Huge impact (obviously), and in my opinion a great thing. While it's not necessarily important to know how many times Lindsey Lohan has been in rehab, it is what interests certain people. Let me re-phrase... media is important to human existence because it gives individuals the chance to dig deeper and learn more (ongoing knowledge) about what is important to them. I'm not a huge sports fan, but I have friends who are... and they can be completely in the know and have the most current and up-to-date news about what they find important. Impacting their lives, and giving their passion importance (giving their life meaning and "impacting their existence")