Reflection

Over the short 16 years of life, I have consumed a great deal of media. Like I have mentioned in past posts, I used to spend hours and hours on the internet, surfing the web, spending time on social media apps, and caring greatly about the virtual image I portrayed to the outside world. Fast forward a few years, and I was somewhat aware of how my media consumption affected me. I discovered that excessive media consumption can be detrimental to my emotional and mental health, so I did my best to limit my time on the internet. I do not feel like my relationship with media was drastically changed as a result of this class, because I was already pretty aware of these effects. However, I definitely learned a lot about advertising and gained a greater insight into what companies are attempting to do.

Though I attempt to escape the media’s powerful hand, I always find myself being affected by its shadow. I am constantly being bombarded with images of beautiful women. Whether I am walking through the mall, scrolling through my Instagram feed, or absorbing commercials on TV, images of picture-perfect women with perfect skin, an hourglass figure, and a bigger bust and rear look down on me. The media has portrayed women to be very two dimensional, focusing only on their physical appearance and not recognizing a woman’s intellectual accomplishments. This creates an expectation that all women must look like this to be considered beautiful when these images are highly edited and photoshopped as it is.

Advertisements, whether it be through commercials or pop up ads, constantly fill my life. However, because of this class, I am able to recognize the manipulative techniques these companies utilize. I was reminded that companies do not have our best interests in mind and that their only priority is money. With that being said, they will do anything to get you to buy their product. Analyzing and learning the basic appeals and marketing strategies truly opened my eyes to the extent companies go to in order to sell you their product. Though I was never a big shopper in the first place, new knowledge regarding these techniques allow me to sift through the marketing strategies and resist buying products I do not necessarily need.

I found that writing media blogs was by far one of my favorite homework assignments. I enjoy creative writing, and this felt far more creative than an average essay. Although this is obviously very academic, it allowed me to utilize my creative juices while still keeping the blog relatively official. I was able to explore the artistic and stylistic side of writing, while still maintaining a professional point of view. I enjoyed reporting my daily media encounters, as it is a topic I am very passionate about; the way media has an effect on people is an idea I enjoy talking about and discussing, and these blogs allowed me to form a fluid argument and opinion. Commenting on my peers' blogs also allowed me to get an insight into their life as well. Because I do not talk to every single one of my classmates on a daily basis,  it was nice to go on the internet and be able to see a taste of their own perspectives. I rarely get the chance to read the writing pieces of my peers, and these media blogs allowed me to get a taste of each person’s writing style.

Overall, I feel like this class was very beneficial. It opened up a lot of conversation about the media and advertising, which is something I feel should be talked about way more often. I feel like everyone knows that excessive media is bad for you, yet so I do not think people realize just how much the media can affect one’s life. Yes, it is the 21st century and the rate of technological advances is at an all-time high. Media can be used for good, but anything in excess is bound to have a negative effect. The media and technology, in general, is something is and continue will be a part of my everyday life, as well as the rest of generation Z. However, I feel like it is our job to promote media literacy as often as possible and to recognize the effects the media can have on our everyday lives. Though stripping the media of all detrimental effects is impossible, we should still strive to educate and inform everyone about the importance of media literacy.