As mentioned earlier in my blog, I have stated that
mass media has affected us one way or another. After reading several blogs by
my peers, I realized many of them shared the same view as me; on the other hand
many viewed mass media as a negative thing that I have not thought about to a full
extent. When writing my blog, I was only
focusing on what did media do for me, rather than what did mass media do for
the society as a whole.
I found Brandon Lewis’s blog (http://brandonlewis94.wordpress.com/)
to be humorous and fascinating to read. A line that had caught my attention is
when Brandon mentioned “ I am constantly checking the world of sports though,
whether it be on my phone, the computer, the television, print (at times), or
even just the word of mouth” because for I do it too. We, as individuals are so intrigued with the
latest news, that we feel like we have to always be connected. For instance,
the royal baby, one might not follow the royal news, with mass media, you will
know the gender of the baby before he or she even brought to life. I’m constantly checking my phone for the
latest basketball, or even celebrity news in hopes something new has happened,
and when I’m not on my phone, I check my laptop. Even though I’m sure not much
has changed within the 5 minutes interval from putting my phone down, to
turning my laptop on.
With that being said, although I may view the mass
media as a positive aspect in our lives, I didn’t realize the negativity that comes
with it. In Alana Lutz’s blog (http://itsalanalutz.wordpress.com/),
she brought up a side that I didn’t acknowledge. Alana brought up body image,
which I think is very important to touch base on. As she quoted in her blog “Body image for example, is an issue many young women
face on a daily basis. These young women sometimes have very low self-esteem,
and constantly compare themselves to what they see in the media" I
agree with this 100%, I know many of my friends back when I was in high school,
who would try to keep up with this image that is considered beautiful, that it
got so unhealthy. Media sells you this idea that skinny is in, but in my
opinion what happen to that sexy look that Marilyn Monroe had? In reality, these models don’t even look like
themselves especially not with the help of airbrush, and Photoshop.
Although mass media
could affect an individual, I forgot how easily media could twist your whole
view on a whole community. In Adelina Ferati’s blog (http://adelina23.wordpress.com/2013/09/20/1f25-post-1-media-impact/)
she has opened up my eyes so much about mass media. I’m so caught up in the
news they feed me, that I forget that it could have negative impact on one. Not
all the time media shed positive lights, and with Adelina situation is being
one. With the 9/11, media has made her and her family as a target. In her blog she
wrote “I was raised and am a
Muslim and after the 9/11 attack, students that knew I was a Muslim were afraid
to talk to me and even criticised me. It’s not fair that the media can target a
certain group of people just to keep their rates up.” The moment media
has attach the word “terrorist” to Muslim, one will or may start to become
judgemental. For example, for heartthrob Zayn Malik in boy band One Direction,
receives this negativity as well because he Is Muslim.
It is
great to know that there are so many views and thoughts about mass media. Has this
changed my view? Absolutely, yes! Here I thought, mass media was an amazing
thing that helps me stay well connected, but the moment mass media is brought
into our life, there’s always a positive and negative side.
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