Media comes in many different
forms and it is everywhere around us. Magazines, television, billboards, you
name it! In my opinion, the impact of the mass media has a huge significance on
my worldview. Sometimes I wonder if there were no such thing as media, how
would I see the world? I depend on media a lot. Without the media, I would not
be able to know what was going on around the world. The media provides me the
current news: it taught me that there are some seriously scary people living in
our world, and that inequality still exists (is there seriously still racism in
our world?). Watching and reading the news makes me see the world as unsafe,
and unfair. It makes me paranoid and not want to be outside, but it also makes
me worried for my future children. When I hear and read about inequality, it
makes me angry that people are not or cannot be open-minded. We live in the 21st
century; so knowing that people are so close-minded makes me disappointed.
I would also not know what the
latest celebrity gossip is (yes I’m one of those people), what the current fashion
trend is, what songs have just been released, and I would not be able to watch
my favourite television shows! Media gives me an idea of how to act, dress, and
how I should look like. When I was in high school, I felt that if I did not
reach the media’s ideal body image, I was not pretty enough. Media taught us
that we have to look, act, and dress a certain way in order to feel good about
ourselves. I used to judge people who did not look like the people I saw in the
media and did not want to be around them. Now, I do not care so much about the
mass media’s ideal body image, and realized that everyone is unique in their
own way. I do still care a bit about my appearance, thus when I see my
favourite celebrity advertising a product, I have to get my hands on it! Media
also makes us want to get the latest technology and believe that we need to buy
it to be happy. Unfortunately, I am a broke university student so not having
the latest technology makes me a bit upset (I guess no iPhone 5S for me). As
you can see, the mass media has both a positive and negative impact on my
worldview. After reading my entry, do you agree with anything that I wrote? I
would love to hear your opinion!
- Jen
