"When Will My Reflection Show..."

     If I've obtained anything this semester, it has been a whole new point of view on the media and how manipulative the industry is. My whole life I've been consuming, from T.V. to radio, newspapers and now the digital plane. Now, I can really see through their obscure messages and underlying control, and analyze how I have been completely influenced! Today, I spend way to much time on my phone, mostly Snapchat and just texting in general. This addiction has effected my focus, and changed even my relationships due to the power of suggestion held over my head by social media. You can always keep tabs on people, but is it always a good idea to constantly know when people are ignoring you on purpose or doing regrettable things? It's similar to a discussion on superpowers, you want something that will allow you to have an edge, many people like invisibility due to the possibilities, malicious or other wise. They could eavesdrop, steal, play pranks, but people cannot seem to grasp how ugly the truth is. The media is a disease. Yes, the tsunami's of information educate people and connect us, there is plenty of benefit! But the consequences for having these powers are very heavy, causing a multitude of issues for the user. Personally, being able to witness exclusion firsthand and miscommunication has taken a toll on my mental health which ultimately effects me as a person. What is so scary is not what you're able to now discover, but the impending doom of the unknown. Jumping to conclusions, finding out the truth, an elixir of lies and truth that is so rattling its hard to keep my head straight. Besides the visible effects on our well being in a nuclear sense, there are the invisible influences beyond the control of our thumbs and eyes.

     The analysis of advertisements this semester has opened up my eyes so much, seeing hidden messages and the driving forces or societal expectations at work. With media literacy, I can see the fault in our media, the messages they send and perpetuate through something as seemingly simple as a phone ad. Without media literacy, people are more susceptible to influences that can effect them negatively, and plant ugly standards in the heads of our youth and those vulnerable to manipulation. Without being educated on what you're absorbing, you are vulnerable to incorrect reality assumptions and unhealthy ideals of what you need. The list of consequences seems quite endless, so what we must keep in mind is to be cautious of what we watch and consume, even more important is what we teach the next generation who are the most impressionable. In order to shape a better future, our focus must be on shaping new ideals for the future generations, to program a legion of people that will fight for social justice and ideal morals.

     Doing these blogs has created an environment beyond normal analysis, a creative opportunity to branch out and understand the true effects of media. Ironic that I'm addressing media through a potent form of media (the infamous teenage blog), but it's an effective form of getting a message across, yes there are positives to media! As I mentioned earlier, one of the biggest controversies I see with media is this: is it better to know and feel horrid, or be pacified by ignorance? There isn't a straightforward answer, but I would like to think it's circumstantial, like yes I need to have easy access to information for this paper, and need to be educated on important things like the rights I have in my country, be up to date on current events because this all effects my life. On a social level, it's cyanide. Do I want to know people cross me, probably not, it really sways ones emotional state and trust. The connections we now have with people are more broken than ever, people blow so much out of proportion and miscommunication is like the icing on the crappy cake. Within marketing, it's good to be in the know because you can better avoid emotional traps and issues that may arise with negative influences. Media is a great example of why we can't have nice things, because there are always to sides to everything, ads, news, cake, even people.