Why I Heart My Media

Honestly, I can’t name a single person in our generation who doesn’t love media. What I mean by our generation is that there would always be people (*cough* my parents) who would complain about how I’m on my phone too much, how I watch too many television shows, or how I’m constantly on my laptop – the list just goes on. Although this may not be for some people, I’ve had to live with the constant nagging of how much I’m “addicted” to these electronics. I wouldn’t say I’m “addicted” but I’m not going to lie, I can’t remember a time where I didn’t have the urge to go on my phone.

The main reason for my love of technology is that, this is going to an obvious one, media connects us to people from all around the world. Not only does it keep us in contact with our loved ones, but I feel that it is also essential to be aware of what happens in the world today. Personally, I would want to be mindful of the events going on in our lives and how it would be beneficial to all of us that we know what kind of world we live in. On a lighter note, it doesn’t hurt that media also spreads around the funny things that happen to people. It’s entertaining to watch the world laugh together at something and it’s amusing to read the even funnier comments of it all.

I love my media because not only does it inform me of the world, but it is also my main source of entertainment. If ever I was bored or in need of a laugh, I’d casually whip up my phone and shamelessly get lost in the world of media. 🙂

Kyla Tjintjelaar

I heart my media because it allows me to stay connected with everything 24/7. I know everything because of Google, I can book a flight to Japan while waiting for the bus, I can watch a match of  Ajax while I’m in a traffic jam, etc.
But I think the main reason why I love media is because it allows me to stay connected with the people I love 24/7. This summer for example, one of my best friends went on a holiday for 3 months to South America and because of (social) media we Snapchatted/Whatsapped each other everyday. (I’m a big fan of Snapchat).

Why I Heart My Media?

De vraag waarom ik van mijn media houd vond ik best lastig, omdat ik merkte dat ik alles van media een beetje als ‘normaal’ ben gaan beschouwen door dit tijdperk.Toen ik daar weer over na dacht kwam ik tot het idee dat mijn media eigenlijk helemaal niet ‘normaal’ is, maar juist bijzonder!

Het zorgt ervoor dat ik altijd in contact kan zijn met mijn vrienden, familie en zelfs de hele wereld op elk moment van de dag. Daarnaast helpt mijn media mij op alle mogelijke manieren, als ik de weg kwijt ben (wat vaak het geval is in Amsterdam), als ik een eind moet fietsen en ik daar muziek bij nodig heb, als ik snel die leuke Zara trui wil kopen, de trein moet uitzoeken waarmee ik naar mijn lieve oma ga en om in mijn agenda te checken wanneer ik college heb.

Al deze voorgenoemde dingen (en nog veel meer) zorgen dat ik nu een super leuk leven heb waarin ik heel veel mogelijkheden heb om leuke dingen te doen: ontzettend veel feestjes/festivals die ik spot op Facebook, mijn vrienden bellen die in aan de andere kant van de wereld zitten en zo kan ik weer een heel rijtje op gaan noemen.

Ondanks dat ik mijn media geweldig vind, baal ik er soms ook van. Soms is iedereen te veel bezig met zijn/haar media waardoor we niet meer van dingen kunnen genieten zonder het aan mensen te laten weten. Ik hoop dat in de komende fase mensen hier meer bij stil gaan staan waardoor dit verminderd en alle leuke en handige dingen aan media meer gewaardeerd gaan worden.

Ten slotte wil ik graag benoemen dat ik mijn media steeds meer lief ga hebben doordat ik er heel veel over leer van Mark Deuze, en ik weet zeker dat dit zich steeds meer gaat uitbreiden.

— Rikke Prent

Mark McKinnon once said, « Technology and social media have brought power back to the people ». This quote pretty much sums up the main reason why I love my media. Media is in fact,  an impersonal medium that allows the diffusion of information or opinions on a large scale.

What I find fascinating about media and particularly social media, is the fact that it’s an outlet that allows its users the express themselves freely. Thanks to Facebook, Twitter or Youtube, we have access to an extensive network of people 24/7 connected, sharing in real time their opinions and reporting live of what’s happening in their country, hence raising awareness about a certain matter. Nowadays, people may feel like they are not heard by their politicians, that their ideas are not taken into consideration but social media put a stop to that. Since the democratization of internet and the social media, every single politician now has a communications director that is responsible for developing and promoting his agenda and leading his media campaign.

