Parallelism between the book "Brave New Word" and current society

Current American culture, like Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, is at risk of societal degeneration as a result of advertisement-technologies. The story discusses the growing number of people in the United States who utilize chemicals to maintain their happiness and vitality. Unfortunately, it does not benefit them in the long run. The majority of soma users became addicted, and they did not overcome their difficulties. In actuality, those who use soma feel tired and rest from their difficulties because it provides them false optimism. The societal moral which control such behaviors in the society has decayed. Most soma users do not change their effectiveness but instead, they gain just a little self-assertiveness. People use soma in a significant amount and exceed their dosage assuming that they will gain happiness and sleep in times they are depressed and have negative thoughts (Huxley 5). It is imperative to note that the happiness that users gain from using soma lasts for just a little time. Indeed, people prefer such drugs over toxic ones such as heroin which damage their health extremely.

In the novel Brave New World, it is stated that use of drugs to acquire intellectuality and conditioning of their behavior leaves the other people’s welfare affected adversely. The use of soma in the society stupefies and offers amoral happiness. Soma does not affect the behaviors of a person socially but instead, it gives a personal gratification. The drug robs human being their human nature and they cannot be themselves and forget their standards of living to acquire pleasure from the soma (Huxley 10). The societal decay can be seen here in that there is no one taking care of the results of the use of these drugs. Therefore, the Brave New World views the causes of the societal decay as resulting from the behavior of man to turn away from the natural way to other ways of achieving happiness and pleasure. Human nature should not be manipulated by use of drugs such as soma to achieve the goals of life (Huxley 12). The result of the behaviors of people living in the US to run away from the natural ways has led them to lose control over some situations due to the effects caused by the drug.

The social media has led to social decay just as seen in the use of soma. Actually, it has made people forget the part they play in the society. People do not care about age, education standards, levels of authority, or the norms of the US society. They do things which ruin their cultural beliefs and way of life (Huxley 20). Moreover, they forget their past and the paths that have brought them success in life. People of different age can access the internet and meet with others on the media platforms where they communicate, and they do not mind about the society view of such relationships.

Societal Issue and Researched Support

Advertising and media are negatively affecting the society today and has led to social decay, making the US residents abandon their moral values and standards which control behavior. It is not a wonder that media has destroyed not only the family life but also the work environment among many residents of the US. The number of people carried away by the wind of social media and advertising is rising at an enormous rate.

If care and concern are not taken, people will not recover from dangerous behaviors and loss of right identity as citizens of the USA. Essentially, the advertising itself portrays pictures of a lost society, one that has never had standards and norms controlling behavior. They have no respect for the nature and uniqueness of human beings above those of animals (William 22). It is absurd that most media platforms can be accessed by even children of a tender age who will never understand what a right behavior is. If these children decay morally, the society will not be handled and solved wisely.

Furthermore, the increase of a capitalistic economy which has gained strength in the states has been unable to control behavior leaving the young people at a vulnerable point of being used in the media and advertising sectors. They are denied the understanding that whatever they advertise portrays the level of social standards set by the society. The products being put on display are also choking because they are unexpected. They destroy the correct notion that the US is an excellent place to be since they can be seen all over the world. If such levels of social decadence will continue, then the society will not be saved from the destruction of norms and beliefs which control behavior.

Basically, the government has not played its role in curbing the increasing decadence in the society. The authorities themselves are on the frontline of misusing the media platforms to attack their opponents through vulgar language and pictures which don’t show respect for human nature. They have led in forgetting the future of the USA and how generations to come will survive in such a society (William 12). The children of tender age misuse the advertisements on the internet and other platforms through practicing what they learn from them. The result has been increasing terrorisms and misuse of firearms.

Notably, every year a large number of people lose their lives in the USA as result of killings done by people who learned through media how to kill. The youths in the USA who have been in the drug abuse cite that they were manipulated by media, where they saw people take some form of drugs and they can gain happiness and success in what they do (Singer 23). Accordingly, such advertisement has led to an increase in the number of people taking alcohol.

