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Chapters 10, 11, 12, & 13 Reflection

The impact of the internet and social media is incomprehensible. Since Facebook came on the scene, we as consumers of media have discovered a whole new world of connections and possibilities. While reading this chapter, I came to the realization that I did not know how much Facebook impacted the world we live in today with social media at the forefront of media consumption. The invention of the Internet and social media comes with benefits and consequences as many inventions often do. Because Facebook became so popular, more and more social media was created for media consumers. Nowadays, people have Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat accounts that they tend to for hours and hours on end. Like most media platforms that I have discussed previously, I recognize the importance of the media created and how it can benefit a person from using that media or being apart of that process. However, reading these chapters about different forms of media and how use it usually brings to mind the negative effects that media can have. Within in this chapter, it speaks on Facebook envy and Facebook depression, which essentially goes into the emotions that are tied with social media. Social media can be fun, entertaining, and even a productive use of your time when used in moderation and with healthy boundaries. However, social media is like a double-edged sword in a sense that it can both bring so much good and so much bad into the world. Upon reading this chapter, I reflect on my previous blog and how I no longer use social media for the time being. I made this choice for essentially  three reasons: I have a major fear of missing out, it brings out insecurities and negative thoughts, and it is a huge time waster. I have an appreciation for social media and the internet, but I am also able to recognize the downsides that come with new media as well. 

Chapter 11 covers the topic of public relations and the importance of public relations in our modern day world. This semester I am taking Intro to Public Relations so the information within this chapter I am already vaguely familiar with. Public relations has most definitely changed throughout the years and with that transformation has come more and more ways to connect with the public. It could be argued that we are surrounded by public relations and often times, it is hard for the consumer to distinguish what public relations even is. Public relations should be a seamless operation that is unrecognizable to the naked eye. If the consumer cannot tell, then the company using public relations is doing a good job and should be recognized for their ability to connect with their publics without them even noticing.  

In the chapter, it lays out different types of public relations that firms can offer. One that stood out to me the most was issues management, and made me want to look further into what that actually looked like using real life examples. From this curiosity sprung a discovery of a public relations blunder and a new found appreciation for companies who are able to combat issues management well. Through doing research, I discovered a case study on the company BP and how they handled the public relations side of the disaster that occurred in the year 2010. After the BP oil company spilled millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, they had a public relations issue on their hands. Unfortunately, the CEO of the company did not handle the crisis well, and said many things which landed the company into a worse situation than they were before. After all of it was over, the company had spent around 60 billion dollars for the mess they had made. Had they gone about their issues management differently, the BP oil company could have been able to come back from their mistakes. However, public relations and issues management were not prioritized early on causing BP to go down in history as one of the worst public relations mistakes of our time. 

Advertising has been discussed throughout the entirety of the semester. Advertising is connected to how one finds out about radio shows, television, and even the social media we have on our phones. I truly believe that advertisements have so much power to them and we have become so immune to them that it is hard to recognize how often they are placed within our lives. There are advertisements absolutely everywhere and they are unavoidable to the consumer, so it is important that as consumers of media we recognize this power and be smart with how we interact with the advertisements displayed in our daily lives. What I found to be the most interesting about this chapter was how advertisements are regulated by the FCC and how advertisers do not necessarily have to tell the whole truth when advertising to their consumers. In the back of mind, I believe I knew that advertisements were not necessarily always accurate and are able to bend the truth a bit. However, where is the line between false advertisement and saying little white lies about a product? I guess what I would like to know is how the FCC goes about regulating the advertisements that I hear everyday and how they decide what is okay and what is not. As a consumer, I want to know that the companies I choose to buy from are ethical in the ways that they both attract business through advertisements as well as have ethical values as a whole. By reading this chapter, my life has been changed in the fact that I did not know how much advertising affected my every day life and how as a consumer of media, I should be aware of how advertisers are able to bend the rules and behave unethically in order to gain more business from consumers. Overall, I thought this chapter was very informative and from these four chapters was the most helpful for me in becoming a more media literate citizen. 

