Why I Heart My Media

I am connected to the rest of the world at all times. I can know what is going on anywhere at anytime, the problem with that of course being that the information that I access through digital media may not be accurate.

It gives me an open space to learn and be creative. I can express myself creatively anonymously, without the face to face judgement that most people are afraid of in their day to day lives. I can post art and write blog posts, that maybe no one will ever see, but I am still expressing myself in ways, that like I said, I cannot, or do not feel comfortable with doing in person.

Moreover I can basically learn anything over the internet now, which is an amazing thing that I love to take advantage of. The access to knowledge is something that I believe to be really important and online media is a great way to spread knowledge to areas in the world in which it is really needed. Once again there is the downside that corporations take advantage of that need to gain profits and the people who are least able to access it, regardless of the existence of corporations, are then even less able to do so now.

– Isa Fernandez Reumann

Hello everyone! 

What I love more about media is the diversity of opportunities. You can choose between different topics and specialize on them. For example, if you like cooking, you can share your recipes, ideas etc.

Also, I love media because it connects me with my family back home. If I didn’t have that opportunity I would be literally depressed 😦

Last but not least, I love media because of all the useful information you can find, for example, cheapest pizza near me, or how to lose fat after eating an entire pizza!

 

 

As a young adult in today’s society, it is relatively easy to differentiate how we grew up versus how our parents grew up and how drastically our behavioral patterns have changed.

Nowadays I have so much more opportunities to educate myself, either about topics I love or about questions I always had on my mind but was too afraid to ask someone, for various reasons. Thus I can prevent making mistakes by parents had made or just learn something new in general through using media devices and search engines to my advantage. In more detail, that means I am able to watch youtube videos for example, in which people talk about their tattoos and which tattoo artists they like, learn about different styles or what to consider before getting a tattoo and so forth, whereas my parents certainly did not have the opportunity to do that and simply went to a random tattoo studio that was the closest to their homes. In broader terms that means their radius, in which they lived and interacted in was much more smaller and basically based in the city they were born it and will most likely die in. Because of how we interact with media these days, new worlds have – metaphorically speaking – opened up, meaning we can either make use of our mobile devices and learn about different cultures, foreign art or previously unknown languages without ever leaving the house but we can also make use of our devices to help us understand a foreign culture while visiting it since we can research and translate basically anything on our phones.

Moreover, due to the mobile media devices and the activities they offer, which include calling and messaging someone in the most basic telephone devices, I can keep in daily contact with my friends, even though they live in completely different parts of the world. This creates a great contrast to how people used to keep in contact with their families and friends at home since letters took weeks to arrive back in the days when mass communication was not established yet. More often than not during WW2, soldiers at the front would write their families letters, telling them how good things were and how they are happy to get home again and by the time the letter arrived appreciate they were long dead.

Even though this is a drastic example, it shows quite clearly how media devices have improved our social arrangements, and with the devices continuously getting smaller and handier, it is almost impossible to find an excuse to not keep in touch with loved ones. This changed the perspectives of friendship and love, just to name a few, for the reason that one does not even have to be physically close to someone to be able to truly get to know them, making use of video calls, voice note messages and so forth.

In conclusion, media devices have shifted our perceptions of the world as we can interact with it on a whole different level than older generations did, educate ourselves about anything we like without restrictions due to language barriers or physical distance and be close to loved ones even though they are hundreds of miles apart.

Lara Rittmeier

I love media because they expand on human creativity. What media allow us to do in art, language and technology has shaped how we live life. Being born into a world of media, it is hard to imagine a life without them. I love media because they are essential, and my love for them is the accommodation of them in my every day life and dependence on them. I am grateful for media in every way that they extend our abilities and I love them for their function in the world of art.

– Logan Wenzel

Yup, you guessed it, I am referring to famous Bart Simpson and Patrick Star. I think I will just let the gifs speak for themselves, just a small note speaking for myself.

Nowadays, it can be quite difficult being on only one side – media or no media, progress or maybe even regress, adaptation or opposition. Fact is: It’s happening, whether we want it or not (why do I feel like we have heard that sentence a couple of times before?)

