Why I Heart My Media

About six years ago, I went to Vancouver for a vacation. It was my first time going abroad, it also was my first time to use an international app—Instagram. During my vacation, I created my account and posted many interesting pictures of my travel. I suddenly realized that sharing something lovely that I saw made me happy. In other words, I like that feeling of sharing my life. With the increase of my follower and likes, I was proud of that since someone was being interested in my life. It seems like I was noticed and recognized. Even one day, one of my followers sent a message to me saying “I like your photos. Many places you went, I went to them as well that recall much of my memories.” that encouraged me a lot. From then on, I frequently posted more and more pictures on my social media platforms. I want my friends to know what my life is like, what I am eating, where I am going to, what I am like that day, etc. At the same time, I also can see their life.

In my opinion, media is like a bridge because there is much information being exchanged no matter where you are. You can learn about others even your favorite stars, and people who are from all over the world also can see your life. Media shorten the distance from people to people. More interactions have been brought and our life has been enriched.

When you ask me why I love media, I would like to say it changed my life. Because I love sharing, my ability to discover has been enhanced; because I love sharing, I would like to study more prices of technique and acquire more knowledges to improve my posts. I am thinking that I cannot live without media since human beings are herd animals and the feeling of sharing is amazing. Media is disappearing, I will love sharing forever because I exactly live in a world of media.

Gretel He

Student number: 13390430

For as long as I can remember, I have been watching movies and TV shows. From every single Barbie movie to Martin Scorsese’s disturbing Shutter Island, watching all these films has brought me so much pleasure and happiness in so many ways. It’s quite funny and embarrassing at the same time actually, how I used to watch a movie or show when I was younger and get completely obsessed with the characters and the world in which those characters lived. I remember one of the first times this happened, with the Harry Potter franchise. After watching the first couple of movies, I would secretly go on my mom’s computer to search up who played the role of Harry. When I found out it was Daniel Radcliffe and seeing pictures of him on google, 8-year-old me decided to write him a love letter. I don’t remember much of this time in my life, as I was quite young, but this I remember very well. Once I started using social media, these obsessions with cast members and the worlds in films took a new turn; I was able to actually keep up with all these actors and see what they were posting about and what they were doing in their lives. You could say I was a fan girl. I even made fan accounts on Instagram at one point…. Looking back at this now I cannot help but feel embarrassed about some of the things I would post and how obsessed I would be over people I did not even know personally. Yes, some things were embarrassing, but overall, when I look back at this time of my life, I realise how big of a part this played in my childhood and that it genuinely made very happy. I was always able to go into this ‘different world’ when doing things on the internet related to movies/shows and the actors. Being in these ‘online fandoms’ even made it possible for me to make friends that I would meet up with back in the days and create friendships that later did not even revolve around being fans anymore. I cannot imagine my childhood without this part in it, because it has made such a huge impact on me and on where a lot of my interests lie today – and that is why I love my media.

– 13985523

When I was younger, I actually didn’t really consume the ‘average’ amount of media like other kids in my school. Instead of watching television on Disney Channel or Cartoon Network, I used to play with dolls, go to the beach, park and play sports like football, do gymnastics and ballet. Maybe other people my age can relate, but in those scenarios where my friends and I would discuss our childhood, I was and still sometimes continue to be asked, “where was your childhood?”, “well what did you do?” – as if I really missed out on shows like Wizards of Waverly Place and The Suite Life on Deck. My point is, when I look back on my childhood, I am quite grateful for my limited consumption of media, especially when I see children nowadays with their iPads, even iPhones (or maybe that’s just what I’m used to seeing in Dubai – it really is a whole other level of rich). My generation has grown up together with media. The technological advancements in media are actually mind-blowing. We went from purchasing CDs and VHS tapes in stores to buying subscriptions on Netflix to watch films on our laptops or filming on VHS camcorders to videoing on iPhones which are then posted on Facebook for anyone to view.

Media has really taken over our lives, but I’m all for it.

I love that media inspires me with my creative side. I love that media captures all my memories. I love that media has helped me find my personal identity. Most of all, I love that media connects me to anyone from anywhere in the world. When I first arrived in Amsterdam about a month and a half ago, I felt really homesick as it was my first time leaving the city I grew up in and my family for the first time. As I write this now, media was the significant factor in helping me overcome my homesickness. I was able to video call my parents at any time, I was able to watch my comfort television shows, look through my Snapchat memories and message my friends.

Media has made my life easier.

I can’t imagine my life without media.

I’m happy to be studying Media 🙂

Oh yes, we are, indeed, lovers. That is undeniably true. We have been lovers for a long time now. Is it, however, a healthy relationship? Or is it a poisonous and one-sided romance? I’m not quite sure.

