Media

There are 1440 minutes in a day.  We are asleep for about 500 of those minutes. That means 940 minutes we spend awake. About 500 of those hours are spent looking a media whether it’s a newspaper, tv, or your phone. Is it worth checking your phone or ignoring someone just so you can watch the last five minutes of your tv show.

Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and Buzzfeed are all social media apps that I check on a regular bases. I don’t think before turning on my phone and opening one of these apps, it just happens naturally. It’s like I can’t start my day without checking my phone, it’s a daily habit that is not good. Many people do the same thing, it's become a daily thing. People let wanting to know who got the grammy or things like wanting to know what the names of Beyonce’s twins are. These things that seemed so little have started to control our lives, we’d rather be watching the season finale of a show then go out with friends that we haven’t seen in years. We should live our lives the way we want, not by a celebrities or through constantly checking your phone. We have grown up with the internet and phones but that doesn’t mean we have to use them. It is our choice to check your phone or go for a walk.

Over the years media has had a very intense effect on society Media is crucial to any society, we are all surrounded by media. Every day people interact with media of many forms. Media is generally defined as being a channel of communication. We as a society absorb media from a wide variety of forms such as television, radio, magazines, newspapers, billboards and the internet. What ever happened to going out to eat and having an actual conversation or traveling the world and not knowing what to expect. Talking to someone face to face and not through a screen. Going for a walk or into town to meet new people, not joining an online chat. Social media has caused us to forget what life was like before. Now We can barely complete a task without checking our phone. Everywhere you go, you see people staring at small screens. In restaurants you see couples or mothers with their children, families and lovers all staring at their screens. On airplanes as soon as the plane hits the tarmac, out come the screens and now on planes you can log in and work on your email. There is no rest from it. It controls us and our lives.

The media is good like for knowing about disasters like Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma. Some websites like gofundme.com are an example of good media, it’s a website for fundraisers, like cancer, natural disasters, or missions trips.  Another example of the media being good is the Boston Bombing. When the Boston Marathon bombing happened on April 15th, social media erupted. There were many examples of people and communities coming together to respond and help as best they could. For many, it was the action of sharing informational tweets from the Boston Police.  For others, it was sharing the phone numbers and addresses of local blood banks where they could go donate. People could help because the media was there to create awareness. The media can do good things by raising awareness, fundraisers, and spreading important information.

When I hear the word media the first thing that pops in my head is the paparazzi following celebrities with a big camera. But that’s not the only media in the world. There are thousands of different types of media. Every day we read newspapers and magazines. Every day we watch television news broadcasts and hear short news briefs on the radio. Every day we are influenced by the media.