Ergo, I personally am not sure if I Heart My Media. I know it’s there and I am aware of the naked truth, being that I am somehow using it 24/7. I don’t have to tell you that the list of pros and cons to this media development is endless (there literally couldn’t be enough lectures to demonstrate that), and that the key to living with it might actually only be one: acceptance.

Therefore, I have decided to go with being “Batrick” today – maybe not the black and white answer people want to hear but it might just be the only one.

Jana Franck

Well actually, most of the time I don’t really like it that much. I’m referring to social media in this case. I’m pretty annoyed when I’m in the train and I see my friend next to me scrolling through Facebook or Instagram. And I absolutely hate going out for dinner and having to wait (while I’m already starving) till everybody has made a perfect picture of our food for their Snapchat story before I can eat.

But of course, like everyone else, I have my own reason to love my media despite the negative aspects I just mentioned . I’m going to be blatantly honest:

The main reason I love my media is because without it, there would have been no way I could keep up with the news regarding my favorite celebrities on the other side of the planet. From watching music video’s and tv shows on Youtube to reading on forums that members of my favorite group are hiding their hair colors; I just love to stay updated.

And I can only thank (social) media for offering me the opportunity not only to stalk my faves, but also to discuss everything about them with people from all over the world and share memes and high quality pictures.

Thanks media, for making fangirling possible. I guess I love you anyways

1. I can watch lectures in bed (sorry Mark).
2. It helps me be an independent woman. Because whatever the problem, someone probably already wrote about it on the Internet.
3. It provides me with valuable information (did you know otters hold hands when they sleep?).
4. I get to fight out arguments via text (I mean, it’s great, you get twice as much time to think about what you’re saying AND you get to angrily eat popcorn in the meantime).
5. Innocent stalking. Great way to procrastinate.
6. I get to ignore texts (and I can get away with it too!).
7. Yahoo Questions and Answers. For entertainment.
8. I can look up reviews before I spend money on products.
9. I can express myself in ways I could never express myself in person.
10. Whenever I feel sad, I have the option to watch a dramatic film to help me put my emotions into perspective.
11. Hedgehog videos.

Why do I heart my Media?

Maybe it is the allure of the devices; the polished glass, the sleek buttons and the pleasing responsiveness of a touch screen. But it isn’t just the warm glow that permeates from 50 inch illuminated sheets of liquid crystal display. Also, It feels rather shallow to reduce my enjoyment to mere physical sensation, so let’s breach the surface of this longing for Media.

Maybe it is the near immeasurable access I have to information. But I do not think these devices (completely) define me; I think they expose me to ideas, experiences and perspectives that help me to define myself. It constantly rearranges the social circles we keep and interact with, in ways that would never have been possible without these infinitely evolving platforms.

Media also constantly fools me, not just with neat little VR experiences that our predecessors would have called sorcery, but by challenging my idea of reality. What do I really know to be true? Particularly digital Media, does any of it really exist if I cannot physically hold it? Obscure existential questions aside, I figure the reason Media holds a place in my heart is because it embodies the principle that the only constant is change. The same is true of human beings. Media has, does and will continue to change me, and for that I am eternally infatuated with it.  

Terence Moore (Terry)

Media is awesome. The internet holds almost every different piece of modern knowledge there is to find. If I want to read up about quantum physics, I can. Not that I will, but the option is there if I should ever need it. If I want to find a simple mac and cheese recipe to make at 2am, I can! I have done this many times.

I can message my sister in England and also simultaneously message my other sister in the same room as me. While being on the phone to my cousin in Australia. While looking up more late night snack recipes. All of these things can be done on ONE device. AT THE SAME TIME. That’s pretty cool.

Media spreads knowledge. It’s not always particularly important or useful, but it’s how our society learns and evolves. Media is communication, it’s how we talk to one another. Media is who we are. I would be in a pretty depressing place if I hated media, because that means I hate everyone and everything around me. Some days I feel like that, but it’s not because I hate media, usually my wifi is down.

Sarah Spiteri

 

I really wanted to say something deep or meaningful about why I love media, like how I can keep in touch with my old friends, make new ones, how I can express myself through it, how it allows me to learn new to things, but I am only here for the broke student memes and lame vines.

Édua Varga