Why do I love my media? It seems like an easy question, but is it really? As someone from this generation, I grew up with media. As a kid, I used to love playing games on our massive and heavy laptop. I remember saving up all my pocket money to go and buy the 5 euros Sims expansion packets from the local toys store. Once I got older, I realised that the internet was a thing. I could spend hours editing pictures of horses on Photoshop for this horse game website to earn digital ‘money’. I eventually got into YouTube and would post videos about, once again, horses. And then there was social media: Hyves, MSN, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp and so on. I am that kind of person that might be just a little bit too obsessed with them. But it has always been such a good addition to my life.
As a child we were always warned about the ‘oh so dark side of the web’. That we should not get in contact with strangers. Me, being a typical teenager, still did. I made so many internet friends on social media. Internet friends that really did turn into good ‘real life’ friends. I’ve got one group of friends who I know because of Instagram. Apparently we all liked photos and had the same interests. Media giving us the opportunity to form a group on WhatsApp, we got to know each other more and more and eventually met up. And even though we all live on other sides of the Netherlands, we still do see each other quite often. We talk to each other every day in our old group chat and I am pretty sure this will last a lot longer. Isn’t that just amazing?
Last year I lived in London as an au pair and I seriously wondered how au pairs before the internet made friends in a new city. Facebook gives many au pairs the opportunity to just post in the hundreds of au pair groups: “I’m free this afternoon, anyone want to go out for coffee?” or “I really want to go to this and this movie, anyone who would like to come with me?”. If it wasn’t for Facebook – and there are even apps for this – I would probably be much lonelier in such a huge new city.
Furthermore, when you live abroad, media are giving you the chance to still get in contact with home and your loved ones. There is Skype, Facetime, WhatsApp and tons of other media platforms that can keep the close connection. Because of media you know what is going on at home; you can have conversations like you normally would. Personally, I met my boyfriend in London while living there, and if it wasn’t for media, I am not sure whether a long distance relationship could work as good as it does with media or if it could even work at all.
Moreover, I have always been quite creative. It used to be drawing as a kid, but it changed into Photoshop, posting it to Instagram, video editing, posting it to YouTube and writing, posting it onto a blog. I absolutely love it. It makes me happy when I have created something which I can be proud of – and even get nice comments about.
I also think that media are just great for a bit of relaxation. I bet we all get home after work or university, let ourselves fall onto the sofa with some food and a drink, watch TV, Netflix or YouTube videos and check our Facebook and other social media. There is just a lot of entertainment on it, which makes us forget a bit about our busy lives and enjoy the content that is on our devices.
So why do I love my media? I love my media because they give me the opportunity to be creative, meet and connect with people all over the world, stay in contact with my loved ones and they give me some great entertainment. All that media, which I so adore, are on my phone or laptop, hence why those are currently the two closest objects to me. Are they to you? Do you love your media that much?
– Amber Kouwen
Why I Heart My Media 