In the U.S, actually, alcohol is advertised as an excellent product which refreshes one from depression and the daily struggles that one has had, but after all, people still return to their old problems. Instead of society providing ways of solving such issues, it has decayed, and the moral values have been archived in historical books (Cueva 33). It is not a wonder to see people walking half naked in streets of USA today. Such a level of social decay shows the disadvantages of having technological advancements. Finding a person who has worn clothing decently is a miracle. People do not even know that by putting on such clothing, they are not acting morally because there are no more moral values that exist in this society. Therefore, the more advancements in media and advertising, the more the people are losing the game and setting a slippery ground for the future generation which will never be able to correct the error that has been made by their predecessors. Life in the USA has become expensive because people want to run for the up-coming clothing in the market which will make them look modern and unique compared to others (William 15). They follow an unknown pattern of behavior which has damaged the old beliefs and standards of living.

The social decay in the US has been seen in the media where people no longer mind about the language they use in communication. They started from the media, and now they have brought it to the formal communication. In fact, it is alarming to see employees talking vulgar language with their employers. They do not care about the views of the customers regarding such issues (William 12). They do not care about the age of their respondents nor the people surrounding them. It is paramount to point out that the words which can only be ranked as insults which demean a human being are used in communication, and no feeling of guilt is seen in those involved (Singer 25). Research has shown that even the children no longer choose words to speak to their parents in the US. Children insult their parents in their communication, and no one among them sees the worse of this, indicating a high level of social decay.

The US society no longer have standards which indicate the right or wrong, and there is one, soon it will be challenged by the increasing number of advertisements. Due to lack of such norms which have decayed as a result of the misuse of media and advertisement, people do the wrong things, and they have the freedom to do such since no one has ground to question their actions (Cueva 11). They are all trapped and cannot run from the media and advertisement since they are everywhere as they need them to satisfy their daily needs (Barve 2). People will require the media to watch the news but in the middle of the news, the media company bring up some nasty advertisements about some drugs which increase intellectuality. Thus, people will be driven by such adverts, and they will purchase and use them only to realize that the side effects of the same are very devastating.

The increased number of drug traffickers in the US in this decade is as a result of the advancement in diverse platforms for media and advertisement. They have their way of reaching a large number of people who will purchase the drugs from them. The young citizens have been caught in this trap, and they are left in addiction which will cost them more money to leave than the one they spend in buying such drugs. The social decay is seen here where the society has no ways if helping people who are getting stuck on minor issues as such. Looking at the traditional beliefs of US society, such behaviors caused by social media were not in existence, and people would be offered proper counseling which has been commercialized and getting one is costly. Social advice offered today in the States, therefore, has become useless since it does not transform the behavior of a person.

The growing need for pressure has been satisfied by the rising advertisements which cover diverse types of pressure that meet the expectations of the modern society. People who like alcohol follow the media platforms which advertise different types of alcohol with the ingredient and exaggerated importance of taking them (Barve 21). That fact has made many get lost in drug addiction, sexual immorality, terrorism, and piracy. The number of people who are driven and motivated by watching movies which are in their area of interest and many cases, they like the wicked ones who line up with their expectations and behavior. The increased number of war and horror movies indicates the kind of decayed society that the USA is more than other societies in the world (William 10). The movies are available for residents of the USA who have a high-speed internet connection which favors them to access any detail they need.

It is evident that the society has lost its identity and its right moral standards in the provision of the right behaviors for the residents of USA. Most people are not aware of the evils that move around them. They have adopted such a living standard that they cannot change their behavior or detect any change in their behaviors. Some of the youths find themselves with culture crush when they visit other countries which control some behaviors such as Palestine and Uganda. They are not able to leave their behaviors easily since their culture did not train them to respect other people’s beliefs and norms (Cueva 23). They find themselves in courts of law being sued for the insult, but they thought they were speaking as usual. Moral decay in the US has led to the loss of jobs and opportunities for its citizens in other countries which respect and uphold beliefs and standards.

There are countries which have a rich culture, and they do not allow social decay as one sin in the US. They have high ways of modeling behavior and making it adopt the new emerging technologies. They do not allow advertisement which doesn't line up with their beliefs (Singer, 30). They have ways of punishing offenders who are few since they train their children from a young age to old, to understand the right behavior. They do not allow their children to adopt unusual behavior which might lead them to crime. These countries include the Asian countries, for example, Saudi Arabia where they have set the moral standards which every person living in the country must adhere to. They have a high respect for their religion (Barve 22). The media in this nation is monitored, and they are not allowed to advertise things which would start decaying their social standards. The US should learn from such countries which are not changed by the advertisement and media. They should exercise control t the growing media technology. They should adopt new behavioral change approaches which will revive the decaying social standards. The government should control the behavior of its citizens to prevent the increasing number of crimes happening as result of social decay. The leaders should lead by example through practicing some behaviors which will motivate others to avoid the evils such as drug addiction and immorality which is high in the USA.

