When we were assigned a final blog post that would explain the most important thing we learned about media this semester, I had no idea where to begin. We covered many topics, and discussed numerous opinions and sides of each one. Mass media, in many cases, gets a pretty bad rap. Hm, I could talk about all the negative effects of mass media we learned about in class. Then again, people always discuss the ways in which technology has helped them. Okay, I’ll talk about the positive aspects of mass media instead! Wait, I do remember discussing several ways media could be detrimental to a person’s life. Perfect, I’ll talk about the truly ugly side of mass media.
I wanted to encapsulate all of these lessons, while offering the most important point(s) of information I learned in the course. So, without further ado, here is the good, the bad and the ugly of mass media.
Suggested soundtrack for this post: click here.
The good: today’s media allows us to reach a wider audience and connect on various platforms.
My generation is part of a major shift in which big media is losing control. As citizens living in the Digital Age, we have constant access to the content we want. The people are in control of the content being shared as well as the platforms for sharing, and the Internet is a major factor. “The biggest TV station couldn’t reach nearly as many people as the Internet does now.” That’s why we’re seeing a disruption in cable news and the growth of the online platform.
Using Twitter could land you a job writing for Seth Meyers. Gaitry got a job in Disney World thanks to the power of the Internet! Kristin’s story of her stolen identity went viral, and she actually became a local celebrity. Her story was also featured on the local news station, but I can guarantee she reached more people online than has ever been possible through the TV screen.
The present and future of mass media is designed to better connect us with others. Have you heard about the latest Snapchat update? It also allows us to stay connected with our friends and family without saying a spoken word to them. It’s a new kind of communication, and we’re still learning, so there are certainly a few glitches. Overall, media seems to be a giving part of our society. Of course, we still have to feed the beast to get results.
The bad: media consumers are just pawns in the competitive game between mass media giants.
Facebook, for the most part, controls social lives. It’s disrupted many forms of technology, and it will likely continue to do so. Google may or may not be plotting to take over the world (or at least our senses). Comcast just bought Time Warner Cable, not only driving up the prices of cable across the country, but also jacking up the price of our beloved Netflix. Heck, if you want to think of the U.S. government as a corporation in this case, they’ve been attempting to exert some control over the Internet in the future. Do you want to know something else about all of this? We can’t do a damn thing about it.
All of these changes and advancements have direct effects on our lives, and it’s going to have an even larger effect on journalism in the future. Our newspaper is popular online? Let’s build a paywall to make some money. We’re the most popular source of downloadable music? That means we can charge, let’s say, 30 cents more per song. People really hate those annoying ads! I bet they’d pay five dollars a month to get rid of them.
See what I mean? For the most part, these giants are unstoppable. We, the consumers, want the content and they, the providers, set the prices. And that’s the way it will continue until there’s a media disruption that changes the course.
The ugly: media has negatively affected the way we communicate with others and hindered our ability to prosper without technology.
Yes, I realize I’m contradicting myself. Earlier in this post, I said media has allowed us to stay connected throughout our busy lives. This is true, but only in terms of actual communication, like texting throughout the day or messaging someone on Facebook after being apart for a while.
Otherwise, we’re putting ourselves out there to be judged and critiqued. We seek the invisible likes on an Instagram photo or the retweets on a witty tweet. In reality, these aren’t tangible things you can put on a resume or show off to your friends. Society has become so consumed with technology that we choose it over real relationships (I’m talking to you, Tinder). And don’t even get me started on privacy.
In a world where we’re forced to opt out instead of opt in, there are no more secrets. We put information online and offer it freely to marketers and advertisers, a concept I discussed in my “hate letter” to the Internet.
If I took a “best friend” quiz that asked questions like, “what’s your favorite movie?” and “what’s your favorite color?,” I imagine my best friends would earn decent scores. What if the Internet tried to answer these questions? I guarantee it could get 10/10 correct, and that’s a major part of what this semester has taught me.
I’ll leave you with this video, titled “Look Up.” It discusses the way in which our generation uses technology, and it’s worryingly accurate. The overall message is clear: look up from your phones and separate yourself from technology. Otherwise, you’ll miss opportunities in the real world.
In closing, this class has taught me that media has promise and the potential to be good; it’s only bad and ugly when we let it be.