The power of mass communication and media comes with a lot of questions. In Chapter 13 of our textbook, it discusses how there are several different theories on mass communication and the effect it has on people. Within this discussion on mass communication, the questions asked within the chapter have made me think about what I believe to be true about the influence of media and the ability for it to communicate to millions of people at once. The question that resonated with me the most was the overarching question of the benefits of media and how it can have prosocial effects. In the textbook, it mentions the fact that the media has influence over the amount of drug and alcohol use that consumers have, but it also mentions how media can change people for the better. So if the media does have so much power, what if we indeed used that power for good? The media changes the behavior of consumers and likewise the consumer has just as much of an effect on the media. Using different forms of media to portray good behavior could result in a better world than we live in today. This is known, yet media does not do this which has resulted into a more or less broken world, where bad behavior has become normalized to the average citizen. After learning more about the influence of media not only in this chapter but in this class as a whole, I am deeply saddened in the fact that media has not done more to make a positive impact on its consumers. As I look to the future and my usage of media, I think I am going to actively pursue that goal of only posting media and interacting with media in the best way that I can. 

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Media Usage

In being completely honest with my reader, I was blissfully unaware of my media usage until today. I was aware that I do interact with media quite a bit and that media is most definitely surrounding me all the days of life, but I did not understand to what extent until I paid attention. When I wake up in the morning, my first instinct is to check my phone. I want to see what messages await for me and what notifications that came up on my phone throughout the night. Seeing that it is a Thursday and I am on spring break with a Christian organization, my phone is flooded with messages and notifications within the GroupMe we created to communicate with one another. This group messaging system allows for many people to send out mass text messages for the whole group to see, which is both amazing and startling at the same time. Something I learned about myself when I came to college is that I do not like group chats in the slightest bit.  I find them to be annoying and not productive when attempting to make plans. They tend to be nonsensical and a waste of most people’s time. Keeping that outlook in mind, when I woke up to over thirteen messages that morning, I was ready to go back to sleep and try for another day. Eventually, I did get out of bed and got dressed to eat breakfast with friends and spend quiet time with the Lord. After making some coffee and chatting with my dear friends, I went outside on the balcony to read my Bible. Reading my Bible is probably the most productive media usage I had throughout the day. As a Christian, I believe that the Bible is the Living Word of God and that I can connect with Him through reading my Bible. Because the Bible is a book, it most definitely can be counted towards my media usage for the day.

 After reading the Bible, I did not interact with media for a while. Most of my afternoon was spent sharing my faith with strangers, playing spikeball, and drinking coffee with friends. After getting back from the beach, I would have my next encounter with media, watching Netflix on my phone. Because I longed for some alone time away from the crowd, I crawled into my bed and watched two episodes of the Office on my phone before dinner. That’s approximately about forty-five minutes of my day, and honestly I loved it very much. That particular interaction with the media brought me so much joy and comfort. I have loved the Office for many years, and have watched it many times through. Every time I watch a new episode, I get something new from it. I believe that it is inherently okay to watch a little Netflix every now and then, and that day I chose to indulge into something I truly am passionate about.

 After that, I went to practice with the worship team in which I would delve into a new form of media: music. I spent about an hour with three other teammates working on songs that we would later sing in the evening. Out of all the media I used on Thursday, music definitely stands out for me. It is such a fun and cool way to interact with media and interact with one another. I am grateful for that time I was able to spend both listening and singing music. The last form of media I worked with that day was social media. Over the course of spring break, my friend Torey and I made vlogs of everything we did that week. After we made the video, we would post it on Instagram and interact with each other’s followers. It was a great way to connect with Torey, the people that were in the vlog, as well as those who tuned in to discover what Torey and I were up to. Overall, my day was flooded with several media. All of the different forms of media served many purposes and I am truly blessed to have access to them. I am humbled by how much I interact with media, even when I do not necessarily think I am. I really enjoyed keeping track of the media I used and how it made me feel, and I might continue to do so going forward. I think this experiment helped me to gain knowledge and perspective, and I cannot wait to see how I changed through this experiment. 

