Why I Heart My Media

Being able to write here about my thoughts, about my feelings, is an outstanding opportunity that media give me and that’s why I love them. Even decades after the beginning of our media life, it still seems incredible to me to be totally free to tell the world how I feel, what I like and what I don’t like, what I want to do in life and what scares me of it. All of these things are possible thanks to media, in some of the easiest ways I know: with a post, a comment or a photograph on a social media, for example. I write poems and short stories, and in a world without media, it would be nearly impossible for me to share what I write with everyone. Thanks to platforms like Instagram or Tumblr or Wattpad, I’m now able to publish what I write, and people can read it and be comforted by my words. People’s feedback is the most important thing to me. When it is positive, it gives me hope, it makes me feel that what I’m doing is appreciated and liked, or, when it is negative, it makes me focus on what doesn’t work.

The media give me the attention and the personal space that I’m not allowed to have in real life, they give me the possibility to find my place in the world, to express myself and become who I really want to be.

-Anna, SN 13530232

I love media because it helps me connect with people from around the world, including my family and friends in Asia and Europe, and my boyfriend in North America.

For me, the use of media changed when I finished high school and got into a relationship; these were two new things for me.

In the last two years, I used media to get attention and get invited to parties. These were two of the essential things in my life.

Attention: I used Instagram to get attention, I posted pictures, and I still do, but one of the most exciting and life-changing ideas about social media I’ve heard was by my mom – “Sex sells.” That’s how I got the most attention on my Instagram; of course, I was not completely nude, but my revealing pictures got way more likes and comments than the pictures where I was showing my personality.

Parties: It’s crazy how easy it is to connect to people you know and get invited to parties; Snapchat was my second, if not first, most used social media, it helped me to find parties on the Snapchat map and then text the right people, without even asking to go to a party. By the second week of my two last years of high school, I already had my strategy on how to find a party in my town. 

In my last two years of high school, my most used apps were Instagram and Snapchat.

When I graduated high school, I realized that Snapchat is not needed in my life anymore since I moved to another country and got a boyfriend, with whom I went to most of the parties. I still use Instagram, but not to bring attention anymore, to remember the right moments or just the moment I want others to see; I could give a legitimate reason for the pictures I post, but I won’t because I think it’s obvious.

Right now, two of my most used apps are Instagram and Facebook messenger.

Instagram – to remember the moments in a form of aesthetic posts and stories. Also, I use Instagram to be connected to my boyfriend since both of us don’t use Snapchat anymore.

Facebook messenger – because I haven’t seen my parents in more than a year, messenger helps me stay connected to them.

So why do I heart media?

I would say that because from media, I can get things that I lack the most, like attention and parties, which was in high school, and now, memories and connection to the loved ones. 

Student ID: 13922092

Some blokes may think that media such as journalism and blogging is a business that’s just as boring as watching discussions in Parliament. The way I see it however, written content – in particular journalism – is extremely easy to make, and it can be used for good and essential purposes.

For example, journalism is one of the most important forms of media, because it can be used not only to inform, but also to criticise figures in power, which allows people to become more invested in political affairs.

For example, articles about the UK government’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic have the power to encourage people to hold the government accountable for their actions, thus putting pressure on them to change their policy.

Thus, through the power of journalism, the reader feels more connected with today’s political and social affairs, which encourages them to hold the government to account and participate in politics, thus reinforcing the principle of an open government.

I particularly like the blogging media, because of its simplicity, low cost and accessibility, and I believe that such media is the future of journalism.

Anyone can become a blogger by simply creating an account on platforms such as Substack, Twitter and even YouTube, and that’s the best part about today’s media landscape: it allows people to participate in creating media without the need of much money.

Nikolay Kalinin

Student ID: 13698192

My all time favourite film is Kill Bill Vol. 1.

I mean I love it because it is a great film with an amazing plot and there’s just so much attention to detail as well as the music, which just fits every single time. But I love it because I used to watch it with my dad. We used to watch it together on rainy Sunday afternoons in the fall, we used to watch it on a nice July evening on a projector in our garden and we used to watch it basically every single time we got the chance to do so.

