Me and Media

With every turn of your head or flick of your eye, a new piece of media is there for you, whether it is an advertisement produced to profit an evil corporation, or a skit produced by three 8-year-old friends and uploaded to youtube with the help of an older sibling. There’s no denying that all of this media has a huge effect on how we feel about ourselves, and how we perceive the people and the world around us.

We’re all well aware of the negative influences of excessive media consumption. It can be difficult not to compare yourself to these seemingly ideal existences that appear to you through the screen that never leaves your side. Body image, social status, and wealth are just three out of countless ways that you can compare yourself to the people in you see online.

Alternatively, the internet can’t be all bad, can it? There has to be a reason that we all go back day after day. First of all, we need information on the world around us in order to be active members of society. The news these days is something that cannot be overlooked if you want to be a socially responsible person. Not to mention all the fun, creative, and original content that can be found with just a brief look. Trends can seem to come out of nowhere and sometimes raise interesting questions about why it came to popularity. For example, Mukbang is a trend that’s mostly popular in South Korea, but like all internet trends has no true boundaries. Content creators record themselves eating huge amounts of food and post them to youtube where some rack up millions of views. In my opinion, it’s equal parts fascinating, disgusting, and bizarre.

So it’s easy to see the absolutely vast reach that media has, both positive and negative, and long story short, I’m pretty much just completely lost in all of it.