1f25 post 1: Media Impact

The introduction and growth of mass media in today’s society has created a massive impact. People are able to receive information from numerous sources at any given time, from the newspaper at the corner store, to an application on your smartphone, all of which come with their pros and cons. The more media outlets there are the more you feel informed.  However, that also means it is harder to decipher between fact and fiction.  I think that even though there are plenty of media forms it is still very important to analyze everything specifically and apply “common sense” to sift out the truth from the filler or lies.

I personally do not pay too much attention to news per say.  I find that every time a story comes on it is always negative. If you were to sit down and watch a 6 o’clock news show, it usually starts with a local shooting or other violent act, followed by violence and war over seas, to the spread of disease (back when SAARS and H1N1 were threats), and topped with a poor weather forecast. I understand that it is beneficial to know what is going on in the world around you, but I truly believe that living a positive life is a happy life, and sad/depressing news stories is not how I would like to end my day.

That being said, it needs to be known that news is not always about traumatic world events but also includes celebrity gossip, advertising, and lies.  I am just as guilty as the next person and enjoy reading articles about these, although it needs to looked at as information and/or gossip and not news.

As mentioned the media expands to advertising and it is everywhere you go.  As a part of popular culture we as a whole have allowed the world to persuade us as the consumer to buy almost anything just because we can.  Whether you are online doing research for homework, trying to watch a youtube video, standing at a bus stop or walking through an airport, you are surrounded by the mass media of advertising, convincing you to purchase their product.

The speed of information delivery is something that has become unbelievably fast over the last few years. For example, as I sat in lecture the other day, my professor first addressed the class by asking if anyone was aware of the shooting that had just taken place in the US and was then surprised by how few people were. That being said it had only been 30-45 minutes since it had occurred and that is now considered a long time. Another example of how fast we can be updated through mass media is the way we can program instant alerts to be sent to our smart phones on any selected topic such as sports, news and weather.  You would be hard pressed to find someone who is not “plugged in” at any given time.

Overall, my view of the world with the spread of mass media has deteriorated as I have gotten older, have more access to media sources and all the negativity that comes with them.