Media connects people. It creates lasting memories. When I watch Kill Bill now I still think about the perfect choice of music, the attention to detail, the over-the-top violence but what I think about most is the feeling of a rainy afternoon, a nice warm summer evening and the look on my fathers face when Uma Thurman finally gets her revenge. And I can recall that feeling wherever I am.

And that is why I heart my media, because even though I just wrote about one example there are about 600 more in which I cherished a moment with my friends, my family, an ex girlfriend or some random guy at sports bar, all because we consumed some time of film, series, music, Formula 1 GP or the World Championship together.

Media connects everybody

Johannes 🙌🏻

I heart my media because it gives me the possibility to connect with people all over the world, anytime, anyplace, anywhere.

I have gone through several situations in my life where I was genuinely thankful for the existence of phones, laptops or any device enabling people from all over the world to connect with each other. A personal, striking example, for instance, was when I was traveling the world with a friend of mine for five months, being almost 20.000 kilometers away from my family and friends. This was when I really started to embrace technology and the many advantages that come with it.

I still find it fascinating how social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp or Skype for example, facilitate the contact between people who are worlds apart. The fact that being away from somebody you love does not necessarily mean that you cannot spend time with them, no matter how far apart you actually are. It might not be the same as genuinely being in the same room and having physical contact for instance but it in my opinion, it comes pretty close to that. Sending a snap, sharing a picture on Instagram, talking on Skype or Facetime; there are so many ways to connect with each other, sharing happy but also sad moments. When my friend and I were staying in hostels with really bad internet connection I really started to become aware of how social media can actually influence people. I constantly caught myself checking for a possible internet connection and instantly feeling bad when I realized that there was none. This might be the negative side of this “addiction“, as some people might want to call it.

All in all, media is a real life-savor in my opinion, especially for students or anyone who is away from home but likes to catch up with family and friends from time to time without having to travel miles to see them.

-Jil Meyers

media gives me comfort. on days where i feel like i have no one to talk to, i quickly turn to media and find like-minded people, going through the same battles i’m going through. it makes me feel like i finally fit in. it is a feeling that all of us desire. we strive for any form of belonging. it’s a familiar routine. when we feel down, we go on pinterest and find quotes depicting our emotions. we open netflix and find a show that we get emotionally attached to, in a way where every single character becomes our friend. the show subsequently becomes a huge part of our identity. we take pictures of ourselves crying in order to finally make certain people care. media aids us in our journey of finding our true friends. or sometimes the opposite happens. people turn to media to run away from their emotions. whether it’s by watching youtube videos of people enjoying their lives, listening to uplifting music, or finding a show that makes them laugh, there are several ways that people flee this chaotic country called ‘their thoughts’. media gives people a way out. a time out. a breath of fresh air. something all of us crave. our lives have become even more exhausting than before, with negative world events constantly being broadcasted on tv, having to follow certain rules every time we leave our houses and not being able to take a proper holiday due to the stress coming from our educational institutions. we constantly have something on our minds. and by using our media we get a break from all that. we obtain an illusion of living someone else’s life. someone who is seemingly perfect and stress-free. we get to present ourselves in a different way, even if it’s for a brief moment.

Marija 🙂

My friend said that consent was malleable and now I’ve considered quitting media altogether.

• TM

I don’t get matches 😦

I heart my media because it helps me to keep in touch with my cousins who live in New York and Vienna. Because it makes life so much easier when you can send people messages online or call them instead of having to go all the way up to their houses. Because it makes feel like I’m still home with my parents when my mom keeps sending me funny pictures of my dad. Because Instagram made me realise that I’m not the only gay person on earth and that it’s ok. Becacuse memes on 9GAG have taught me a lot about humour. Because it helps me to learn more about the world and everybody on it. And last but not least, because it makes me appreciate the game-, movie- or partynights with my friends more, where we don’t need our phones except for ordering pizza.

Esther van der Wel