Before writing these weekly blogs based around my media consumption and the effects it has had on me, I went through my life seeing so many commercials, posts, and videos without processing what their meanings were behind their aesthetically pleasing images and emotionally provoking words. I see hundreds of advertisements everyday, and though I have begun to process the many techniques used in order to grab and keep my attention (and money), I have yet to completely understand the extent to which media has changed my life.
I use Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube daily as social media, and there are types of advertisements unique to each. On Snapchat, advertisements play after people's Stories, are included in one's Instagram feed, and play before each YouTube video I watch. You'd think that I would be annoyed by this constant exposure to advertisement and limit my consumption of media, but in reality these commercials and pictures are just another thing to see out of the thousands of things I experience every day. I could not imagine a world without ads; a city without billboards and a live movie without commercials in between seems impossible. For all the hours I spend online, advertising has become as important and relevant to my life as I have become to it. It creates needs for me that I didn't know I had, and yet once they tell me I need their product, something in my brain keeps nagging at me that the company is right, that I really do need that Starbucks drink in order to make any friends.
Though I have yet to limit my media intake, my awareness of it has definitely changed my interactions with it; by analyzing Lexus commercials, when I see the little girl and her puppy being excited about the new car, instead of thinking "that's so cute," I think "do they really think I'll fall for that?" I am able to identify the needs to which advertisers appeal in their commercials, whether I am a part of their target audience, and what rationalization I would be making by purchasing their unnecessary product. I am less tempted by ads that would have normally caused me to want to become a customer by being more aware of these techniques, as they are simply promising me that I will get certain emotions and experiences that I may not have in my normal life by buying their product.
My media habits have not changed this semester; though I have not increased my media intake, I have not limited it either. I don't know what would would make me alter my habits, as I am dependent on the media for relaxation in my life that is otherwise filled to the brim with schoolwork as well as education of events in places of which I would not otherwise be familiar. I still scroll aimlessly through Instagram, Snapchat my friends pointless pictures of myself and the things around me, and watch videos from which I learn nothing, just to be entertained.
It is important to have media literacy because without it, companies will use advertisements to trick you into purchasing their product, even if you do not need it. People illiterate in the media are unable to identify why the ads are appealing and are thus more likely to rationalize their purchase. This ties into being an educated consumer; being able to identify what exactly you are buying and why you are buying it is important in order to reduce the amount of unnecessary purchases you make in your everyday life. It is also important to understand that purchasing such things are not a way to gain important emotions or experiences; money should not be used to fill gaps that you may have in your emotional life, as the companies only care about their income as opposed to each individual customer, though their advertisements normally say the opposite.
From keeping this blog, I am able to process each advertisement I see should I decide to do so and see why it may have captured my attention. I used to be easily attracted to advertisements with pretty pictures or funny slogans, but now I have become aware that these are simply techniques. I also used to enjoy seeing ads that I related to or felt a personal connection to, but now I realize that these connections I thought I shared individually appeal to millions of people with the same feelings as I have. In conclusion, keeping the media blogs have increased my literacy in the media and helped me to be the most educated consumer I could be. I am able to think critically of the media that I once embraced mindlessly.
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