Why I Heart My Media

Honestly, I’ve never gave much though to this question but whilst writing this blog, I came to some realizations. I, like everyone else, is active on social media, mine being Instagram. I have a second account, known as a spam account, where I ditch all the pretty stuff and nice images for something more authentic and real. Compared to my main account, there are significantly less followers, and a majority of my followers are people whom I closer with. the structure of my posts in my spam account varies greatly to those of my main. My pictures consist of candid or ugly pictures most of the time and the captions are often written unfiltered and are lengthy. I write as if I am speaking and I write down the first thing that pops into my mind. I really love that space, I get to express myself without needing to care about anything. That account to me isn’t about likes nor recognition, I just wish to share my life with my closer friends. Especially right now, when I am far away from my friends, no matter the distance they still get to see how I am doing. This, is the first thing that I love about my media.

The next reason has a mixture of both sides to the coin. Best way to put it in my eyes, in my eyes, would be a love hate relationship, with me coming back to it all the time. I have a great love for football and I, like many others around the world, am a die hard supporter of Manchester United, and social media is also a part of the evolution in football. The thing I love about media in this sense is that after every game, especially games with high stakes (derbies, rivalries, finals, etc.) there will be memes and posts about the events in the game and whatever happened, as we like calling it, rival banter. It more often than not gets very toxic and if you can’t take a joke, I suggest you rethink whether you really support that club of yours or it is just to follow everyone else. If you ever follow Manchester United, you would know the laughing stock we have become, I was there supporting them when they were at their lowest, and trust me, that entire duration was so long, I am more immune to losses than a lot of the fans out there, I don’t overreact as much as others, I take the loss and move on. Football, is just like our lives, we win some, we lose some, and regardless of what happens we move on. the banter goes both ways, sometimes I get to have a laugh and talk shit about the opposing team or the team we just obliterated and sometimes, I and many other United fans are at the receiving end, and I am perfectly fine with that.

However, the thing that makes me sad, that makes me want to turn off my phone and come back to this platform is the moment when racism and literal hate speech comes into play. There is a difference between banter and stepping out of boundaries, and a lot of times, all this negativity is present and it gets very sickening. The best example for this would be the Euro 2020 final between Italy and England, specifically the penalty shootout. The main focal point being the last 3 penalty takers for the England team: Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford MBE and Bukayo Saka. They all missed their respective penalties, resulting in England just coming short to silverware. The aftermath of that 3 misses sparked chaos for the three of them. I’d like to think penalty misses like making a simple mistake in class, they happen all the time. But when it comes to a shootout, stakes are high and tension rises, that becomes a different ball game and it is hard to find some thing in real life to put it into perspective, the best would be to imagine yourself in a business deal that if you fail to secure, you lose your job and get fired and probably will go unemployed for a long time and you still have a family to feed. The three young men were bombarded with racist comments and remarks, like monkey emojis and death threats. I sometimes question myself: “Why after all this, I still come back here?” The reason? Simple. When there is bad, there is bound to be good and support came pouring in just as all the negativity looked to take over. And just like all those who stood behind the players and team regardless the result, I’m doing the same so that the world has 1 less negative thing to worry about, and it is also because of this community that’s present that makes me come back every single time.

As much as I hate to say it, it is what it is, things like these are always bound to happen, not just football, but anything else, the same rules apply. However, if there happens to be a group of people who will offer support no matter what, I’m more than ready to chip in and do what I can to stop the hate, and media, as inevitable as it is, is in the mix to help us get there.

~13877526, Li Zhe

I may be very different from the others when comes to the reason of why I love media. This is because media is where I can conceal and hide from the reality – I have different accounts along with various virtual identities, profile pictures, personal information, and shared moments. I can act however I want with a specific account, and this ‘mask’ helped me to be a real human in the virtual world. What I mean being real is that I find my existence inside the virtual world, since I can get some attention. On the contrary, I can not really be a normal human in the reality, due to the fact, I do not even know what I love, what I enjoy doing, and how I can make long-term friends. In this sense, media helped me to find and be connect with different types of people around the world, and made many friends, although never lasted long. However, I still fully engage with media and the online culture, because they accept me. Recently, I discovered long-term network relationships, which made me keep growing, learning, improving, and appreciating the world. Media keeps me alive.

Media is what I need for the meaning of my life, and it is the ‘thing’ that supports me to keep living. This may sound pessimistic, but media allows me to be alone while enjoying the myself: I am always accompanied by music playlist on YouTube or Spotify; When I am alone in my spacious but lonely room, I watch Netflix ; I have WeChat news and BBC news to consume news from a dual-perspective; Everyday, every minute and every second, I have my computer, iPad and mobile phones around me — I can not control media, because media has controlled me, and I can not live without media. Media keeps me working.

