My relationship with media, you ask? If pressed, I would give it the “‘it’s complicated” label on Facebook and call it a day. As a millennial, I have lived through the awkward pre-teen years of social media including, but not limited to, AIM and MySpace (rip). However I have also seen its triumphs such as Facebook and Twitter, sites that have gone on to change the world as we know it. I think it’s very important to be active on social media sites because they have given us a way to be connected like no other, but by the same token I am the first to admit that it can be very daunting and time consuming to fully immerse yourself into the ‘digital world’. But alas, I am active on various sites including Instagram, Twitter and Youtube as a form of entertainment; but I am also engaged with old school media sources like newspapers, in which I am referring to the NY Times app, television, film and everything else in between.
I am a firm believer that we are impacted by the media that surrounds us whether it be a conscious or subconscious choice. As a Media Studies major, I am also aware of how impactful the media’s message can have on our everyday lives. For example, I have been involved, a term I use loosely, in the beauty community that has bred several successful brand ambassadors for Maybelline, CoverGirl and brand collaborations like Morphe x KathleenLights and Katy x Desi. Through my engagement with this community I have learned a great deal about myself, self love, and empowerment. I will admit that when I first came into contact with the beauty community I was overwhelmed at the flawless faces I saw and their various makeup techniques that I wished I could learn. It became very troubling for me because I would frequently compare myself to these ‘perfect’ people so much so that I felt I had to wear makeup even just to go to the grocery store. However I opened my sphere of influencers I stumbled upon Kim Thai, someone who greatly advocates for self love and acceptance.( Click here for a personal favorite post by her ) Through her videos, I have learned how liberating it is to go out with no makeup, something I would have never dreamed of doing in the past; however that is not to say that I am afraid to go with a full beat face to the grocery store, because believe me I will.
I have also found it very unifying how much of our common experiences involve some form of media. In particular, I find live-tweeting during a show and relying on social media sites as a news source very interesting. For example, when I was younger you had to watch an awards show live to be able to talk about it the next day at school. Then when DVR recording became a thing, I stopped watching anything live. But more recently I find myself compelled to watch the programs live to just to live-tweet about them and share my opinions of the show. I also love the memes that people create about the show/characters. (Click here for one from GoT)
p.s. this is me and my cat, natty.
p.p.s. i promise she doesn't hate me.
Nice picture :)
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate the time and the effort people put on sharing there opinions about TV shows or anything going on in society, but I personally think that because of multitasking we can not concentrate 100% on one project anymore. We Are actually switch tasking and we can't get fully in the zone.
I like your perspective on how media can unify society by giving people a platform to express their opinions. I also appreciate how you shared that social media has boosted your self-confidence and self-esteem. I would've definitely appreciated if you expanded on "media influencers' phenomenon. Why are digital media influencers important?
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