Why do I Heart My Media?
I’ll be super honest with you: I ask myself that question pretty much everyday, especially now that I’m in a program that focuses on this thing I love and everything it encompasses. Which is a lot.
Already media is a lot of things, just like you are a lot of things and I am a lot of things. And not only that, Love is a lot of things: a lot of thoughts and emotions that constantly fit but also clash. In terms of my media, I love books and movies and tv shows and articles/magazines and social media (most days). I don’t particularly care for newspapers or the radio, I personally find it a little hard to follow.
It is great to love all these things but then what do I do with all of it? Perhaps that is the real question. I love writing about why Friends is such an amazingly genius show, or going on about how Greta Gerwig’s directional take on 2019’s Little Women was just absolutely fantastic and changed the entire tone of the story. I love making videos and editing pictures for my family and friends – but I do get mad that I love something so incredibly difficult at times. There is so much to understand and learn! So many things to read, watch and download, so many communities/fandoms to try and fit into. It’s beautifully frustrating.
To be more specific and on point with this assignment, I’ll talk about Instagram. Don’t get me wrong, social media sucks for a multitude of reasons most of the time. And I do completely agree with the fact that it, among other media as well, can be completely overwhelming. But it’s also fun and fascinating. I particularly love instagram because I love planning, editing and getting inspiration from other people. The way it influences us and gateways huge trends is honestly pretty crazy, and it equally brings up so much within each individual. Often I’ll take a look at people’s instagram feeds: how they’re planned and laid out with the color schemes, every picture and its angles carefully composed. This all comes together to ultimately create something beautiful – and hopefully more or less authentic: an aesthetically pleasing layout of squares, capturing moments. Maybe that doesn’t really speak to you, but I genuinely enjoy that kind of stuff. And you can find it anywhere. There is no doubt that social media is toxic, and that often these Instagram feeds, for example, just create jealousy and comparison with others. Yet we a) go back to it and b) it is important to remember that our media is imperfect, like us, as we’ve learned so well in our lectures. And to be fair (and honest), media is what we make of it – we create a big part of all this.
So I guess, to conclude, I heart my media because it, quite literally, takes me in every direction. Sometimes I hate that because when adults ask me, “What do you want to be then?”, the answer is never certain. And that is stressful. Yet it’s still pretty cool to love something so diverse and interesting to examine and even take part in. So I love it. Why? Different reason everyday.
Thanks for reading (:
Why I Heart My Media 