Another thing for media to shaped the way I am is through the role of “gallery”. Without the photo gallery, I would not think that my life and experiences and my memories are wonderful and interesting. The pictures that were taken has recorded my life which can be traced back to that time. The idea of being able to transcend time and space and experiences has made me embrace the existence of media itself. Media makes me cherish the life I once had, and I still do. Therefore, media is not simple, it not only connect you to the others, but also helps you to connect to yourself. This is what I have learned during the pandemic with the great presence of media in my daily life. As a matter of fact, I can know myself better through the functions that media have, which makes me “heart” media with great respect.

Oppositely, the fact that I sometimes dislike media because of my anxiety about consuming media. The reason is that I have computers, iPad and mobile phones, and it is precisely because of them – the information on each device, the notifications, the message from the updates irritates me. Every information makes me anxious when I am reading it, and because there are too many things that I need to consume at a time, I just can not do anything. Overloaded information makes me sometimes afraid of opening the phone and facing the information. In this sense, this sense of helplessness has made the media less attractive to me to a certain degree. That is why I always have a love-hate relationship with media, because it has shaped the way I am (the positive side), and also created a very anxious me.

Of course, I would never stop using media. It is part of me, or maybe all of me. And I heart media every day, because I give people “likes”; I have some existence online; I can use media to entertain myself etc. Everything that involves media make me so connected to it, I feel media is my friend, my mentor, my invisible influencer. No matter how negatively it affects me, I would always manage it, and come back to it. Because I heart media. 

Thank you so much to read until here, really appreciated.

(Writer’s notes: I really appreciate this assignment, because I never asked myself why do I use media for such a long time, or why I do not get bored. This has absolutely helped me to realize how important media is for me, and how I am dependent on it. Thank you for this opportunity.)

M.

13548719

If this question had been asked a couple months ago, I probably wouldn’t have had any concrete answer to it. My media was invisible to me (as we discussed during this course), and I didn’t quite understand how much I depended on it.

Before coming to Amsterdam, I had the battery on my phone changed. This process took a couple hours, and it meant that during those couple hours I would be left without my phone. Consequently, that day, due to my move to Amsterdam, was a very busy one. I had to do many errands around the city and without my phone everything became an inconvenience.

Firstly, I was late to everything. Without my phone I had no concept of time or space (I also got lost a little). Before leaving the house I frantically searched for my phone to check the weather, and when I realized I didn’t have it, I stuck my hand out the window and assessed the situation like that.

Once I sat in the car, I realized I was subject to only listening to the radio since I couldn’t access any of my playlists. Everything became an inconvenience. I couldn’t use my credit cards since the pins are written down in my phone, I couldn’t organize my schedule as it was written down in my calendar app, I couldn’t communicate with my friends and family, especially my sister who is in the US.

Now, I understand that this probably sounds ridiculous but, it made me realize just how much I love my media. After that day I realized that I don’t only use my phone to “Text” or scroll through social media, I use it everyday to make my life easier, to connect with the people that I love, to watch Netflix, take photos, make memories, and to distract myself from things that honestly don’t bring me joy but are a part of this world.

-Jelena, 13478273

Since we are all aware of media’s ubiquity, we are left with no choice but to accept that fact and live with them, ergo either love or hate them. I, although not so wise yet, came to the realisation – why shall I burden my heart with hate when love is such a better feeling.

If I didn’t have my media, how would I have even heard that Limp Bizkit released their first song in a decade? How would I otherwise get an insight into how my friends back home are doing and how would I flex on them with the beautiful Amsterdam views I get to cherish on a daily basis? What would I do without theneedledrop providing me inspiration and recommending new music all around the globe to be heard? How would I (sometimes illegally, I promise – not that often though) download books and movies to immerse in and spend a day in its entirety without even realising how quickly the time passes? How would I feel without being conscious of the freedom I posses to post my daily thoughts and bear the consequences for such actions?

All those questions help me deduce that such a deep connection (like ours with media) is almost always based on a love-hate basis. But come on, how could the love not prevail when you are feeling empowered, free and focal? That is why I heart my media

• Aleksandar, 13545205

“Media is ubiquitous”

Idk Mark Deuze probably

Media, it is simultaneously everywhere and nowhere. On top of that, we are ‘becoming one’ with our media. Since media is ‘everywhere and nowhere’, does that mean we are ceasing to exist? Even though these brain busting questions are very intriguing and I would love to write an in depth paragraph trying (emphasis on trying) to work them out, but that’s not what I’m going to talk about.

