Reflection

           

            Since starting this media blog my awareness about media consumption, especially when it comes to advertising, has greatly increased. Before learning about topics such as product placement and brand experience, I thought that media was just what it appeared to be, an assumption that’s very ignorant. Because of my increased education on media, I have become much more aware, noticing when an ad is using need for affiliation or a company is overloading on pathos. Being more observant about the small tactics companies use has undoubtedly led to a new mindset on advertising, but has mainly helped me in determining, on a level other than surface, if I truly like what a company is selling or what messages they’re spreading. Despite my increased awareness of media, I don’t think that my specific habits when it comes to what and how much media I consume have changed. I still listen to Spotify walking to school (if we have enough data left…), watch Jeopardy every night at 7, and watch YouTube videos when I get home from school. Like I mentioned above, I do notice more in-depth occurrences in media, like specific advertising techniques, but overall my media consumption has not changed other than increased observations. I think that this lack of change stems from how set in my ways I am, which is still a reflection of how media has influenced me. Over time you get so attached to the one show you watch or app you use, that it’s difficult to change that habit. Maybe the media I do consume isn’t majorly negative even after a deeper look, or maybe I’m just blinded by my preexisting love for it, but either way, what I do consume has not changed.

            Even though the media I consume has stayed pretty much the same, I think that having media literacy is important nonetheless. People are so susceptible to the sneaky messages that advertisers are spreading, even if they don’t know that they’re there. It’s scary to think that people can be completely changed by the media they consume without even realizing that it is or how it is affecting them. Having media literacy allows us to actually notice the reality of what we’re being exposed to, and that gives us some control over the ways that we are affected. While we can’t escape all the negatives of media, being aware lets us know exactly what we’re consuming, which is important in a time of so much online deception.

            A positive side effect of being media literate is being an educated consumer. So many companies, if not all companies, use sneaky ways to get people to buy their products, and if uneducated on these tactics, people blindly agree to whatever a brand is telling them. Being a smart consumer is important because it saves us time, money, and spares us being influenced by negative messages being spread. By knowing what exactly is being said and sold to us, we can decide for ourselves what we really want, rather than subconsciously base our decisions off of the manipulative actions of huge corporations.

            Overall, I think that this project and learning about media and becoming more media literate has been greatly beneficial in my life. I have become much more aware of the negative aspects of advertising and entertainment, and in turn, have been able to protect myself more from some of the awful messages that affect so many people. In a sense, learning to dissect and analyze media has allowed me to regain a definition of myself that isn’t entirely centered on what I am told to be through media. Because I can acknowledge the damaging messages that are discretely included in media, I can avoid their impact on me. Now that I can see what a company is trying to do when making a commercial showing a bunch of friends laughing together, I can avoid feeling lonely and like I don’t have a sufficient enough community of friends and family. Being media literate has enabled me to be truly myself without projecting other people’s, or assumptions of other people’s, ideas on to myself, and that is the most important thing to be taken away from this class, project, and semester.