Reflection

At the age of 16 I am surrounded by the media everywhere I go.  This unit helped me take notice of appeals that sway me in one direction or another.  

On days I don’t have practice or other extra curricular activities I get home and relax on my phone for an hour or two.  Because I am scrolling through millions of posts, fully entertained by the excitement I often get caught up. I get sucked into the virtual world that is my phone, and when I finally get to my homework I dread it.  When I force myself to do homework I am unplugging myself from the media, or so I thought. This unit has taught me that the media is everywhere. In the music industry artists make pop culture references, if the news is on I’ll hear commercials, I can’t really escape it.

Through keeping this media blog I was able to create a timeline of my relationship with the media.  I have documented observations from the news, including opinions, and personal statements. With the blogs I can see how aware I am of the appeals the media is making toward me at every waking moment.  These blogs taught me that believing the hype doesn’t really pay off after all because in the end a car is a car. Regardless of whether you drive a Toyota or a Mercedes the car will still get you places. This blog educated me on uses of the media I was unaware of, including the different ways people can make money.  Going into this I would never of imagined there being a business off of pet instagrams.

I have learned that it is important to be aware so that you are a prepared consumer.  If you gave into every appeal the media makes, you would be broke. Through the duration of this unit we have been talking about the media’s approaches toward teenagers.  We are in control of a market that constantly changes. With every new trend advertisers struggle to keep up, attempting to reach the millions of dollars the teenage market holds.  This can be seen when companies try to play a popular song like “Feel It Still”. By the time they put it in their commercials the audience is way over the song because they have heard it everywhere.  I found it interesting to learn about how companies like MTV go into teenagers homes, ask them questions, and look through their wardrobe, all to research about their target market. It was kind of shocking as I viewed it more as an invasion of privacy.  COmpanies even hire people as “culture spies” who go out and take pictures of the teens they believe will be the next trendsetters. The amount of work companies put in was shocking because I only really got to see the side of the consumer.

Another skill I have gained through this media unit is being able to recognize when a company is targeting me.  Taco Bell is looking at teenage boys in their commercials. They offer something quick and cheap for their hungry stomachs.  Target might target parents looking for a place that has everything they need. We learn this by analyzing the commercials and asking: who would this benefit? What kinds of people are in the commercial? Are they wealthy? Do they have children?

Things I leave this unit asking myself are the negative effects of this age of media.  Are teens too impacted? Are we creating a platform to broadcast society’s harmful expectations?