Positive

Many Media products will have a positive impact on the audience that see it. Some movies will motivate people to make positive changes in their life, after watching Rocky many people may feel like having a look at their lifestyle and perhaps get more active. Many media products may carry a message in relation to societal issues such as racism. These products can lead to a change of attittudes on certain issues.

Negative

Media products can also have a negative effect on the audience. Many products may glamorise drugs/violence to a younger audience. Computer games such as Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty are often been blamed for shooting incidents in America.

Media products can be educational and informative for the audience. Films based during World War 2 for example will educate  the viewer on the war and the life styles of those involved with it. Computer games can also educate their audience on the weapnry, uniform and even on the causes of the war through cut scenes etc.

From a young age many children will watch media products such as Coco Melon. These products give young children lots of information on family, school and related issues. These can help children deal with issues in the real world as they occur. Media products are often stimulus for conversation in staff rooms, hair dressers and other public services.

One complaint made about the media has often been that they objectify females. This can be levelled at many movies/ TV shows and adult entertainment where females are viewed as objects of sexual desire.

Again stereotypes can be developed or challeneged through media products. It is important the creators of the media text are aware of this and take appropriate measures to ensure they are not negatively representing a certain social group.

A media  product and it's message can have an effect on individuals, groups and societies. This effect can be positive or negative. Stereotype characters can lead to negavtive representations of certain races. It is important the effect of these representations are considered carefully when designing a media product.

The media has an enormous impact on our view of the world and the people in it. The media has been used by many governments and world leaders to reinforce an ideology. Have a look a this webpage which details how Hitler used the media in Nazi Germany.

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/nazi-propaganda-and-censorship

North Korea censors it's people access to information online, through the radio and through TV to protect it's population from Westernisation.

Have the Irish/UK governments reinforces any idologies through the media during the pandemic?

Conversely media products and their representations can be used to challenge the main stream view or to lead to certain beliefs becoming more main stream. In the 90's there was an increase in the amount of Gay characters in British soaps, this leads to a more open and accepting society and less negative views towards the LGBT community. The following article charts some of the major developments in LGBT representations on TV.

https://metro.co.uk/2020/06/24/lgbt-representation-tv-major-moments-12894718/