essay, I will explain the importance of news media and why I believe it is considered negative. Ċ These days, it is true that news plays a vital role in keeping people informed about current affairs on a global scale so that they can respond correctly and immediately. This can be exemplified by the case of Covid-19 which is reported every minute on many forms of media ranging from newspapers to television news with a view to providing people with information about new symptoms it causes and what they should do to prevent it from spreading. In addition to the global importance of news media, it can serve a crucial part in human daily life. In particular, from simple things such as watching the news about the weather forecast, people can dress smartly and be well prepared for bad weather conditions. For instance, it is wise and reasonable to take a pair of boots and a raincoat if it is forecast to rain later so as not to get soaked and have the flu. Ċ Although I cannot deny the indispensable function of news, I still hold a firm belief that it has several detrimental effects on citizens. To be more specific, news media can shape people’s behaviours negatively as it can create misconceptions, making them afraid of going out and increase violence between citizens. In fact, current news focuses too much on robberies and homicides instead of the increase in volunteer work or special musical events, and it makes the audience become more pessimistic and lose faith in life. Furthermore, fake news, for example, could lie about the spread of a particular disease and make people so frightened that they may buy, steal and fight for a bottle of sanitizing alcohol without an actual need. Ċ In conclusion, keeping updated with the latest news can be essential to be a part of this globalized world. However, it can negatively affect people in some ways mentioned above, so people should be extremely cautious about what they see, hear or read in order not to be misled and manipulated by unscrupulous news publishers.