My Relationship with Media - Log 1, 11/17/2018

My Relationship with Media - Log 1, 11/17/2018 - Jennifer G. 
   In the plethora of media that I am constantly submerged in, whether it be social networking, television, newspapers, magazines, billboards, or just everyday web surfing, I feel as though media is a huge aspect of my life. And this may seem obvious, but in a world with its prevalence so huge, I feel as though in my lifetime, it's easier to limit or not have certain types of media such as television watching or social media using which is a he part of media. You may not be caught up on the latest trends, but you can still get your newspaper and search on the internet whatever you would like.

  To me, the most conscious type of media I use and see everyday is social networking apps or social media. Instagram, my only social media platform, is the fourth most downloaded app in the world. Just in front are also social networking apps with WhatsApp in first and Facebook and Facebook Messenger are in 2nd and 3rd respectively. I think this is because of the flexibility to be used in other countries while maybe a news station or music app may not cover different parts of the world. It only comes to show social media is how we connect within the world, especially younger kids and adults. My experience with this is seemingly positive. I've had some people message me on Instagram and tell me they're from a different country and would just like to say hi or they really like my profile picture. I've seen LGBTQ+ tailored accounts ask other to people to message them facts about them to post and either matchmake couple or start some friendships.

  And on the topic of LGBTQ+, this is how most of my education on the subject came to be. Even though it's not the most ideal way one may receive an education in this category but it worked out for me. I got to know more about identities that are never talked about the cisgender heterosexual community. Granted, there are some amazing allies and I'm heavily grateful for them. But most people aren't gonna take the time to research into topics they don't want to. And for some people, they won't research anything at all because if you grew up in a homophobic or transphobic household and you believe what they say, you already have your ideals set and place and you're probably not going to want to interact with them. I've had my experiences with trying to convince or argue with people online as to why they should support these topics. Many come to no avail. 

  This particular situation reminds me of the song, or another form of media, "Same Love" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Sent into the world in 2013, two years before gay marriage was legalized, it talks about the stigma and stereotypes between people who are gay as well as its relationship with religion. The song drops the lyrics, "Have you read the YouTube comments lately, 'Man that's gay get's dropped on the daily." Two popular artist bring up the attitude many people have particularly found in media. And although they are two straight men, it's popularity did ultimately help shed light on the subject. This song came out when I was in 5th grade. I was not very knowledgeable on the subject nor LGBTQ+ issues and their oppression. This was my first dose of education and it only made me hungry for more. (It's highly unfortunate, though, cisgender heterosexual (cishet) people were the ones who were more likely to be listened to during this time. Although people were much more accepting than in earlier years, many people were still unwilling to be educated and only listened to the cishet people instead of people who were not.)

  And music has definitely become a larger platform for talking on world issues. Many artists are talking about different issues in America such as Childish Gambino's "This is America". It talks about the prevalence of gun violence in our country. Logic released "1-800-273-8255" (the suicide prevention hotline) to talk about mental health issues and the importance of reaching out when you feel alone or depressed. Alessia Cara has released multiple self care/love tunes such as "Scars to You're Beautiful".  And one of my favorites, Lady Gaga using her Super Bowl LI performance last year to sing, "No matter gay, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgender life, I'm on the right track, baby I was born this way," when preforming "Born this Way". These songs reach popular radio stations and overall can affect the general view of the population. For me, Alessia Cara's self love hit was a huge starting point for the exploration of positivity within myself and the exploration of loving myself as Logic's raw and open lyrics remind us of the importance of conversations of these feelings and situations. This greater of affect of being more than just music to enjoy and dance with your friends. They evict emotion and leave you with feelings which ultimately influence your mentality and can even lead to a greater understand of the world.
  Social media can also lead to lead to negative situations as well. As cliché as it is, at some point, most teenagers online worry about likes, followers, comments. In 6th grade, before I had an Instagram, I learned about the "rules." Never post two days in a row (let alone more than once a day), delete your posts after they stop getting likes, comment an incessant amount of heart emojis, never "stalk" someone's account, use a good filter to make your photos even better. And these rules,

seemingly followed by everyone was seen to show a greater level of social pressure. Friends would post selfies and if you didn't do what you were supposed to do, there could be a huge and outlandish feud. And, yes, I did follow these so called "rules", when I first got my Instagram. But I thought it was so stupid, I just stopped. I remember in 8th grade, when we were exchanging Instagram usernames to follow each other, they were so in awe of my 500 followers and the 100 or so likes as if I was famous or a celebrity. It made me confused that they were so infatuated with the seemingly "good" statistics. They're later actions to try to buy followers and likes and the greater need for these such materialistic things showed me the dark side of social media. And I knew it was always there. But it was never personal to me. I didn't care about the followers and likes and comments and so on. But when I saw this side, I deleted Instagram for awhile. Just to make sure I'm in the right mind.
  So really, my relationship with social media was mostly me being able to control myself and how it affects me. And it truly does. It educated me, opened my mind to new things. But my online personality and the way I allow myself to use this platform is seemingly under my control, and I think that's a positive.