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Chapters 6, 7, and 8 Reflection

Knowing very little information about the film industry going into this chapter, I soon became very overwhelmed with the amount of history that accompanies it. Before reading this chapter, I did not appreciate how far technology had to come to provide the movies we have now, that sometimes I often take for granted. Movies have always held a special place in my heart, and I would argue that other people feel that same way too. Although, I enjoy the films and television provided to me nowadays on streaming services such as Hulu and Netflix, I have found that going to see a movie in a theater is a much better experience for me. In this chapter it begs the question: will people keep going to the movies? After reading this question and the statistics and thoughts that accompany it, it was saddening to hear that going to the movies is not as popular as it used to be. Going to the movies holds a different meaning for me because that is how my father and I bonded growing up. My father worked a lot when I was a kid, and so we had movie dates to look forward to where we would get the biggest popcorn and watch stories come alive on the big screen. In addition to that, my best friend whom I have known for almost ten years now have always gone to the movies to hang out and spend time with another. After reading this chapter, I hope that the film industry can sustain the movie theater business. I personally believe that movies should be watched together on a big screen as opposed to in your bed at home by yourself.

Firstly what I want to say is that I cannot imagine a life without radio growing up. Although, I may not use it today in order to receive the news or listen to my favorite music, I understand the importance of radio. What I have noticed not only in this chapter, but in almost every chapter I have read is how convergence of the media changes the media. With the invention of television came a convergence which allowed for a whole new way to experience music including music videos which would be displayed from dusk till dawn on MTV. Even though the importance of convergence has been laid out multiple times throughout this book, I always find it interesting to see how much it changes the media it is talking about in that particular chapter. Growing up, I listened to a lot of radio because I was born in the generation where I saw music be put on cassette, CDs, and on streaming devices all within the time I have been alive. I primarily use Spotify to listen to the music I want to listen to, but after this reading chapter, I want to try to listen to the radio again just to see what it is like.

In Chapter 8, I learned about the history of television and what all that encompasses. What stood out to me in this chapter was the concept of McCarthyism and how Hollywood stars would be blacklisted at the drop of a hat. Because of the mass hysteria within the United States an entire movement as well as an entire government agency was created to prevent communism from invading the United States. From previous classes, I understood the Red Scare but I never knew how much the actors suffered during this time until I read this chapter. In addition to this information included within this chapter, I also never understood how much television enabled me to learn so quickly. Because of the television programming provided for me, I was able to learn basic concepts in a fun and exciting way without knowing that I was doing so. For that, I have to thank Sesame Street and those who fought for children’s television programming. I am truly grateful for the education I was able to receive for free so that I would be successful in the future.

[annielynnnnnn]

A Reflection of Chapters 3, 4, and 5

Before I read this chapter on the subject of books, I had never really acknowledged books as a form of media. I knew the power of books and how over the years they helped to shape my opinions and show me different perspectives. It was only when I read this chapter, that I realized the cultural impact a book can have on society. This power is both amazing and frightening all at once. I say this because if a book has a poor or negative message, then it has the power to influence society in a negative light as opposed to a positive one. With that in mind, learning about the books that are banned from public schools and libraries took me by surprise. After reading about censorship in this chapter, I looked further into the reasoning behind the banning of the books mentioned as well as other ones. 

A fun fact about me is the fact that one of my favorite books of all time is The Great Gatsby. I reread it every year around Christmastime, not for its slightly dry plotline and for characters that are not necessarily likable, but for the lavish language throughout the entirety of the book. After reading this chapter, I looked up what books are banned and for what reason and The Great Gatsby came up among my findings. Apparently, due to the language, violence, and sexual references it has throughout its contents has allowed it to grace this list. Having read the book several times through I recognize that I would not necessarily want a ten-year-old reading it, but I think at the appropriate age one should read such literature. One can learn many lessons through reading the mistakes and life experiences of others, and therefore I am not sure that I believe in banning books. Reflecting on the information I learned in this chapter, I recognize that censorship is a reality when it comes to all forms of media. However, I vehemently disagree with banning books that do not truly precedent being banned. In fact, after reading about this form of censorship, it only compels me more as an avid reader to read all the books that are banned to understand the perspective of those who wish to have them banned.

