When I was a child, the most prelevant media in my life were television shows. It was the most accessible way, outside of books, for me to connect with popular culture. To learn about the world and, in many ways, about myself. That all changed when AOL (America Online) and its ever enticing free trials came around. The internet was unlike anything i've ever experienced and I was obsessed. What I found most compelling was the ability to interact with people all over the world with just a click of the mouse. I would spent hours in chat rooms talking to people about these shows, people I could never hope of conversing with in real life. But as social media evolved with the creation of live journal, Facebook, and instagram, so did the way I engaged with it.
Today i'm still a TV show addict, that could never change, but the way I experience these shows has completely evolved thanks to the internet. As a child I watched Dawson's Creek and visited message boards to chat about it. Today I watch Game of Thrones I can go on reddit to engage with the show on a much deeper level. Read theories, write a review, or simply discuss the happenings of the story with other fans. Tumblr allows me to create image edits, gifs, and read fan fiction. Twitter often makes live viewing a hilarious and communal experience, with the help of hashtags and trending topics.
It's fascinating, the way something like a tv show can now be a shared experience with an endless number of people around the world. How a scene from a tv show can be turned into a meme and become an internet phenomenon. Essentially a little inside joke shared by millions.
The way we interact with media, in all its forms, is constantly evolving. Its power ever growing. A site like instagram can take a woman and give her a modeling career. It can also take another woman and break her self esteem. As an avid user of the app, i can see how it has begun to define what the current beauty standards are and how easily it can affect your self worth when you don't fit said standards. Media consumption can be educational, entertaining, and life changing but it can also be damaging and dangerous. I try my hardest to be as aware as I can and interact with media in ways that are only positive to myself, my ideals, and my self image.
I love the post about sharing an inside joke with millions. I think a great part about social media is reacting to everyday things like television shows and have that evolve into something greater. Today media has changed so that anything you put out there can possibly be seen by hundreds of people. The power of media, especially social media, can be scary because you never know what can happen with what you post, or how others react. I agree with your statement that because the media is always changing we also need to change with it.
ReplyDeleteI love that you used Instagram as an example to express both the negative and positive affects of interacting with social media. I think it's interesting to see how social media affects its users in all aspects of life, including: mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially. Social media has become an integral part of life.
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