1F25 post 3: The Media We Want

Do we get the media we want or want the media we get? I am strongly inclined to say that we get the media we want because media is practically a controlling force in our lives which dictates how we react to the environment and it keeps us up to date with the culture and so we continually want to be as ‘current’ as everyone else and I believe this causes us to subconsciously seek out the media to guide us in our daily relations. Some teenagers and young adults wake up and one of the first thing they do is reach for their smartphones and log onto their social media websites to see what their friends are up, to not because their life depends on it but because that is what THEY want to do.

Media is all about getting a certain message across to its audience and it helps us connect whether through the news or social networks but, even though we are surrounded by media everyday of our lives, we still decide the ones that have an effect on us and the ones we choose to listen to and we end up relying on it for almost everything like the clothes we choose to wear or the celebrities we choose to follow or even what we end up eating but even though, the media we want actually influences us both ways it just depends on how we choose to view it e.g. It is scientifically proven that eating at McDonalds is not good for your health but each and everyday, McDonalds spend millions of dollars on adverts to try and attract customers. Now this can be viewed in two ways by people, either to get and eat some McDonalds or to stay away from their food. The people who eat their have chosen to see it as a place to be served delicious burgers and salads and the people who were against it see it as a company trying to serve junk food to the masses and believe they should be condemned. Mental interpretation.

We are in a very technological age with very developed and developing nations so whether we like it or not, we will be exposed to all forms of media every day for the rest of our lives, but we would still be the ones to choose and interpret it however we choose.

         

1F25 post 2: Blog response

After reading through some of my classmates’ blog posts, I have realised that many of them also acknowledge that mass media or media in general represents a huge part of our world view and how we perceive the world around us and I also gained some insightful knowledge on how the media affected people in ways I didn’t even realise as well as some odd and interesting examples. Out of the blogs I read, I chose three that I found quite interesting and they belonged to:

http://keenbeau80.wordpress.com/

http://linneaelizabeth.wordpress.com/2013/09/19/blog-entry-1-media-imact/

http://aroobasyed6.wordpress.com/

                In the first post, keenbeau states how he feels media completely controls how we view the world and I completely agree with him on that statement but he further goes on to add that the media does this by withholding information and making us ignorant and after reading through I realised that the point he was trying to make was that firstly not all media was untrustworthy but also for us to “question everything we hear and form our own unbiased opinion.” I completely agreed with that statement and it made it clearer to me that at the end of the day, the media can only present an opinion to us but its still up to us to accept it.

                Now the second post wasn’t completely in agreement with mine but I chose this one because in my post, I generally focused on the negative aspects of media without considering that it also has positive aspects on myself although I feel most of its effect on my worldview is negative and I can only see it in from their perspective, I cant deny that media has impacted me positively also. She mentions how media makes it easy for us to learn about trending topics through social networks and how there are also other good ways media is used like music ( which I absolutely love) and movies and also art. The point is media is a very powerful tool and depending on how it’s used, I can either be good or bad.

                The third blog really interested me because it felt different to the rest in the sense that it was unique from all the blogs I read. In aroobasyed6’s blog she mentions how information, although true, can be problematic depending on how it is presented or how it is perceived and she also states mass media to be a WORLD POWER which was at first confusing but as I continued to read it became clearer to me in her blog especially when she used her view on Africa as an example and how the media affected her view on the continent until she was able to get into university and check out the information herself and realise that their was more to Africa than what was described in the media.

                After discussing about these three I have come to understand that media will always play a major part on my world view and how I understand my surroundings but it is up to me to decide how I should accept the medias influence and how much of it I should believe. Whether to accept their opinion or decide my own.