Legal and Ethical Issues

Avery Haverstock

Media plays a large role in society. In todays society, almost everyone is

on some sort of social media website or has access to one. As a major
institution in society, the media play a critical role. They reinforce our values
and norms; they give us concrete examples of what happens to those who
disobey these norms; and most importantly, they maintain certain ways of
seeing the world and peoples within that world. If a person does not have a
strong sense of who they are and what they believe in, the media has the
power to almost control how they think. Most will believe what the media
says about certain individuals because the media is supposed to be a reliable
source of information; in some cases the media may not be. They may use
certain terms or even call an individual by their ethnicity instead of their
name. Its little things like calling someone by their ethnicity, which can
actually alter the persons views on that individual. For example, if there was
a robbery committed by an African American, most would generalize all
African Americans as robbers. So the media, instead of naming an individual
by their ethnicity, could call them by their name, or even use a fake one if
the name cannot be named. From the stand point of stopping prejudice,
Canadian media seems to be doing a fine job at that. They usually dont use
slang or make jokes about certain ethnicities. However, I cant say the same
thing about American media. News reports or industries like Fox News
especially have an issue with this. Making sexist jokes, racist slang, and so
on can cause a lot kick back to the company. Although, there is not a lot of
kick back from an American stand point because they all seemly think the
same way. Therefore, the media has quite a few ways of helping stop
prejudices but to even begin to try and stop it, they must change the way
the providers think. Start with people providing others with information.
There isnt really anyway that students can stop prejudice. It starts with
the parents. The parents have the biggest influence on their children and its
their children who influence society. To stop prejudices, we must hit the root
cause of it; which in more cases than one, is the parents. Of course there are
other influences like social media or the environment in which someone lives.
But the biggest influencer is the parents. Although I am neither adult nor a
parent, I do not have much an opinion when it comes to them, however most
can see that parents are extremely stubborn. Having a close minded parent
would be the hardest person one can try and change. They truly believe that
how they think is the right way to think. Everyone is entitled to their own
opinion but at the same time if your opinion hurts other people, your opinion
should not be shared. The only thing students can do to stop prejudice is to
provide information and educate the people who think a certain way. The

Legal and Ethical Issues

Avery Haverstock

majority of the time that people think a certain way is because they are
brought up that way; even if some may think its the wrong way to be
brought up. In addition to students, schools and society can only try and stop
prejudice in the same way. Being able to provide education or information
about ethnicities, sexualities, or genders is the only way we are able to stop
prejudice.
Television, movies, and video games are rated. They are rated a certain
way to help provide some sort of pre-knowledge of how the TV show, the
movie, or what the video game is going to include. Furthermore, the rating
system will give parents an idea for what they want their children to
playing/watching. It all comes down to the parent and what they allow their
child to be watching or playing. For TV shows and movies the rating system
is G General Audience Suitable for all ages; PG Parental Guidance
Parental guidance advised. There is no age restriction but some material may
not be suitable for all children; 14A 14 Accompaniment Persons under 14
years of age must be accompanied by an adult; 18A 18 Accompaniment
Persons under 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. In the
Maritimes & Manitoba, children under the age of 14 are prohibited from
viewing the film; R Restricted Admittance restricted to people 18 years of
age or older; A Adult Admittance restricted to people 18 years of age or
older. Sole purpose of the film is the portrayal of sexually explicit activity
and/or explicit violence. For video games the rating system is EC (Early
Childhood) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 3 and older.
Titles in this category contain no material that parents would find
inappropriate; E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for persons
ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon,
fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language; E10+
(Everyone 10 and older) have content that may be suitable for persons ages
10 and older. Titles in this category may contain more cartoon, fantasy or
mild violence, mild language, and/or minimal suggestive themes; T (Teen)
has content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category
may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood,
simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language; M (Mature)
have content that may be suitable for persons 17 years and older. Titles in
this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content,
and/or strong language; AO (Adults Only) have content that should only be
played by persons 18 years and older. Titles in this category may include
prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and
nudity.

Legal and Ethical Issues

Avery Haverstock

There is not much for me to say about posting things on the internet.
Basically, whatever you post will stay there forever. If you want your future
coworkers to know that youre a massive Justin Bieber fan then post about
Justin Bieber. If you want your future employers to know that you hate
everyone and you favourite quote is if it aint white it aint right then post
stuff like that. For everything thing you post, there will be a consequence;
whether that be positive or negative. Think before you post.