Instead, I am going to take you on my ‘Media Journey’, across the deep dark and scary lands of Instagram fame… This makes it sound like I was an ‘Insta-model’ who had a burnout from failing to reach the never-ending demand of bedroom mirror selfies. Thank you for thinking that, seriously I’m flattered.

My ‘Instagram fame’ was different, not special or unique in any way, just different. You see, like every teenager, my followers were leading a boring and depressing daily life, which resulted in them following… Well, me.

By now, you probably should have guessed what my account was all about. I have been avoiding using the correct terminology for it, simply because it sends shivers of cringe down my spine.

I was the owner of a large Instagram-based “meme account”. (‘Large’ being completely subjective, but to fourteen year old me it was) At its peak, the account had a whopping 20 thousand followers and was viewed 4,5 million (!!?) times weekly.

It all started with my iPhone being incapable of giving me the beautiful 16gb’s of storage that I paid for. Instead, it decided to fill half of it with ‘other’, leaving me with way too many memes and too little storage to keep them. So I created an account on Instagram to archive them, just for me.

It was like that for a while, just for me. Until people decided they wanted to see more of my memes. I don’t know what led me to decide I wanted to grow the account, it probably was the kick I got from being praised and getting attention. (Sorry, didn’t mean for that to sound so depressing)

To gain a larger following, I was going to be as active as possible. Starting with spamming the living hell out of my followers, I scoured sites like 9gag and Reddit for hours on end to find funny and interesting content to post. On average, I posted around 12-20 times a day.

I needed to create a community around memes that everyone and their mothers would want to be a part of. This led to me replying to every single dm, creating quizzes on stories, having followers give anonymous confessions on stories, and much more. They loved it, and I loved them. I even gave my followers a special ‘group’ name to help create the feeling of a close community, almost like an online family.

After some time, I noticed that people would become more engaged and ‘loyal’ to my account when I gave them the slightest form of attention. I mean think about it, if a relatively large page follows you back, or likes your posts, you would feel special right? Exactly.

Reading this back, I realize I very much sound like a manipulative psycho, but keep in mind I was fourteen at the time. We were all messed up back then.

The only actual ‘messed up’ thing I did was fake a giveaway in order to get people to promote my account and related hashtags for free. I would say I felt bad but I really didn’t. Every big account you follow that does giveaways pulls this, I promise you.

Anyway, I deleted the account a couple years ago because I felt like it was taking over my life somehow. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the feedback I got and the feeling of having a secret double life. But spending my entire day on social media just didn’t make me happy. Plus my friends screaming at me for impulsively deleting the account was quite funny.

So, in conclusion, I’m extremely grateful for this journey, it is one of the many reasons why I love my media.

To my followers, my online family; I will always remember you ❤️ 

Nina Faase

14008300

How can I start describing this relationship. It has grown closer and closer overtime. It has started off as young little me playing angry birds on her iPad, into overtaking my whole life. I can’t lie and say it wasn’t my choice, but after all who’s choice was it? My notion of time has disappeared, things don’t excite me anymore like they did but I cant lie life’s been easy, easier at least. Media has been my friend and my enemy, but you know how they say keep your friends close and your enemies closer? Well thats the best way I can describe it. My Media, you’ve helped me, entertained me, made me procrastinate, gotten me in trouble but all I can say to you is Thank you, you’ve always been there.

13554042

I am grateful that I can communicate with my friends and family through my device even when we live countries and continents away. With a click (or more of a press) of a button I can ask my mom for her pasta recipe; or talk to my best friend about the latest gossip.

I love that on a daily basis I get to share my life and things that interest me through social media platforms like through Instagram stories.

I love that sites like Twitter allow us to share thoughts, gossip, and even important news.

I love that I can choose any entertaining films, series and videos that are to my liking without having to think twice. Not to mention I can use both my phone and TV in unison. The satisfaction and comfort one can get when spending the night in bed watching your favourite series is immeasurable.

I love to listen to whatever music I love whenever I feel like it; to order food or clothes whenever I want; and to even learn something new every day through media.

But on the other hand, I am addicted. Let’s just call it “over-consumption”.

My media can lead me into a deep abyss- difficult to escape. It separates me from reality and those around me. It creates self-doubt and insecurities due to comparing myself to others’ lives. Also… all the screen time gives me migraines.

Therefore, due to my media, I relate to the meme: “I have won but at what cost?”

13609505

As much as I hate to admit it, I love Love Island. There’s not a show out there that’s made me feel such a range of emotions – The Bachelor, Love Island USA, Too Hot To Handle – none of them compare to the British train wreck I hold so close to my heart.