My lover has given me the freedom to express myself. My lover has given me the opportunity to evolve and create. My lover has given me the chance to explore the world. My lover has given me the access to an infinite amount of information. My lover helped me overcome the distance of 1193.4 kilometres between me and my family. My lover has connected me with my friends. My lover was there when no one else was when I felt lonely, helpless, and lost. My lover has always guided me and most importantly: my lover has never abandoned me. 

My lover is and always will be present. My lover is omnipresent…

However, my lover has occasionally betrayed me…

Sometimes, my lover has given me long nights of crying my heart out. My lover is addictive. My lover has made me compare myself to others. My lover has given me constant anxiety. My lover has made me insecure. My lover has developed my desire to follow unattainable beauty standards. My lover has made me feel overwhelmed. My lover has allowed others to bully me anonymously. My lover has made me think that I am not unique. My lover made me feel like I am not and will never be enough.

So… how do I feel or, how should I feel about my lover?

That is exactly what I am seeking to answer. This relationship is complex and unstable. Nonetheless, it is also inevitable. Whether I want it or not, it will always be there.

So, my lover… as we will be stuck together for the rest of our lives, let’s promise to be good to each other.

Paulina Jankowska

Student ID: 13640267

why I heart my media is just a state of mind 

it makes me wanna shout 

yet it makes me wanna hide 

like a city that never sleeps, you’ll be judged from 

the outside 

lowkey I compare myself with the pictures 

that I like 

on Instagram where we keep scrolling til the middle 

of the night 

the big apple, just another fallen fruit who’s forbidden to 

speak 

for itself and the ones who are too kind 

they’ll keep eating 

till the core, just to suffer 

once more 

you’ve unlocked your screen, now 

nothing goes unseen 

they yell what they think and you know what 

I mean 

when you want the best of both worlds, 

being alone or meeting 

on zoom 

wifi 

in the woods would be such a 

mood, 

let me save some Pinterest aesthetics, 

watching YouTube while searching 

for food 

making a fire, share it on Facebook 

wandering 

around, counting mushrooms, 

listen to 

whispering 

trees, telling the leaves to think about me 

the balance of both is where I feel free, 

I just need a place 

somewhere in between, to not care 

about others 

only the wind who sings about colors and 

the way I am me

Student ID: 1397 1670

The way I speak about my media is not the way the average middle-aged man would speak about his. The way I speak about my media is not the way an 8-year-old child would speak about theirs. Most would agree that everyone views media differently and has a different connection to it and perspective on it. My media is a mix of social media, romance novels, netflix, and Taylor Swifts entire discography. My media is something that has followed me, like most people my age, all my life. I’ve tried to escape it, believe me. On days when I felt down or drained, social media was there to distract me from the emotional turmoil that comes with being a teenager. However, I noticed quickly that often media (more often social media) were tools I used to numb out emotions, rather than deal with them head on. Overuse of my media sometimes would make me feel even worse, like that strange feeling you get when you’re bored but don’t want to do anything but don’t want to be bored either. Emptiness. Sometimes I couldn’t help but wonder… maybe media are less an escape and more a numbing device, there to help you feel less when you feel too much. Or maybe media ARE an escape. When going down this rabbit hole, you wonder if this is even a bad thing. Are media a misunderstood wonderland, filled with possibilites, distractions, entertainment, knowledge and wisdom (or lack thereof), or is it exactly what facebook moms say, a tool that one day will turn us all into emotionless zombies? Again, this is a question that will never have a factual answer. My emotions towards media are not your emotions, so we will probably never have the same perspective on media. What I know now is that there will never be a time in my life where I will not be living in media… so I might as well glorify it. With this in mind, I can confidently say I do love my media sometimes because it provides that escape from reality, which is sometimes needed. I turn on my phone every morning and never know what to expect. It has come to a point where things that seem completely absurd are just that, absurd but not surprising. I’ve grown accustomed to the wonderful, strange things on the internet. Of course, sometimes these things are less wonderful and more terrifying, but you can never have the good and wonderful without the bad and terrible. Taking a step further, I could even say that media has become my NEW reality… a reality I go to to escape the one I’m in now. When I feel homesick, when I miss my family, when I feel lonely or vulnerable. Or when I feel melancholic and lay in bed and listen to Adele for 5 hours straight. Even in times when I’m happy and the sun is shining, I use my media to let my friends know I’m in a good mood. Pretty soon, these two realities will merge into one, if they haven’t already. They can be overwehlming and distracting and cloud my head, but they can also be a world of connection and depth and inspiration. I haven’t learnt to have one without the other yet, but maybe this is impossible. So sometimes I love my media, and sometimes I hate my media… but at least I have my media.

