My Relationship with Media

       As someone whose connection to social media is very limited, I tend to think that I am relatively uninvolved in media because in high school it seems like social media platforms like Snapchcat and Instagram are the only relevant forms. As someone who grew up, and is continuing to grow up, with parents with the mindset that social media is a way for companies to steal my rights from me, I felt extremely isolated from my peers. Although in time I have grown to become indifferent to my lack of Instagram and my zero followers, and have stopped becoming embarrassed when people ask me my Snapchat, I still find that there is a whole world that I am not a part of, though I'm not sure I necessarily want to be a part of it anymore. However, it is important to recognize that media comes in many other forms than just the overrated social media sites that, to me at least, seem to be used as a popularity contest, and that interaction with media is a very common and almost completely unavoidable daily occurrence. Because of my inexperience regarding social media, a major part of modern life, my submersion into other forms of media seems to be deeper. Rather than retweeting something I'll read a book or watch a TV show or even just glance at the newspaper with my parents during breakfast. While to me it doesn't seem like the consumption of media is a very relevant part of each day, I know that the small ways that it has drilled itself into our lives have created that illusion and that we are quite obviously very influenced and exposed to media if we really take a look.

       In terms of my current day relationship with media, beyond the ways I encounter it in my everyday life, I would say that I am definitely engrossed in media in ways that generations before me have not been, and it all comes down to the invention of modern technology and the easy access to it. Growing up in an age where the creation of the iPhone was not a shift in life for me, but rather its presence normal and, sadly, somewhat necessary, I have known nothing but having an endless supply of knowledge right at my fingertips. While this is undeniably useful, my emotions on this are quite contrasting. I can't pretend that when I want to know the time difference between Stockholm and Tokyo or how tall Taylor Swift is that it isn't satisfying to have my answer in 0.02 seconds, but sometimes it's hard to run away from the thought in the back of my mind that this instant gratification is causing a lack of true curiosity and will for real education in me. If my means of finding answers were less extensive and harder to access, would I still put in the work to find the responses to my questions? Is being able to find all that I want in a split second turning me into a lackadaisical person who when faced with something real and complicated doesn't know how to react? While I think for me this is a little bit extreme, it is hard to say no. But it is also hard to turn away from the instant satiation of all of my questions. While I might sound completely old-fashioned and perhaps even paranoid, I also can't deny that I rely heavily on media and though I think that it has greatly helped us, my pessimistic thoughts often disrupt me when I look on a deeper level. We have so many ways to connect that it is virtually, pun completely intended, impossible to lose touch with people you wish to speak with, and maybe that's the reason I am so scared to fall into the media trap. While this instant connection is so useful in so many ways, it seems almost inescapable, and that once you set foot in it, you're caught and it becomes your life. One tweet and you're hooked, one post and you can't stop worrying about how many likes you will get. It's hard to figure out how you feel when you see both sides of the spectrum, but in general, I have to say that my life would be more real and genuine without the online articles and entertainment traps, and especially without the waste-of-time advertisements. 

         Is it weird to feel nostalgic and melancholy for a time I was not in? Maybe. But as hard as it is for me to close my laptop and put my phone on airplane mode, it is harder still to escape the guilt that I'm losing my teenage life and experiences to the temptations of a text message or video. And maybe that makes me contrarian and pessimistic, but maybe sometimes I just want to detach myself from it all and live my life unplugged.