I wouldn't be writing this here today or able to keep in touch with many acquaintances without the use of blogs, facebook and all these modern channels of communication and information. Media used to be nothing through word of mouth or words on paper. The definition of media as given in the OED is "the means of mass communication, especially television, radio, and newspapers collectively."
Nowadays this word has been greatly affected by technology through the use of the internet, cell phones, and computers. I'll admit I use each one of those as if they're required for my survival, and even in some cases they just might be. If it were not for Yahoo! or Google I wouldn't know what was going on in the world. Andhow often do we hear on the news that parents blame the "media" as the source of violence or anything unjust? It just shows to you the amount of power and influence the media can have on our society.
It is almost best said in New Keywords that, "we increasingly live in a mediated 'global village,' in which our very sensibilities are transformed by the changed relations with others into which the electronic media now insert us" (pg. 213). The way we perceive things through media is just an extension of what someone else had to represent. We've all heard or maybe even seen some documentaries and how they try to emphasize a particular side of a controversial topic, whether it be about 9-11 or global warming. Every time I'm on campus I'm somewhat bombarded with fliers, one in particular that annoys me...the meat activist people. And that's just their medium of reaching out to whoever their target audience is, but it's just not me or any of the other people who threw the flier on the ground. The point I'm trying to make is that wheneverthere is a medium there is a representation of something.
I'll close with this...It's funny how text messaging has evolved into simplifying words and even expressions. The all too familiar "LOL" stands for "laugh out loud", and thinking back to the days of the telegraph "SOS" would stand for "save our ship". Are we moving forward or just falling back into the simplicity of an earlier century medium?
1 comment:
I really like how you end your post with a question—this is a very good writing strategy, especially when dealing with a complex subject. The next tactic you might want to try would be to think of a *third* option to an either/or question you pose. Make sure to proofread your writing carefully; I did notice a few mistakes in your post.
Post a Comment