Why I Heart My Media

Do I love media? I think media are way too broad of a concept to feel positive feelings about all of them. Do I love the fact that media gave bad people a platform to manipulate others and spread lies? No. Do I love that some people, even acquaintances, are now gone because they watched news channels that spread lies about Covid-19 and decided not to vaccinate or not to take it seriously? No.

But without media, maybe Alyssa Milanos, whose tweets started the “#MeToo” Movement, wouldn’t have had the courage to write the words that changed the lives of thousands of women. Without media, vice-president Joe Biden’s interview in 2012 on Meet the Press wouldn’t have been heard by so many people and wouldn’t have motivated the LGBT movement to bear down on administration, culminating in Barack Obama’s own proclamation of support.

And let’s be honest, without media we would have gone insane during the Coronavirus Pandemic because when we were physically separated, it kept us connected not only with our friends, but with people we’ve never met. Despite the fact that media can be the source of negativity and misinformation, it can’t be denied that it changed the world surrounding us and without them, I wouldn’t have even had the chance to write this, so I guess I do, in fact, love media.

Student Number: 13929674

I have a complicated relationship with media. It exists, and I neither like nor dislike it. However, I am not neutral either. Well, perhaps it is not so much about the technology or the concept of media, but rather the users. The kind of people I have in my mind can absolutely as well be found offline, but thanks to the internet, their presence is even more noticeable.

Online, people are special. But not extremely special, just somewhat special. It is like a huge MMORPG without the fancy graphics where people join guilds based on what they believe, aspire or were they, at least, want to, belong (it is another story if they actually belong there).  

There is a specific kind of people that I don’t understand. Twitter-users. Of course, this might be because I am from a country where Twitter is not very mainstream. To me, Twitter feels like a desperate outcome of some middle- and upper-class opinionmakers who can’t get enough of desperately voicing their opinions. I especially enjoy the uneducated artist and/or influencer who tries to scar their so-very-much valued opinion either directly or indirectly related to a third-world problem but made to sound serious. After that, I want to shine some light on our hard-working politicians. The politician is the one who communicates their white lies and written attacks against each other, in an effort to make themselves seem a tad better than their nasty personalities can afford. But perhaps there is some joy in Twitter – Where else would you watch grown (overpaid) men argue like children?

The internet is a mess of opinions, either based on generally accepted science or “culturally accepted science”. After all, it seems like the definition of science has changed to what fits the author best. It is a grim bar-war from the comfort of your armchair, where the one with the loudest (non-capsed) opinion seems to win.

To further explain my emotional mixture (which dear Sir, will not lead to a divorce between me and my beloved media), I have attached a video of Daria and Jane’s life lessons. And If I did not make sense, I hope at least this life lesson will.

The media is something that plays a huge role in my life and it’s something I’ve grown to have a relationship with. I’ve been using the media since I was a kid to play video games on my Mum’s iPad or to watch a YouTube video. With time media started to have a more significant role in my life, when I was in primary school I shared an iPad with my brothers, when I got to secondary school I got my first phone and laptop. Today I am constantly surrounded by media. At times it can be extremely distracting when I’m trying to perform a task and I can hear Netflix calling to me, telling me to watch this new TV show that just came out. Or the notifications on my Phone constantly nagging me to check my social media. It’s times like these where I wish media would disappear from my life and I could live in peace. However that is not possible as in today’s world media is everywhere and we can’t escape it.

There are other times where I think media is the best thing ever and I’m so glad it’s in my life like when I’m browsing through Instagram looking at funny videos or I’m snapping my friends on snapchat. Although it sounds simple and mundane, doing this brings joy into my life.

So I like to think I have a complicated relationship with media and that I would not be able to describe it. I have many mixed feelings towards it and I think it’s best to leave it at that.

I am naturally a very creative and imaginative person who needs to share her ideas and put them on display in order to feel content. I love my media because it allows me to share my thoughts and feelings with the world. When I share something on social media I feel like what I have to say is important and there are people out there who want to listen to it and find value in it. This sentiment also makes me feel as if I am more connected to my core self, when I use my media I don’t feel the need to filter my thoughts not to upset or offend someone, I can just be myself and express my ideas and I always find people who relate and connect with my experience. I love my media because it makes me belong.

Student number: 13982540

Media is something that I guess personally I have had a tough time with. I have always loved movies, since I was young, and music, so in that sense, I love media, and it’s part of who I am. Listening to music, writing my own songs and movie scripts, going to the cinema, etc. But on the other hand, I wish I had had more time without it. Media not only has had positive effects on me, enabling me to express myself and be who I am, but it has also made me unsure about some things, such as my preferences in some things, or even who I am in general. Expectations in social media can have a really big impact on anyone, but especially teenagers who are growing, and learning about themselves. That’s why maybe, if media wasn’t as involved in our lives as it is, and has been for the past years, it would have been easier to learn about oneself without being impacted by social media, or media in general. But I still do love media, to a certain extent. So, in the end, like I said at the beginning of this post, I don’t really know how I feel about media, I guess we have a complicated relationship ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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I love media, or do I? I believe I do. Why I love media? Honestly, I love media because I love to laugh. Every day there are all kinds of content put up on social media. Hilarious videos, new music, comments and most important for me, MEMES. It feels ignorant in a way, to love media just because it’s funny but I must confess, because the source of most of my laughter is social media.

