Skip to main content
My Relationship With Media:

My relationship with media is wonderfully twisted. While I despise the existence of social media and often find myself annoyed by conservative news outlets for their portrayal of reality, I believe that media is central to the continuation of society. Thus, I have created a paradox. This is complicated further by the fact that I would like to pursue Investigative Journalism, and in the process of carving a niche for myself in the career that I want, I will inevitably be confronted by the various forms of media that I dislike. Daily, I spend about 15-20 hours using different types of media. To the adults and children who find this number shocking and appalling, it is entirely true. I spend all day in school, using different forms of media to educate myself. Then, I go home and use various forms of media to communicate and do my extracurriculars. After that, I use other types of media to tackle the gargantuan amount of homework I was assigned in school. Then, I sleep. My life is lived in conjunction with media. I suppose there’s nothing to be done about this fact besides accepting and coping with it. The alternative is to recede into myself and move to the outskirts of society in order to live uninfluenced by the outside world. Shockingly, I don’t find this option appealing. Instead, I hope to find a balance with regards to my level of media intake where I can utilize it in order to keep up with the world around me without becoming entirely dependent on it.  As an Investigative Journalist, I will seek out an employer that doesn’t actively try to manipulate readers with choice language and content. I will also strive to work for a company that moderates the use of algorithmic data to create personalized news feeds. Media has to potential to do wondrous things for our world, but selfish, arrogant idiots pose a threat to its capacity to have a positive influence. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why? (Post 5)

Social media baffles me. I, being the grandmotherly woman that I am, have tried to steer as far away from it as possible. However, it seems like a majority of the youth population has willingly embraced it as part of their lives. I do not understand why. Some of my friends, particularly those from ostracized groups, tend to use it as a way to connect with their communities. My queer friends who feel isolated at school use it to connect with others who share the same experiences in the hopes of feeling less alone. My Jewish friends use it to keep tabs on the people we've met at summer camp. Others use it as a convenient communication platform in the cases where iMessage doesn't suffice. But when I talk to most of the people my age about why they use social media, they say that they aren't totally sure. I've been told that it's just a part of culture. But I don't seem to grasp why is has to continue to be a part of the way we interact. What about the correl...
1 comment
Read more

An Ode to Barbara (Post 8)

One of the people interviewed in the PBS Frontline episode "Merchants of Cool" was 13-year-old Barbara, who epitomized the impact of media on youths and youth culture. Barbara, who had grown up watching Brittany Spears and the other over-sexualized Midriffs of the world, was intent on becoming a model and looking like the women she had seen on TV. And it broke my heart. It was horrifying that a child, a 13-year-old girl, was so moved by the image of femininity forced on her by advertising that she flew to the International Model and Talent Association's annual convention and walked on a stage to be judged by adults who wanted to use her in advertising campaigns that would further perpetuate the stereotypes she fell prey to and line their pockets with money. She beamed when she was told that she could pass for a 16 or 17-year-old, and she was told that she was a "good girl," when she said that her main goal was "success." She wore skimpy, sexualiz...
1 comment
Read more

"Loyalty beyond reason is where the profits lie." (Post 3)

Many of the ideas presented in  The Persuaders , a documentary on the advertising industry by Frontline PBS, both shocked me and rang alarmingly true. The line that struck me most was, "Loyalty beyond reason is where the profits lie." As sickening as this concept is, I think we can all accept that there's truth to it. Humans feel the need to be accepted, and when they're not receiving the validation they want from the people around them, they turn to something with which they can affiliate. This is where advertising is successful. Cults require social sacrifice and the worship of an immediately visible leader. Brands are simply more convenient. They require monetary sacrifice of a certain, specified amount, and you don't ever have to see the faces of the people whose pockets you're lining. And all the while, your affiliation with that brand gets you the social acceptance you have always longed for. When an individual becomes affiliated with a brand to t...
1 comment
Read more