With a span of approximately 49 episodes a season, amounting to one big emotional rollercoaster, the show is the ultimate guilty pleasure. If you’re anything like me, you follow each season right from the get-go while simultaneously keeping up with its Twitter hashtag to see people bashing the series’ villain and cheering on the emancipated woman who’s just been “mugged off” after an intense Casa Amor recoupling. Because that’s a violation, who’s she to get pied while he’s cracking on with some new bird who turned his head even after he’d put all his eggs in her basket? Love Island makes me feel a little bit embarrassed, as the previous sentence could very well be thought of as a hate crime to the English language, on the other hand, it makes me feel excited that a fraction of readers might understand these references to the Islanders’ nonsensical twist on British jargon, thus reinforcing our little community.

Because Love Island is nothing if not a community – we’ve all dedicated a large portion of our Summer to watching a bunch of above-average looking people embark on new romantic relationships because of course, all of them are there for love and none for the fame. And while they’re going for chats and chinwags, building the foundation for these relationships, viewers at home are also forming meaningful connections with the islanders themselves. I love to feel represented by the socially awkward self-proclaimed “good guy” that can never get it right, but somehow still manages to stick around for two-thirds of the season, just as much as I love to witness the dumping of a man whose head gets turned by a new tall blonde bombshell every other episode, reminding me a little too much of my own dating history. By the end of every season, I’ll have crafted a personal psychoanalysis of every islander while ascribing complex characteristics to them, based solely on what I’ve gathered from their screen-time total of 7 minutes.

No matter how lowbrow, the show does an utterly perfect job at allowing one to unwind and forget all of life’s hardships. One of the most beautiful aspects of the show’s sheer genius is its capability to remind you of the genius within you. When high school had me in pits of despair over failed geography tests, making me doubt my competence and overall intelligence, nothing made me feel better than to turn on my favorite show and watch the season 4 contestants discuss whether Essex was a continent or country. They then proceeded to move on to the ever-so-vexed question: does Brexit mean that we won’t have any more trees? Both of these questions were posed by a singular islander, who, unfortunately, didn’t find love on the show. She did, however, assure me that I probably shouldn’t be so hard on myself and be grateful for the IQ I do possess. That is, of course, if I haven’t lost some of it watching the show.

– Barbora Machackova, 13808605

What are my emotions towards media? 

To be honest I wouldn’t even be able to describe them. I grew up in a world with media. How would I know what it is like without?

I only love media when I am in a healthy relationship with it. Being able to set my mind free from all the constant information being forced into my brain when I want to.

If I want to use my Media I use it. 

I love scrolling through Pinterest inspiring my style, my meals or aesthetic I want to create in life. 

Instagram can be super empowering after uploading a picture you actually feel good about. Facetiming my grandmother who I don’t see every day makes my day better. 

Being in a new city such as Amsterdam you can get lost quite easily. Being able to use an app that can give me any possible opportunity to reach my destination is amazing. 

TikTok gives you the opportunity of capturing the best moments in life and creating a video to your favorite songs. It gives you a form of satisfaction. You create the perfect ‚life’ which you’re proud to have. 

If I don’t want to use my Media I don’t use it. 

Pinterest can become very frustrating when you don’t have the money or looks for the styles and aesthetics you want to recreate. 

Instagram can be pretty harsh when you see the fun people have and you constantly feel you’re not living your life to the fullest. 

Having the need to always be available to everyone can be very stressful.

The app knowing where I live, which university I visit and what bike routes I take gives you a feeling of transparency and vulnerability.

Comparing every video to all the other videos being uploaded can kill your self esteem due to the constant pressure of your videos having to be the most impressionable. 

You then realize that everyone captures different moments of life and that you’re probably experiencing the same, just enjoying life without media in that moment. 

Everyone creates their own aesthetic and vibe in life. It is everyones own choice how to live with Media. 

So yes, I do love media. 

Yet it has to be a healthy relationship and my consciousness knowing that I have a beautiful life without its influence. 

– 13588281

The only thing that comes to me while I’m repeating this over and over in my mind is how indecisive I am about loving it. I’ve been dancing since I was a child, and being observed, videotaped, and published has never been unfamiliar to me. My parents made me feel proud by complimenting the number of likes they received on Facebook. My time has now been completely consumed by the media.

I can spread my art with the assistance of the media.

I can feel strong with the support of the media.

I can embrace who I am with the influence of the media.

So it doesn’t matter whether I like it or not. The media plays a crucial role, and I strive to take the lead in this process.

-13887289