Is the media we want the same as the media we need?

I believe my media choices better inform me about important social, political, cultural, and/or economic matters. I think it is easy to find this information as well because media is everywhere around us. I can find news on the world by just going on my phone. I don’t even have to go on a website dedicated to news; I can just go on Twitter. I am a very curious person, thus I like being informed on things that are happening anywhere in the world. Is the media we want the same as the media we need? In my opinion, the media we want is not the same as the media we need. Like I said, I am a curious person, so I like knowing celebrity gossip, or knowing who went home on last night’s episode of The X-Factor. Do I need this media? Of course not, but I sure do want it and the media knows what’s popular and what is unpopular in order to keep their audience interested. I also believe that the media does alter the information they receive in order to keep their audience interested. All social, political, cultural, and the economic matters we hear, read and see isn’t always completely true. The media tweaks it a bit so we can stay engaged.

Reading my peers’ blogs, I chose three entries that had the same views as me. One of my classmate’s said “…when I type something into a Google search bar, that search is taken into account and used as information for advertisers’ so they will advertise something related to that search” (http://isaacc56.wordpress.com/). This is one of the media’s way of knowing what WE want, and using this information to keep us interested. I think this is a smart way for the media to know what is popular in our society, and to use that information to grab our attention. “Media is often developed to target specific needs and wants of the audience whether it be a sporting channel, home and garden programs, the food network, etc. “ (http://madysylvester.wordpress.com/). Mady is completely right when she said this because everyone is unique and have different interests. In my blog entry, I said myself I do not like the whole vampire/creature fad but a lot of people do, therefore the media creates shows, films, and etc. for people who are a fan of this fad. The media does have different stuff to keep their other audience members happy though just like what Mady said. Why does the media have to keep us happy? Well, if we’re not happy, the media isn't happy, thus the media needs to do their research to know what our wants are. Why? Well my classmate Veronica wrote, “because they want their audiences to eat up every little bit of it in order to make it profitable for them” (http://veronicatmeow.blogspot.ca/). If we don’t get the media we want, the media won’t get the money they want.

Do we get the media we want, or want the media we get?

This week’s blog entry definitely made me think, but after repeating the question for the 23^rd time, I believe we get the media we want. The media has to know what the audience (us) likes. On page 37 of the textbook, O’Shaughnessy and Stadler  (2012) stated, “if people do not like a product, they will look elsewhere for one, so the media must satisfy their popular audience”. The media has to listen to our ideas, know our likes and dislikes, and what is popular in our society so that the media knows what to show. If the media showed something that people had little interest in, people would ignore it. An example is the “vampire” fad. It all started when the “Twilight” series became popular. After the movie was a hit, the “Vampire Diaries” series became very popular as well, and someone decided to make this series into a television show. Smart move, because whoever created the show knew what people wanted, and now the show has become very popular (amongst female pre-teens and young female adults). However, it’s not just vampires, it’s mystical creatures in general. Television shows such as “Teen Wolf” have become very popular as well because of the character Jacob from “Twilight”. I am not a fan of this whole vampire and werewolves phase, but many people are, thus the media picks up from that and creates the stuff we want.

If we want to know how a society is/was, we use the media to help us. For example, if we wanted to know how people back in the 70’s dressed like, we look at pictures, films, and etc. “…The media reflect the realities, values, and norms of a society (O’Shaughnessy and Stadler, p.42). In my opinion, if society did not have these things, the media would have no idea what to create and to show to their audience. The media gets our ideas, our taste in style, our beliefs, and our actions in order to create something because why would they waste their time and create something that no one had interest in? The media only grab things that are popular, and present the stuff that WE want.

- Jen

References:

O’Shaughnessy, Michael, and Jane Stadler. Media and Society. 5th ed. Australia: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.

Media Impact on Others

After reading several of my classmates’ blog entries, I realized that many individuals also believed that media has a huge impact on them and society.  I chose three blog entries that had similar thoughts as me on mass media, but they also discussed how media has affected them differently from me. Each individual discussed how the media provides us daily news and updates on the world we live in. We can obtain this information anywhere – such as through our phones, computer, and television. We are constantly checking up on media so we can get our information on events like natural disasters, sports, and celebrity gossip.

I really liked how Brandon Lewis said “…media has become a way of life for everyone” (http://brandonlewis94.wordpress.com). Some of us may disagree on this statement, but what he said is true. We cannot get away from the media even if we try to avoid it because it is everywhere around us. Even Kelsey Spanik said, “…it may seem difficult to ignore what the media has to offer us, we still cannot help but read the latest magazine…” (http://kelseyspanik.wordpress.com). We like to know what the latest news is and what society has to give us– we’re human beings, we’re curious individuals. Kelsey explained how the media portrays ideal body images of both men and women. She said how the media today does not affect her self-image, but it is difficult to ignore the media such as watching her favourite television show. Her thoughts are similar to mine because I learned that everyone is beautiful in their own way, but I still depend on the media to know the latest fashion trend. Kelsey also notices that media affects individuals differently. I agree with this because many individuals have a harder time coping with the disadvantages of media (ie. telling females they need to be super skinny to be beautiful). This leads to many problems such as depression, eating disorders, and even suicides. As much as I love media, knowing that they are sending messages of ideal beauty upsets me because we’re all unique in our own way.

We all use media for a reason. Brandon’s reason was he used media to get his sports updates and he is always checking his phone to see if there is any news on the sports world. Ingga Ngo uses media to stay connected with her high school friends by going on Facebook and she uses media to get information on the lives of her favourite celebrities. She stated, “the media has made our lives more public…” (http://inggango.blogspot.ca).  I definitely agree with this. It is easy to find people’s information on social networking sites such as Facebook, even if we have never met them before. It reminds me of an episode of “Modern Family” where the father Phil, is trying to sell a home. With the help of his daughter, he tries to sell the house by finding information on the potential buyer by using the Internet (creepy? Totally.) This is where media could be a positive thing, or a negative thing. Positive, because it can help people get to know someone but negative, because it is invading their privacy.

My classmates’ worldviews of the media did not change my impression of the media’s impact on me. We all have a love and hate relationship with the media.

- Jen