This leads me to the next chapter, which all about newspapers. Previously, I knew little to nothing about newspapers. Through reading this chapter, I learned there are several types of newspapers and the history of how the newspaper got its start in Ancient Greece. What captivated me about this chapter is the impact of a local newspaper versus an online newspaper. Producing a local newspaper like the Sidney Daily News and the Columbus Dispatch not only serves the purpose of providing jobs to a community, but they do so much more. The advertisement space they are able to give to local businesses stimulates the economy and informs the community of businesses they can patronize so that they continue to exist. The local newspaper is a great source of information that pertains to the community and most of the time tends to lack the biases that bigger newspapers online tend to have. What I learned through reading this chapter is that as soon as I graduate, I would really like to subscribe to a local newspaper. In doing so, I am investing and learning about the community I live in at the same time.

I am not going to lie to you when I say that I am not a fan of magazines, and so reading this chapter proved to be very informative to a girl who has not invested much time into magazines. In the chapter, it speaks about the reason why I am not an avid reader of magazines. Within the staples of a magazine, there are many pictures. One could argue that all a magazine has are limited amounts of text with lots of pictures to fill the empty space. Of course, depending on the magazine, that argument could be proven false very quickly. Examples of this would be magazines like Reader’s Digest and the Farmer’s Almanac. However, what I would like to reflect upon is the body image issues created by the magazine industry. The use of photoshop and altering pictures of celebrities is not only false advertising but disheartening to its readers. Often the target audience for magazines can be young teenage girls. Through photoshop, magazines create this unattainable image of what a young girl should look like. In doing so, they are creating issues for their readers and those they have chosen to photoshop. Celebrities like Serena Williams and Zendaya have spoken up about this issue as well as many other women who magazines whose body they have distorted to get the graphic they want. Because celebrities have spoken up, this issue gets better and better every day. However, through reading these chapters I learned one valuable and important lesson, the power of the media and its impact on society and the culture it exists within.

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Chapters 1 & 2 Reflection

The first question that comes to mind after reading Chapter One from our textbook is: how often do I interact with media in my daily routine and how does that affect the way I am living now? After reading about how we interact with different forms of media every day without even noticing, I have begun to examine my own life and my own habits. For instance, I did not recognize how much time I spend consuming media until my eyes were opened by this chapter. I spend upwards of two to four hours a day on my phone looking at apps and media that simply just do not matter, yet I am enthralled by it. This leads me to think about the possibilities as to why I am arguably addicted to the media and how this slight addiction changes the way I interact with the world. I know now that media has essentially become a part of who I am and that it most definitely affects the way I live my life.

I wake up to a phone filled with information, the internet right at my fingertips, only to open up my laptop to check on my homework and the daily news. This is just a small example of how media is all around us, and until I read this chapter I was blissfully ignorant about my media usage. What also struck my interest was essentially how technological development led to a social and cultural change throughout the entire world. It started with a printing press and now we live in a reality where artificial intelligence is not only a possibility, but will soon become a part of our reality. Technological development led to mass communication and globalization. As more and more technology develops, we become more and more connected than people at one time ever thought would be possible. This connection allows for ideas to be shared and for communication worldwide, creating an entirely different culture. I am enlightened to discover the power of the media and how it cannot be ignored, and how important it is to know who is controlling it because of its impact on our culture.

Chapter Two came with similar thoughts into how much I truly did now about media and mass communication. What captivated me the most was the information about concentration of ownership and how monopolies and oligopolies are being formed right under the consumer’s nose. Little did I know before reading this chapter, how much companies like Disney owned. I truly was unaware as to how much control they had over the media. Upon learning this information, I am both amazed that anti-trust laws have not come into place yet as well as impressed with companies like Disney and their ability to have so much control over people’s everyday lives. 

These two chapters were truly eye-opening, and I am not sure if I am excited to learn more or if I wish to go back to knowing nothing about mass media and communication. I am both scared and elated to learn more information about this subject matter. These chapters have given me a lot of questions and a lot to think about. I cannot wait to see what I found out next. Until next time...

Annie S.