Student ID: 13917528, Giuliana Raidt

My media means a lot of things to me and makes my life easier in many ways, which I sometimes take for granted, I admit. But the thing, that means most to me, is that media allows me to be in contact with my loved ones even when I’m far away from home. Especially now, living abroad and not being able to see them that often anymore, it is more important to me than ever. I get to be a part of their lives without being physically near them, see their faces and smiles through FaceTime, hear their voices and laughter. For that, I am forever grateful. 

I don’t really know who I would be or what I would do without media. I also feel like that should make me scared but to be honest, it doesn’t. At the end of the day, media brings me more comfort than fear. And I can’t imagine giving up that comfort. 

Yesterday, I signed up to pay Google 2 euros a month because my account ran out of storage. All for photos and videos and documents I probably will look at once a year. Worth it!

Ik hou van mijn media omdat ze een ontelbare hoeveelheid mogelijkheden bieden. Het maakt mijn leven een stuk gemakkelijker. Sociale media maken mogelijk dat ik in contact kan blijven met mensen om wie ik geef. 

Google Maps is een van mijn grootste raadgevers, ik heb namelijk het richtingsgevoel van een poffertje. Ik zou niet weten welke kant ik op zou moeten zonder de verhelderende stem van Google Maps die mij de weg wijst. Al deze handigheden zijn fantastisch en ik zou ze niet willen missen, toch zijn ze bijzaak. 

De hoofdreden van mijn liefde voor media is namelijk mijn passie voor film en theater, dit is al heel vroeg ontstaan. Als klein meisje keek ik het allerliefste iedere avond een van mijn favoriete Disneyfilms. Film en theater spelen zo’n grote rol in mijn leven, ik zou niet weten wat ik zonder media voor hobby’s zou hebben. Sterker nog, ik wil er niet over nadenken. 

Media bestaan al honderden jaren, toch ben ik blij dat ik een ‘millenial’ ben. Ik geniet van discussies over de nieuwste filmreleases, IMDB-ratings en recensies. Media brengen mensen samen om over onderwerpen te communiceren waar je hart sneller van gaat kloppen. 

Er zitten absoluut ook negatieve kanten aan de media, deze heb ik ook zeker ervaren. Jezelf vergelijken met de perfecte plaatjes op Instagram, of je eenzaam voelen door allerlei ‘live’ berichten van feestjes die te gek lijken. Dit soort situaties kunnen absoluut als vervelend ervaren worden. Echter ben ik me gaan realiseren dat ik het zelf in de hand heb, of ik in deze media meega en of ik mezelf hierdoor laat beïnvloeden. FOMO is voor mij verleden tijd, ik concentreer me op dat wat ik leuk en belangrijk vind. 

Ondanks het feit dat media ‘ubiquitous’ is, ik bepaal zelf hoe ik er mee omga. Daarom hou ik van mijn media. 

Studentnummer: 13834649

To put it short:

Black Mirror is why I hate, or let’s say, feel nervous about media.

Life in a Day, as an example of why I love media.

Now, to explain this thought a little bit:

We do not have to argue how immense the effects of media have become nowadays. They have always been important, we learnt that. But now, with most parts of the world being connected – meaning, being able to interact – the lovely thought of only beautiful connections and opportunities, goes hand in hand with all the dangers this brings.

To me, Black Mirror was a pretty good summary of all the possible, dystopian impacts media can have (our dependance on media, surveillance, misuse..). As director Brooker states,  “there is no escaping a black mirror now that it has permeated throughout nearly every home across the globe”. And this is what scares me. Us media students, academics or experts, we might have a slight understanding of what is happening with media right now (note that honestly, nobody knows how this is going to continue). But most people using it do not know, do not stay with the trouble, do not question their use or learn a healthy handle for it. This is dangerous. Everybody using media now, also includes Everybody who has no clue what they are doing, who they are harming, who they are influencing. By that, I especially address the younger generation growing up with this now. They surely will handle it more intuitively, maybe in the future even more carefully, but right now, there is just too much possible harm our media use can cause. And that, not even having mentioned all the harm that companies, politicians and other institutions cause through selfishly taking advantage of our missing knowledge about media. In short, our mediated world us not understood enough yet, for it having this much power, for us using it this blindly. If policy-makers, but also society all in all – does not address this change in our life, shit may go down soon.

I know I may sound very dystopian – but I feel like I don’t really need to mention all the wonderful, positive effects and opportunities I see in media. That’s why in my short intro, I summed it up by mentioning the documentary “Life in a Day”. To me, it beautifully reflects how connecting media can be. How all in all, we are in the same boat, on this same earth with these same struggles. Media connects, media makes us laugh, makes us love.

As a conclusion I want to change what I put in the headline.

I love my media, I love the connectedness, I live the richness of opportunities and knowledge it offers. But if we don’t look at what it does to us, very subliminally, I might eventually stop loving it.

Student ID: 12050334