  But there's more than social media. And to me, the second most conscious type of media is paid media, or advertising. And I see it all the time that sometimes I forget that it is advertisement. My favorite example is the Raley's on Freeport. It always has some kind of pun on it's billboard if you're coming from Broadway towards Pocket Road. For example, during the beginning of the year it said, "Knead bread? Butter hurry in." It appeals to the reader and draws possible customers in, as well as advertises their bread and butter. But for me, every time I try to see if it's changed, I end up going fast of to see the back as well with it's more traditional advertisement with their new deal on deli meats. And, yes, I have wondered how good their deli meats are and If I had the ability to drive I would probably check them out. When I was younger, I new all the toys I wanted for Christmas or my birthday because of the commercials I would see the commercials as I watched my television shows. On Instagram, sponsorships of companies allows me to explore companies I'm interested in. Movie trailers before my YouTube videos notify me when a movie I may want to see. In local newspapers and magazines, I see the smaller business that I may want to support. And through these small and large signs and videos, its importance in being used as a resource to learn more about my community. A larger example of this would be the heavier prevalence of e-cigarettes or juuls. "This is not a flash drive" billboards and bus stop bench ads to notify the public about the dangers of electronic smoking have proven this claim. I had never known too much of this epidemic, but with it's larger scale of advertisement of not using these tools, I've come to see how it has a greater affect on my community. This "importance notification" seems to be the largest factor of my relationship with advertisement.

 But with advertisement, a lot of different aspects come up with it such as representation of minorities and the greater importance of individual success. In the years I've had Instagram and a greater resource for news and social issues, one of the biggest issues I've encountered in respects to advertisement is the prevalence of minorities or lack thereof. Not just seeing white people in the makeup commercial, heterosexual couples in family tailored ads, slim people in underwear promotions. And when companies don't include minority groups, the internet community may become incredibly angry or demand for better representation. And to me, it makes sense. Not every one is white, heterosexual, and/or slim. Having representation in the media, especially as someone who is a minority, allows me to see what I can be and achieve.

 Growing up, my parents made sure we supported the Asian community. So, we went to Asian doctors, Asian dentist, saw plays with Asian lead roles, went to Asian community festivals. I do believe this has had an impact on my greater understanding of possibilities I had. Seeing people that looked like me allowed me to see I could be a doctor, dentist, or actress. So Asians or people who weren't the societal slim and/or people who weren't heterosexual in advertisement, as silly as it sounds, I was able to use that product. I was able to achieve that luscious bouncy hair if I used that hair product. I was encouraged to see films with people who looked like me. This brand was inclusive and saw me as important enough to advertise to, not just white people or people who are slim.
  And granted, with that issue allows for a positive. But the fact that it was an issue to begin with is the negative side affect. Minority representation had to be fought for. It wasn't just something that was always there. And that fight can be tiring.

  The other tiring fight is the problem these ads presents us with. This problem is the overwhelming desire to have the most and the best. And for many that can be unhealthy. People value brand names and expensive items. However, the argument is that if there wasn't as much advertisement, people wouldn't care for the knockoff soda brand or buying clothes from Ross instead of Urban Outfitters. But when we see our favorite celebrities praise their new Gucci belt or talk about their newer happiness with lip injections, their following buys into their advertisement for those items. And as celebrities are those who have the most and the best, that's what many strive for. Yes, I have been guilty of this, but it was subconscious. I knew I wanted that skin care product, but why? Because my favorite YouTubers claim it's the best. With my positive connotation with that person, when they give a positive review on a product, I'm more likely to give that product a positive connotation.
  And yes there's more types of media out there. But I don't read newspaper too often and I rarely watch TV. And when the TV is on, it's usually the news or sports. The news, to me, is basic. They are unbiased reports of what's going on in my community and the world. I typically get most of my news on Instagram accounts that I have researched to be unbiased, but when I watch it on television, it's the same. Sports is just a bucket load of ads with the arena sponsor on the court or field and a couple ads during timeouts or breaks. When I read articles online, there's usually at least two ads. My most used app on my phone is Instagram, my only social networking app. This all packages well into a short but sweet manner.
  And although social media and advertisement is not short in my life, it's not always sweet. The downsides have been presented to me and maybe I haven't seen the worse, but I also see the dangerous affects it can have such as materialistic wants from people from these different medias. However, this tiny aspect do not affect the educational and powerful learning experiences I have received, allowing me to have an overall positive relationship with media.