Almost Exactly
When I think of the word media a lot of things come to mind. My thoughts vary from funny commercials I’ve seen in the past to serious new stories related to our economy. However, I am not inclined to only think about the media in only one way, I also think about the way it influences the lives of the people it touches. With all the media surrounding us one eventually has to start thinking about the impact it has on us, right?
I believe that media has both a positive affect as well as a negative affect on its consumers. For example, say you have an ad or a commercial promoting weight loss. One person may interpret the commercial in a positive manner and may begin to want to include diet and exercise in their lifestyle in which there is no harm in that. On the other hand, another person may interpret the promotion of weight loss as another way to bash people who are overweight or obese. This could lead to depression, overeating, anorexia, bulimia, even suicide which I am sure you could easily find something wrong with that picture. The scary thing about media is that one message can be perceived into so many different things, dependent upon the person, and if the consequences are great no one is held responsible. Unfortunately, the media is always tuned in to the negative aspects of life such as death, terrorism, war, etc. The harsh reality is some people can deal with it better than others. Throughout my reading, I stumbled across something very surprising to me, yet it made so much sense. It was actually kind of funny. One of the models used to explain the effects of media is called the Mixed-Effects Model. The literal definition from the book Mass Media in a Changing World is “a model that predicts sometimes, media will have powerful effects, sometimes minimal effects, and sometimes, depending on a complex variety of contingencies, a mixture of both.” It really doesn’t quite make sense, as if you were say to someone, you are almost exactly right. Although it may not seem like it that is a real definition given by professionals who have studied the effects of media throughout their entire adult life. Can you honestly believe that if you heard that definition for anything that it was actually published, in a book and sold to college students across the world? Well, it’s true; professionals from all over have done experiments and research to come up with a bunch of nothing, which is all I got from the definition. It’s as if the media professionals could not come up with an explanation as to when, why, what, who, and how the media affects people, thus they settled on a definition that sums up everything and says absolutely nothing. What’s so funny about this model is that it is 100% true. Even though it couldn’t have been said any worse it also couldn’t have been said any better. Basically, sometimes in some cases some media may affect some people in some way. Get it? Just nod your head for yes, I’m confused.
World of Media
Growing up in the United States it is inevitable that you will take in a tremendous amount of media throughout your life. Some may disagree, but the media is all around us. It comes in all shapes, forms, and sizes; such as billboards, posters, commercials, and even t-shirts. Due to the huge amount media intake that we encounter many believe that it has a huge influence us. As a matter of fact, the United States is often stereotyped by the media that we portray in other countries. The media of the U.S. tends to be centered on materialistic lifestyles filled with fancy cars, diamonds, expensive clothes, multiple homes, etc. Basically, the media is focused on celebrity life, not meaning it focuses only on celebrities but it focuses on the glamour and as Kimora Lee-Simmons puts it, the “fabulosity” of life. With these types of images being transmitted to you in one way or another they are bound to have some sort of impact on you. So how can people on the outside blame us for having such materialistic behavior? True, a great of amount of our media is exported to other countries, but the citizens of the country that is the source of it all is expected to have the greater impact. However, there are some foreigners who now reside in the United States that have a new perspective of our media and its people.
A friend of mine from Panama, located in Central America, who has been attending Lindenwood for over a year now, has shared his views with me regarding our media. Americans are categorized due to what they see on television. Most of which involves nudity, violence, profanity, etc. In Panama media is a lot more censored, it is not as common for people to speak negatively about their leader as it is here. He reported that nearly every other channel in the U.S. has a skit or joke about how bad our current president is, which I thought was kind of funny. He also noticed that our society is focused on being thin. Almost every commercial on T.V. involves a new way of dieting or exercising, or even a new drug to help a person loose weight. This was a significant difference compared to the media in Panama, however, more and more everyday people see commercials that were crafted in America and sent to foreign countries to boost sales. Makes one think that maybe foreigners envy our bold and direct ways to send messages through the media. He stated that media in Panama is constantly changing, but not as rapidly as here in the U.S. The media there has not yet centered all of its attention on things that glitter, yet there is still some real news in the news. Living in the U.S. has had some affect on him, views on censorship aren’t as strong; it seems so natural to just say what you feel to “express yourself.” Finally he noted that he watches a lot more television, but he’s not yet addicted to MTV.
A New Perspective on Life
The world is constantly changing dramatically with time and each day we find new ideas and new discoveries within a shorter time span. As the world continues to change, so does the people who live in it. The media has contributed more to these changes than any other source. Our younger generation today is a little more advanced than the generation before, especially when it comes to technology, including cell phones, laptops, iPods, and the most famous, the internet. For Generation X it was more common to find a young child engaging in outdoor activities, such as kickball, soccer, running, swimming, etc. Now, however, you are more likely to see younger children indoors engaging in activities on a computer. Due to the fact that children are growing up with the luxury of internet, a cell phone, or an iPod, the way they view the world is slightly different from the previous generation who were less fortunate. We are constantly taking in media and absorbing all of these new ideas from what we see on television, read in a magazine, and hear on the radio. This constant take-in of media greatly influences our lives. Thus, the outcome, our generation is a bit more relaxed and a bit more optimistic. Some may call us lazy or slackers, but we are more often referred to as dreamers, which is not so bad if you ask me. We like to reach for the stars as if nothing could hold us back and failure is not an option because it doesn’t exist thanks to mom and dad. This generation is also known to want to have fun at all times even on the job. A job should be fun and interesting not boring and dull, and a little recognition goes a long way. An experienced manager knows that recognition makes a hard worker. It’s like a high five but from someone who has more authority letting you know they see you working hard. A little credit is not a bad thing, it makes you feel like you’re productive and your job is worth having.
Generation Y may have a lot of names; slackers, dreamers, millenials, etc. Nevertheless, we are the future and we hold it in our hands. Therefore I say let us dream and let us handle business the way that best fits us and who knows, your son, daughter, or employee may be our next great leader.
