My relationship with media is one I am heavily reliant on. I, along with most members of our society, am constantly inundated with information. We are relentlessly bombarded with advertisements, news, opinions, and distractions. Even as I write this now I am simultaneously listening to music, checking my phone, looking at social media, and compulsively refreshing the other tabs open on my computer. Because media has permeated every aspect of my life, I am extremely dependent on it. I have become accustomed to such a high level of consumption that I am very aware of the absence of media in my life. This I believe to be due in part by the digitalization of media (which I'm sure we all remember from "Digital Nation" :) Although seemingly quite depressing, this relationship is not always negative. In fact, I think there are many educational and beneficial operationalizations of media. I can easily identity both a positive and negative example of media in my life.
First, the banal one: social media. The most crushing realization of my teenage years so far has been coming to grips with the fact that all the old people harping about kids and social media are actually correct. Despite how annoying it is, they are right, to an extent, about the effects of social media on this generation. I use Instagram and Snapchat very frequently. Of course, social media is very useful for communicating with others. For example, the convenience of Snapchat has allowed me to remain in contact with friends I have met through debate who live all over the country. But it is obvious that the addictive nature of it outweighs this small benefit. Social media is literally re-wiring our brains and operates on the same neurological pathways as addictive drugs. It dominates our interpersonal relationships and often replaces genuine connections between people. Social media's recent confluence with the news has posed an even more complex problem. For example, it is widely believed that the 2016 presidential election was greatly influenced by the spreading of "fake news" through platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Additionally, social media allows people to tailor and distort what other people see of them. This creates idealized and unrealistic expectations that have a severe impact on peoples' perceptions of themselves.
One of my positive relationships with media is a result of my participation in debate. The nature of the activity requires the reading, processing, and analyzing of thousands of "cards" (excerpts of evidence such as news articles and academic journals.) This practice I have found to be exceptionally educational. My interaction with media in this way ensures that I remain informed about current events and am well-versed in politics and philosophy. It also necessitates that I utilize credible sources and think critically and deliberately about the content. As opposed to my relationship with social media wherein I mindlessly consume information haphazardly, debate requires a more in-depth and formal interaction with media.
My life is structured and cohered by media. Some instances of it are detrimental while others I find valuable. Because media's existence is ultimately inevitable, it is my task to increase the positive examples of it and decrease the negative ones.
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I liked your recognition of the fact that media has both negative and positive effects. In my life, I have more than once caught myself getting swooped into a spiral of Instagram post after Instagram post when I should have been completing my homework. But, then I think about all of the current events I have become aware of and learned about from these platforms of social media. I believe there is a happy medium when it comes to media, and that we should all strive to restrict ourselves from falling into the trap of the addictive qualities of media. :)
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