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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. 

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