Chaelyn Saunders Mass Media Content and Reality Today, it is clear that we are faced with two different

worlds: the real world and the media world. Because the boundaries of the two worlds are extremely blurred, it is very hard for some to determine the difference between them. Many times when people do not et all the information or experiences in their own lives, they turn to those in the media. Most, especially youn children, view media as a !ma ic window" to the world. #oun children see television as a truth to what is actually oin on in the world. Thou h by a e five they are able to determine fiction from non$fiction, it is still hard to determine reality. %ilms such as Star &ars are easily depicted as fiction by children, however, the pro rams themes could be seen as realistic. &hen 'ud in reality, viewers ma(e assessments of the content. They determine whether or not a situation actually happened and if it has possible potential to happen. Reality of media messa es is also 'ud ed based on social utility and identity 'ud ments. Many determine whether or not they can use the information in portrayals by the media in their own lives. )f the characters and their actions relate more to fantasy situations, people are less li(ely to believe it as reality. *eople also use identity 'ud ment to relate to characters in television or film. The more they can relate to a character, the more real they appear to the person. )f someone in the audience identifies wish a character they will most li(ely believe the situation could be real. )t is clear that children, especially youn ones, may be unable to separate fiction from reality. +owever, adults are 'ust as vulnerable as children. Thou h they do not (now it, there is not a bi ap between the abilities of adults and children to accurately perceive reality. Because

they are no lon er children, adults wron ly believe that they do not need to thin( carefully about the realities of media messa es. This ma(es adults victims, 'ust li(e children.

,ames *otter describes people-s exposure to media messa es as next$step reality. )n real life, most people are not able to be exposed to all the messa es and experiences that they desire. This may be because of their livin situation, income, or location. Because of their desire to experience these messa es, people see( them out. They o to the next step to et the information they see(. Because these situations and experiences could very well happen to them, they are viewed as reality. +owever, much of what is shown by the media is far from reality. The next$ step reality principle uides viewers to or ani.e the information they perceive. Settin up /uestions, people can determine which elements of the messa e they believe are real, which are fantasy, and how they came to that conclusion. )t also helps viewers as( themselves if they are attracted to the fantasy, willin to ma(e it their reality. &ith the reality television enre, viewers are shown real people in a fantasy situation. The content they ta(e in often sets them to believe it is real. 0n the MT1 television show, 2ext, contestants compete to win a date. 0ne uy will audition each irl one at a time, and if he does not li(e them he says !next". Then, the next irl will et off the bus and attempt to win a date. 3lmost always on the show, contestants are eliminated based on what they loo( li(e, what they are wearin , and their attractiveness. 0n the season opener, a female contestant was !nexted" simply because she was heavy. The man too( one loo( at her and said !next". This sets a warped model of reality. Because of the shows li(e 2ext, both men and women believe that it is acceptable to be rude to others simply based on their loo(s. 1iewers view characters and situations as real. They relate to those on the show, and can even ima ine themselves on the pro ram. This only furthers the blurrin of the line between the real world and the media world.