Why I Heart My Media

A Third Culture Kid (TCK) is an individual who has spent a significant amount of their child development years in a culture different to their parents’ or country of origin.

Having lived on 5 continents at only the age of 16, I was privileged with the opportunity to grow up internationally, and experience so many different cultures. One of the downsides to this lifestyle was that I was constantly forced to start anew, and build new connections in a whole new environment. In more ways than one, media has helped me adapt to social and cultural change as well as serve as a coping mechanism for the stress that came with starting a new chapter in ways that have ultimately shaped my identity.

Connectivity. A reason to why I heart my media is due to the simple nature it possesses in allowing me to stay in touch with my friends and family in all corners of the globe. Although moving to a different country every few years meant breaking the bridge of countless bonds and connections in my life, my media (and social media in particular) has helped me construct a some sort of virtual bridge or link, in which I am able to consistently stay interconnected with the important people in my life no matter how far they are.

Being a TCK often means growing up with experiences that are different to the norm, which is why I appreciate finding and interacting with people who have lived a similar lifestyle as they tend to better understand some of the situations or emotions I’ve have experienced. This is even more true for siblings, as they have endured the same/similar experiences. But like with media, we are all affected in very different ways. My media has helped strengthen the bond I have with my siblings simply by ensuring that we can connect online. A simple meme, a funny video, an interesting post; sharing information I find online has helped me develop my relationships and learn a lot more about what the people around me like/dislike, feel about a certain issue, or even dream and aspire to be. Because in most cases, sharing information starts conversions. And social media has proved to be the greatest way in which this can occur.

I heart my media because it has not only strengthened my connections with people I love, but also served as a tool to help cope with some of the challenges I’ve had to face as a TCK.

Student Number: 13741691

Today Youtube recommended me a one and a half minute long video of Alzheimers mother remembering her daughter. I clicked and cried, spent an hour flipping through my phone gallery, trying to recollect and revibe my memories with my grandmother.

Love involves reminiscing the past, living in the present, and envisioning the future. With media, I think – think about how my grandmother and I laughed at the ridiculously huge orange we found at a market when I was 13, about the bittersweet feelings I have right now as I am writing this, and what my tomorrow could have looked like if my grandmother were still here with me.

I love media as my grandmother loved me.

Jing An, 13515802

Student number: 13357131

So to begin, in this case when I say media I am referring to social media, specifically tiktok, instagram and twitter because those are the social media networking sites that I make use of the most.

To begin I’ll start with what I love about my media, obviously I enjoy the entertaining aspect of these platforms but specifically the niche content that you can find on there and the types of people you can connect with that also enjoy the same content as you. I personally enjoy a subgenre of memes that are “cursed” meaning that memes could vary from a video of someone dropping a whole tray on their favorite pair of shoes or just some random picture of a chair with spikey glass pieces in it. Not a lot of people I know tend to find those kinds of things funny which is why I love the community and entertainment aspect that our media has to offer. As for twitter, it is very amusing for me to watch complete strangers fight with one another over a topic that most of the time is not even that significant. I also like apps such as tiktok where regular people can go online and talk about their views on certain topics, social media has given us more access to one another in a sense.

What I don’t like about media is some of the insincerity that goes on there, especially on instagram, influencers posting fake photoshopped pictures of themselves promoting harmful products to their followings that mostly consist of younger girls who look up to them. You have to be evil to sell fit tea to an audience of young girls for a check, and often times I see that influencers are evil which makes me more cynical about the world we live in. I also hate how normal people have started photoshopping the pictures they post and how people feel the need to post everything they’re doing as if anyone cares. I feel the app instagram has turned into an app with the purpose of proving to your peers that you’re having a great time and that your life is perfect. With twitter, sometimes go too far and dig up things from people’s past for absolutely no reason other than to ruin their lives.

I will be focusing on social media (Instagram) in this post.

The reason why I love social media is the same reason why I hate social media. I would say that the main reason I love it is the fact that I can post exactly the photos/videos I like and feel proud of. This means that I can share my life as I want others to see and experience it. I can make it look more glamorous or messy then it actually is. It is like a coloring book where I can color each page differently to tell a different story. This exact reason is why I hate social media. Everyone can show off their life how they want to and everyone including me can see it. This fact gives a lot of stress and anxiety for many people thinking their life should be looking the same way. Even though I know this fact, I still get insecure and start comparing myself to others. We are all living in this crazy mediated life and I guess the only way out is to learn to live with it.

student number: 13936220

De haat-liefdeverhouding die ik met media heb, ervaar ik maar met weinig andere dingen zo sterk. Van de films die ik kijk en de muziek waar ik naar luister tot aan de foto’s die ik maak, ze voelen als een deel van mij. 

Media kan mij inspireren, verbinden en dingen leren. Dit is het stukje waarbij ik liefde voel voor media en dankbaar ben voor haar bestaan.