To sum up, I love media because it allows me and many others to express my opinions with no filter (as long as it is positive and constructive) but it also reassures me in the sense that no matter what, my ideas are going to be out there for someone to read and maybe make a positive impact.

-Dahlia Boudart

Media let us control and be controlled. It gives us a vast power in our fingertips and takes it all at once. It gives us the illusion that we are in charge, in charge of what we share, in charge of to whom we share and in charge of who gets to keep the information that we share. But we are not. We are not in charge of anything. That might be the worst and greatest thing about media. The lack of control. Exposing ourselves to who ever want to see, to who ever want to watch. Letting go for a few minutes or a few hours. Watching and being watched. That seems fair, doesn’t it ? We can’t require from people to give us an insight into their lives without doing the same. This exchange is only possible and profitable to everyone if we all take part in it. This exchange is why I love media, why I love the medias. Sending and receiving with no limits. Who to judge ? No one and the whole world at once. This contrast and contradiction is why I love the media. We can reach out and be reached at, at anytime, in anyplace, by anyone. Connecting and reconnecting with people. Making new connections, literally and metaphorically.

A lot of these reasons seem to be negative effects and uses of the media. But it’s just what we agree to when we start to use the multiple functions available in the media. We agree to an extensive list of conditions that we never read (including myself), and we’re then stupefied to learn a few weeks later that a website is collecting our data or trading our informations. This is the world that we live in. The era we’re being part of. And we only have two choices : taking part in this mascarade or not.

Kenza Sabri

I enjoy being able to do mostly anything anywhere at any time with my media devices. Watch a movie on the toilet, listen to music while walking through the park, looking up a quick recipe on my way back home, checking the news and wikipedia. The freedom I feel from being able to access so much information with such little effort is great.

I do however think this does have a dark side. People tend to only look down at their devices, be it a laptop or a smartphone, most of the day. Something else I’ve noticed the last couple of years, is the fact that some of my friends suffer from ‘self induced attention deficit disorder’. They can’t keep their attention on one thing for longer than a few minutes at a time, when watching a movie they will whip out their phones every now and then. When having a conversation in real life, it’s considered normal behaviour to check your phone whilst someone else is talking to you.

This is a very interesting phenomenon, and I wonder how this will develop over time. I for one, can’t wait until I won’t even have to whip out my phone in order to google what came first, the iPhone or the iPad.

Daniel Driessen

I love my media because….
…you can stay in touch with everyone you love
… from all around the world
…even on my birthday
… I got a lot of love from my boyfriend (from South-Africa) and my best friend (from Cuba)

Tessa Ploeger

One of the obvious reasons I love media, is because I can stay in touch with my friends and family all over the world when I haven’t seen them in a while. I also love media (social media especially) because I like to see what’s going on in people’s lives and I love seeing their pictures. Kind of a stalker…

One of the biggest reasons why I love my media is that it opens a new world for me. Think about that for a second; you can immediately know what is happening in the world, you can stay in touch with your friends all over the world and you can apply for a job that’s in another country. You have all these possibilities, because of the new media and the online world.

Just take a look at this picture. All of this is right now in our little small boxes, which we take everywhere with us. We don’t need to separate these things anymore. The new media makes everything easier than before. That’s why I think that ours is an amazing time to be alive.

Merve Aytas

I love Media because it stimulates our globalisation.

We use different kinds of media all day and everyday. But i am more interested in the greater effects of media. Only a few years ago we had no idea about what was going on in the rest of the world, ofcourse now it would sometimes be very soothing not to know. But i think  for example that the fact that we all watch the news for 20 minutes and then go on with our lifes is very interesting. That’s why i am addicted to channels like ´viceland´. Viceland’s creative director explains it like this;

“The idea of a TV channel seems like a fun medium to explore and play with,” said Jonze. “We’re trying to make this organism that’s alive. … You turn it on, and it comes into your house like water.”

Stories from all over the world which can enter your living room like water. Documentaries like these don’t make a direct difference, but they stimulate our consciousness. If we use the power of Media right in the future a lot of interesting developments could take place. Ofcourse the other, the more downside, of media and globalisation is also a big subject. But i intend to believe in the positive options.

I hope in a few years i can show you the meaning of this now still kind of vage vision in one of my own productions.

Laurie Haanschoten