1F25 blog response 1: Media Impact

After reading some of the blogs of my peers, many questions I had never considered in my blog, popped into my mind. Many of the blogs I read were similar in content. Most students agreed that media has changed our lives, and continues to do so. My original opinion still stands after reading the blogs.

Meagan McLeod said “Try and think back to the last time you had something you needed to tell someone so you walked to their house to update them? Was it hours, days or months? Whichever it is, slowly we are losing grip of a media free world.” (http://mm13sa.wordpress.com) I examined media on a much larger scale, and how it is broadcasted across large groups of people. Meagan looked at media on a more ‘hands-on’ scale. After reading her blog, I realized how attached I was to my cellphone. It almost never leaves my sight, and I bring it absolutely everywhere. I am constantly checking it, browsing multiple forms of social media. I still remember what the world was like before we had such widely used technology of this form, and its crazy to think that the generations following mine won’t ever understand what that is like. 

Chloe Bromhead said, “When I was little I used to play outside if I did not have anything to do inside, now when I have nothing to do I automatically rely on the mass media to keep me entertained.” This accompanies what I said about Meagan’s post, that our kids won’t understand what the world is like without relying on technology and media. Young children know how to surf the internet, use Facebook and Twitter, and communicate without face-to-face interaction. As these forms of media become more and more popular, younger and younger children are going to be accustomed to this way of life. Is it possible that face-to-face communication will be obsolete to the next few generations, if we continue at this rate?

Upon reading multiple blogs from fellow students, I feel that the majority of us have the same opinion. Media has changed our world entirely. I did however, come across a blog that disagreed. Allie Towne believed that media does not impact her world view. Allie said, “I do not believe the media has a huge impact on my world view mainly because I question in great detail everything I see in the media”. (http://allietowne1613.wordpress.com) This made me question how that is possible. We receive media coverage from all around the world, how is it that we could create our own opinion about what is going on? I accept that we can question what they’re telling us, but the majority of what is said has to be accepted in order to have ANY knowledge of worldly news. Without boarding planes and flying over to Syria, we cannot fully create our own opinion about the situation. I couldn't imagine living my life questioning everything, everyday!

I still firmly believe that media has truly changed our lives, and will continue to do so in the future. This fact is inevitable. 

1F25 blog entry 1: Media Impact

19.3 million people, in 24 hours watched a single music video. 19.3 million people worldwide were consumed by Miley Cyrus swinging on her ‘Wrecking Ball’ for 3:42 minutes. People often don’t understand how this can be done. What causes this many people to link in, in such a short period of time? The media. The video is just one example of how media effects our everyday lives. In 24 hours, a single video reached 19.3 million people. Why? Because the video was provocative, and scandalous. The story behind the video, and the lyrics of the video were unimportant.

This isn’t the first of Miley’s viral videos. Her video for ‘We Can’t Stop’ has over 197,000,000 views, and her performance with Robin Thicke was also a hot topic. We all have seen the images that floated around Twitter when Miley cut and then shaved her head. We were thrilled when she got engaged to Hemsworth, and are now devastated that they split. Since the release of the video, ‘Wrecking Ball’ all everyone is talking about. The video is all webpages, home-pages, and over social media as well, as if it needed more attention. Through mass consumption by viewers, the media has ‘programed’ it in the minds of spectators that what Miley is doing is bad, but no one cares about Gaga. The media as made this simple music video into something bigger than anyone thought. All this focus on one celebrity, are there not more important things going on in the world?

During the same weeks of this videos release, the United States moved closer to a military strike on Syria. It could just be me, but as a student, I don’t watch enough of ABC or CTV news to even know the basics of whats going on in Syria, but you can guarantee I’ve watched Miley’s music video more than once. The internet is streaming with Youtube advertisements, not news casts. The media would rather shove information about celebrities wrong-doings down our throats then a civil war. This ridiculous statement is now our everyday life. Students of all ages are consumed by media in everything we do. Because of Miley’s new statement, when I shaved the side of my head I had more than one person ask me if I was ‘going Miley.’ Trying to be an individual just isn’t possible anymore now that media has taken over.