Media kan mij ook mezelf laten verliezen, vergelijken en verdwalen. Ik ben nooit volledig bewust dat dit gebeurd op het moment zelf. Pas wanneer ik mijn telefoon het liefst weg wil gooien en hoop dat het in duizenden stukjes breekt, voel ik de leegte waar (social) media mij soms mee achter laat. De vraag ‘wat ben ik nou aan het doen?’ stel ik mijzelf dan ook te vaak achteraf. Misschien haat ik media soms omdat ik er afhankelijk van ben. Ik kan niet zonder. Niemand kan zonder. Het laat mij zien dat ik als mens makkelijker te verleiden of in sommig geval te misleiden ben dan ik denk. Media is zo vanzelfsprekend geworden, dat er echt even stil bij staan niet vaak meer gebeurd. Maar wanneer ik dit wel doe, merk ik dat een gevoel van fascinatie uitstijgt boven de haat en liefde die ik voel. 

studentnummer: 14009447

I have a love-hate relationship with my media (just like everyone esle) and that can be summed up by two words. Stan Twitter. If you don’t know what that is, stan twitter is a side of Twitter that consists of different users who “stan” (or a big fan of) a certain celebrity, film, or tv show and they create a whole community based on that. I was part of stan twitter in my early teen years and it was a really fun time of my life but also the worst. I met a lot of people that I still have contact with today and it was really cool having an outlet where I could talk about my interests but some of the things that you would see on stan twitter could be really concerning. When you have a whole community based on your love for a certain person or piece of media, a lot of people can be very passionate about it (especially teenagers) and passion is a very strong feeling to have. That passion was so great to see when you saw such a large community coming together because of their love for a specific thing, but that passion also resulted in fights when there are disagreements or differing opinions. The anonymity of stan twitter made it easy for people to tweet whatever they wanted that it became known for its harassment and bullying. Being on the inside of it was interesting because I saw the love that came from these users but it also desensitised me to the negative things that they would say.

I left stan twitter because I matured enough to realize that the person I was becoming online wasn’t who I wanted to be, I didn’t want to be that person who started fights because someone didn’t like something that I did; even though I had so many good memories there and made such great friends, I started to hate being online. The happiness I felt interacting with people and talking about my interests were overshadowed by the amount of hate I would see and even the hate that I would feel. And that is why I “<3” my media, it’s a great starting point for such amazing content and connections but it can also go south so quick.

student number: 13505157

Media is everywere all the time. In ways you notice and in ways you might not notice. But it’s everywere and everyone has a different experience with it.

I mostly enjoy media especially social media, but there is a small line from loving to getting enough of it. I usually ike the content thats given to me on different social platforms. Especially during the time of quarantine last year, social media was a way that i could still connect and keep in touch with people eventough we were all staying at home. It also gave me the oppertunity to connect with people all over the netherlands and even all over the world. I can listen to all music that’s available at any time , and I love music it pullled me trough so many things in my life including times of the pandamic. It gives me inspiration and I decided to take actions in things that create a life that i wanted. It is somthing beautiful that I got from social media. I have been lucky enough that i haven’t t really experienced bad things of social media, eventhough I know there is a dark side to it. I am happy though I like media alot I that lockdown is finally over an I can now enjoy life with less media and spent more time living in the moment and outside meeting and catching up with friends in real life not trough a device.

Student number- 14110261

It is difficult to explain the complexity of my relationship with media; I love it, but I also dislike the fast-paced rate of change it is associated with. My media allows me to :

• Listen to music
• Keep in contact with my friends and family from afar
• Use Google Maps and other GPS systems when I am lost
• Rent a bike 
• Order food 

And many other things which I do on a daily basis, for which I am grateful for. 

But, we must recognize that media are disappearing as artefacts, and are continuously evolving. This raises a few questions: Will this evolution ever stop? If so, when? When will ‘enough be enough’? Will society reach a point of ‘saturation’ in the market with regards to media and technology?

Media are becoming more and more pervasive in nature; they are everywhere, and can no longer be avoided or ‘turned off’. 

In relation to this, it saddens me to see how the next generation will live. They will be consumed by an entirely mediated reality, depriving them of the ‘real’ experiences that previous generations have lived through. 

To expand on this concept, personally, my best childhood memories included reading bedtime stories (hardback copies), listening to CD’s on my CD player, and tuning into the radio during our annual family road trips to France and Italy. Nonetheless, my favorite activity was watching Disney movie cassette tapes in my old basement. The walls were covered in shelves, filled with dozens, maybe even hundreds, of tapes. The possibilities seemed limitless. 

These older forms of media are now very different to the current virtuality of media. The next generation will most likely not have such opportunities to create raw, authentic memories in this way. A question we should ask ourselves: do you think future generations will know what cassette tapes are, as they have evolved into online streaming services such as Netflix and HBO? No, probably not. The same applies to hardback copies of books – there are now online (PDF) versions and tablets such as the IPad and Kindle, so there is no need for physical copies (paper versions). Furthermore, CD’s have been replaced by audio music streaming service providers, such as Spotify and Apple Music.

So, what’s left for the next generation(s)? How will they make ‘real’, genuine (childhood) memories in this increasingly virtual, mediated world? 

Student number: 13809628