Reflection Paper

    After completing all the required media blog entries, I have noticed some interesting things about media. First of all, I have become aware of how bombarded society, including me, is with various forms of media. It ranges from all the commercials on TV to magazines to billboards. It impacts our lives tremendously, affecting our views and perceptions by molding our reality assumptions. For instance, most of media makes us, society, view ourselves of less worth than we really are if we don’t own or use a certain product or look a certain way. As a result, a lot of pressure is placed especially upon teenagers in today’s world in the aspect of appearance and ownership because society thinks media shows what’s cool and trendy; so, if one doesn’t look a certain way or have a certain thing, they just won’t be good enough anymore to fit in.

    However, being aware of my media consumption has altered my interactions with media greatly. Since I now know about most of the techniques that advertisers use to lure in a buyer, I could choose what to purchase much more carefully. I have learned to no longer pay attention to all the distractions behind the product, but instead, focus straight on the product the advertisers are selling and ask myself, “Do I really need this?” or “Could I live without this thing?” My media consumption habits have greatly changed this semester. Now I am more aware of all the thoughts that the advertisers want me to think while seeing  their ads and will observe the techniques used in the media instead of falling in to their scheme. I’ll make my conclusions based on my own values and reality perception instead of having the advertisers make the conclusions for me. It’s significant to have media literacy because it allows a person in today’s society to sift out the important information that media could offer them from the rest of the junk that goes with it, since all that advertisers really want are consumers for their money. It’s also greatly significant to be an educated consumer because advertisers are all over the place in media and are out to get the consumer’s money. If one is not literate in media, then he/she will most likely spend all their money on things they don’t need because they probably focused on the techniques and the attention-getting information in the media instead of the importance of the product itself.

    After keeping this online journal, I learned to be more aware of all the techniques that advertisers use in order to obtain a consumer. I realized that they  often won’t even focus on the product but on ways to catch the viewer’s attention and make them believe that they absolutely have to have their product. Overall, I really enjoyed updating this blog and really learned a lot from it. It was actually kind of fun!