An ode to my family and media

First of all, I really appreciate that this blog is dedicated to expressing our love for media. I feel like it’s always easier to complain and point out the negativities, while many of the joys that media provide gets forgotten or completely ignored. Obviously, as described in the assignment, love is a broad concept, a spectrum which evokes many opposing feelings; still, in this post, I’d like to stick to the traditional meaning of love and share why I heart my media.

Before coming to Amsterdam, I’ve always thought of media mainly as a source of entertainment. However, since starting this course, I’ve come to recognize the power that (social) media holds on maintaining our relationships and connections. Back at home, all of my friends and relatives lived 10 minutes away from me, which meant that media was not essential for us to keep in contact – I could hop in to my car and visit them any time I wanted to. That privilege of mine is, obviously, gone.

I have always been very dependent on my parents; and while every family has its ups and downs (such as mine), being at home with them has always given me comfort and a kind of peace. What makes my situation even more difficult is my 18 months old brother. His beautiful little face casts light on every gloomy day, and not being able to cuddle him every morning is harder than I would’ve thought. However, although I can’t feel or touch him, at least I get to send him kisses through our video calls. And while on the screen I only get to see a pixelated, digital version of my loved ones, still, this artificial environment is more true to the reality where I still get to hug each and every single member of my family and friends than the one I’m living in right now.

So, I guess what I’m trying to say, is that now, being 1200 kilometres away from home, I’ve finally got to the point where instead of looking at media as a way to just simply kill time (or my braincells), I’ve begun to appreciate its powerful ability to connect people from different parts of the world. I heart my media because it makes it possible to defeat physical (and emotional) distance; I heart my media because it creates an environment where the past and present can reconcile; I heart my media because it makes me feel loved; I heart my media because it makes me feel less lonely.

Student ID: 13539310