The United States is leading in social decay across the world because of its high levels of advancement in technology. The peer pressure has affected the young people who use the media platforms to acquire the fulfillment of their behaviors (Russello 4). The young people are seen to leave their original behaviors the moment they follow up the media. They are influenced by the advertisement they view daily. They are quick to accept new behaviors since they do not have a foundation of positive social morals.

The rising levels of social decay can also be associated with the advertisements which are manipulated by capitalism. The businesses advertising themselves do not mind the damage they cause when they do not take care of the people who will view such adverts (Barve 12). Such carelessness has led to increased number of people especially the children and young generation in drug abuse and other antisocial behaviors. Their performance in school is seen to go down. Many of them spend their time on advertisements where they do not care about their educations and careers. It is sad to see bright children ending up failing in exams and some even drop out of schools as a result of joining up with gangs which have no good reason in the society. They do not obey their parents as they watch how to be right hooligans in the advertisements (Russello 4). They apply all that they watch in the media in their daily lives. Many of the children who have changed their behaviors have ended up losing hope in life and increasing their dependence on their parents rather than learning how to work for them to earn a living.

Therefore, social media increases laziness among people and creates a mindset of simple ways of achieving things. Since most of the people waste their precious time on it, they become unproductive, and they end up losing their good jobs. The result is that they are subjected to abject poverty which they cannot control. Therefore, the social decay in the society today can be linked to advertisements and media as well likened to the Brave New World by Huxley.

Synthesis, Implications, and Proposal

Although advertisement and media are affecting the society negatively in the USA, Americans can adopt new ways of handling the effects of media and advertisement to prevent social decadence. Since media and advertisement will not end, people must learn how to utilize and cope up with the effects of using the social media and advertisement. They must develop tolerance to advertisements which they may encounter that have adverse effects on their excellent social behaviors (Cueva 13). The parents should understand that if they do not take care of their siblings at a young age, then they will not get hold of them when they get into media and advertisement.

As seen in other nations, USA lacks strict advertisement rules and controls. The US government should be the leading in setting the pace for the citizens to adopt new ways of life. They should develop rules and regulations which fight against most of the increasing antisocial behaviors in the US (Barve 2). They have a part to play in maintaining social standards which will save the incoming generations from living in a chaotic world of media and advertisement.

There should be the development of a kind of education that teaches all the students’ social behavior of the Americans where the learners will study what good behavior means. They will learn how to set new standards of living. They will understand how to cope up with any antisocial advertisement they meet around them and criticise it before adopting it as part of the way of life (Russello 16). They will learn how to set new standards and behaviors. Saving Americans from the devastating effects of social media is possible.

The media platforms should also be regulated through setting new laws which will govern their activities. Any violations should be prosecuted and punished. Such actions will limit them from advertising drugs as if they were right products to sell and state their effects in every advert they do. For example, the cigarette adverts have to state the lung cancer caused by smoking cigarette in every advert they make (Russello 17). Such levels of discipline help the decaying society to be aware that it can still change and become better. Increased number of public awareness on the effects of misusing the media and advertisement is necessary to save the young people who are getting drawn into antisocial behaviors (Singer 40). The government should hold strong public notices and engage them on educative programs which will guide the behavior of many.

In conclusion, the social decadence in the USA can be handled if media and advertisements are put to check. They should be regulated to ensure that they do not spoil the standard of behavior of the people. It is the responsibility of every citizen to take care of what they watch and hear and the effects it has on their excellent behavior. The effects of media and advertisement can be monitored to prevent social decay and derive the benefits of it.

Work Cited

Barve, G., et al. "Effects of advertising on youth (age group of 13-19 years age)." J Mass Communication Journalism 5.260 (2015): 2.

Cueva, Maya. “This is Your Brain On Ads: An Internal ‘Battle’.” NPR. NPR, 14 June 2011. Web.

Huxley, Aldous. Brave new world. Ernst Klett Sprachen, 2008.

Russello, Salenna. "The impact of media exposure on self-esteem and body satisfaction in men and women." Journal of Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research 1.1 (2009): 4.

Singer, Natasha. "Making ads that whisper to the brain." The New York Times 14 (2010).

William, Jeremy. “The Cultural Impact of Advertising.” Make Wealth History. N.P., 10Oct. 2017. Web.