The Role of Media in Spreading Risky Behaviors

The increasing amount of mass media has brought about an infinite wave of information being created and transferred in societies.This media saturation has caused some concerns regarding health issues. Exposure to risky behaviors in media such as TV, cinema,computer games, internet, etc is a serious risk for the children and adolescent’s health. The effect of media on the adolescent’ health regarding issues like nutrition, sex information, alcohol, drugs, violence and stress, is also a matter of continuous debate. Media have the most and best opportunity and capacity to shape adolescent’sbeliefs and behaviors and play the role of parents and trainers as the first source of information about the world. Given the extreme power of mass media to circulate widely and the possible risk of transferring misleading information or deleting necessary information, it is vital for the health communities and mass media to cooperate moreeffectively.