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Even though social media is a huge part of the source of my laughter, I am confused all of a sudden. Because now, I realise that I hate media. Social media separates us from our souls and real life. I want the source of my laughter to be real people or real events. I want people to literally see my laughter and give them the satisfaction of making someone laugh. We are replacing our real lives with social in an extent where I am scared that the future generations are going to live only in social media.

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I don’t know, there are a lot of variations of media that I can not decide if I love it or hate it. I guess I just feel neutral.

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Growing up, I always loved media, whether it was film, social media or music. I looked up to people in my environment and online that were successful doing what they love. 

Though media has been a great aid in connecting me to my family in hard times like my mom’s cancer who was getting treatment 1000km away from me, it was also a burden to find myself. Being in a community that calls themselves “inclusive” without doing anything about it, online platforms helped me to find people that I relate to and can identify myself through. Accepting myself was just a little easier. Though sometimes, the emphasis on being perfect, for example on Instagram, just like anyone else, made me feel like absolute shit. I regret being exposed to media so early in my life, but I wouldn’t be where I am today without it. 

In conclusion, I love media but I hate myself.

student id: 13660586

Like most people, I find media a hugely helpful tool in the student world but it has slowly dominated my life. I have become addicted to Netflix and communication apps, especially after my move to Amsterdam. I distract myself from important things such as work, as well as my own emotions through media.
Media is a massive part of my life, and although I am happy about it, I wish it wasn’t so accessible and such a fundamental part of our society. Though, saying this will unfortunately not change my relationship with media.

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Like almost everyone in my generation, I grew up with media. 

We learned about it in school, and got told about all the dangers online from our parents, but we all ended up not really paying that much attention to it in the end.

Media of all types have given me some sort of comfort over the years, I always loved reading while listening to music, going home after school and watching a TV show, or planning out my future on Pinterest boards.

When commuting or visiting a new city I always felt safer when having my phone on me, and whenever I didn’t know what do to with my hands or I am walking past a group of people, I always faked a sudden interest in the imaginary messages on my phone.

But like with almost everything in life nothing is that black and white. It did give me comfort but it also amplified a lot of other insecurities in my life. 

Constantly comparing myself to other people online has always been an issue and I think it will always be something that I will have to work on, as well as the constant feeling of missing out on an event when your friends post about it. These are things that make me hate media and the amount of times I have contemplated deleting everything about my online presence is something I can’t even count anymore. 

But at the end of the day I always go back to it, and learning how to use media in a way that is not harmful to me is something that I keep on having to improve and realising that nobody even pays that much attention to you, nothing matters. 

The sun will still go up tomorrow even if someone doesn’t like my post.

Algoritmes, datalekken en privacy schending zijn termen gerelateerd aan media die je vast wel eens op het nieuws voorbij hebt zien komen. 

De meningen over sociale online platformen zijn dan ook enorm verdeeld onder de mensen. Een vriendin van me heeft al haar profielen en kanalen verwijderd, vanwege de druk van het online zijn, maar vooral  uit angst om 24/7 gevolgd te worden door de software van haar smartphone device. De FOMO kwam direct bovendrijven in mijn media-liefhebbende brein. Bijna onze hele sociale wereld is inmiddels online, en om daar een stapje van terug te nemen lijkt me een behoorlijke uitdaging. 

Ik ben er namelijk van overtuigd dat media mensen juist dichter bij elkaar brengt. Met de digitalisering van de wereld zijn je vrienden slechts een paar toetsen op je beeldscherm van je verwijderd. Naar mijn idee hebben mensen vaak de drang om dingen te doen die groter zijn dan zichzelf. Het internet en (nieuwe) media bieden hierbij enorme mogelijkheden, in o.a. de vorm van globaal kunnen netwerken.

Een voorbeeld hiervan zou zijn dat mijn ouders dankzij FaceBook familieleden hebben kunnen vinden in Israël en Amerika, met wie ik tot op de dag van vandaag nog regelmatig mee app. Zonder de komst van dat medium had ik nooit van hun bestaan afgeweten, laat staan dat ik familie had aan de andere kant van de wereld.

In 2020 zagen we dat de (sociale) media tijdens de Corona pandemie nog meer van waarde was dan ooit. In een tijd waarin sociaal contact met de buitenwereld niet echt wenselijk was, maakten zoom-meetings, streaming party’s en facetime uurtjes het quarantaine leven toch wat dragelijker. 

In mijn ogen is dat de relatie tussen mens en media dan ook een tweerichtingsverkeer. De media zorgt voor connecties tussen individuen, maar diezelfde mensen brengen media ook samen. Wat zou Intagram zijn zonder gebruikers? Of YouTube zonder kijkers? TikTok had nooit zo’n plotselinge rage kunnen worden zonder de miljoenen tieners die massaal dansjes deelden met vrienden. Het woord ‘’delen’’ is sowieso een sleutelwoord als het aankomt op de hedendaagse media. Van het delen van foto’s of memes met je vrienden, het zoeken naar een nieuwe partner via een datingapp of simpelweg je gevoelens en mening uiten over een film of nieuwsartikel. Misschien zit het wel gewoon in de aard van de mens om dingen van zichzelf te willen delen met anderen? 

Dus waarom houd ik van media? Omdat het een essentieel deel van ons leven is geworden. En naar mijn mening heeft het vaak meer voordelen dan nadelen.

Student number: 13732161