Reflection: My Experiences With Media

I would say I consume a fair amount of media. It is hard to escape interactions with media in this day and age, especially when one is privileged enough to access technology. This media has influenced my awareness of the world, my interactions with the world, and my own view of myself within this world. Instagram is currently my biggest source for news, and it is constantly showing me videos and articles about different events happening all around the world. This aspect of media is very positive in my life, because it allows me to know what is going on, and to be socially aware. Even though Instagram isn’t the most scholarly source, regular news channels fall under the umbrella term of media. Media allows many people to gain knowledge of what is happening around them.

I grew up watching TV shows and movies, and they greatly impacted my view of life, and my expectations for it. High School was not portrayed realistically on TV if you ask me. TV influenced/influences my social habits and how I interact with others, because they were reinforcing certain interactions and reactions, so that must have influenced me in some way or another. I believe entertainment media impacted a huge chunk of my development because it was so prominent in my childhood. I is very interesting to see how media has changed since my childhood. It has started to incorporate media into itself and the plot of the shows, which it very interesting once you think about it. Many shows feature kids with YouTube channels or vlog channels, and the general presence of media has increased. That is very intriguing to me.

I have met many people and built many friendships through the internet. This characteristic is a double-edged-sword, however, because for every good person you find online, there is probably a not so good one. This has taught me to be careful about who I talk to online and in real life, because people can always be fake in person too. This has shaped my character and has built my mind, so it inherently impacts my own perception of myself. When I was younger, this was a negative topic because I had a really bad problem of comparing myself to others, and social media made me feel very bad about myself. But now, I have let the internet help me find what I like, what I am interested in, and who I want to be.

The negative sides of media started becoming less significant in my life once I started becoming more literate in the media, through this class and personally. Media literacy has allowed me to navigate through the bad things and see things for what they are, not what they are trying to look like. Having this outlook helps me notice when advertisers are trying to manipulate my impressionable brain into buying not so practical things. Being educated within the marketing industry as a consumer can save you from making bad purchases, and can help you find what you are truly looking for. Media and advertising use manipulation, often times implicitly, which makes it so important to be aware.

This blog has allowed me to reflect on my own media habits, helping me see that there are many more productive ways of using media than going through snap stories and scrolling through my timeline. Now every time I see a McDonalds ad or an iPhone commercial, I wonder what techniques or appeals they are using to try and make me want their products. I went into this semester with fairly good media habits, and I am leaving it similarly. I am grateful to have had this experience and ability to become better at deciphering the media, and I will have a much better outlook on media because of it.