Wanted: The Media That We Need

Mass media is considered to be the master method of communication that plays a very important role in our modern society. It is considered to be the exporter of news on which audience base their thoughts and express their opinions.

In my opinion, there is a big difference between the media we want and the media we need. In general, media is required to satisfy a big portion of their audience. Some people accept the news the way it is while others take that news, go into depth and find the full story behind it. Different sources of media are compiled and delivered precisely with a diversity of information that fits the demand of the community in terms of social, political, cultural, and economic matters. 

In my latest blog I stated that mass media does not totally control our thinking but sites such as social networks keep us up-to-date with diversified thoughts and notions. My media choices are not the best preferences where I can get the most accurate news about a certain incident but it gives me a thread that can lead me to the desired truth by seeking more reliable sites. It is an important part of media literacy when audiences create their own media messages through different means of mass media. Maybe people do not have the skills to publish a newspaper but they are able to share a photo explaining their point of view. For example, when I find a rumor on twitter about an explosion somewhere in the world my first reaction is simply accessing more credible sources such as BBC or CNN and getting the latest updates. 

 By reading several of my peer’s blogs I found that although media producers bid to deliver and convince us with their own standpoint, people still absorb and explicate messages according to their own beliefs and awareness.

Sabrina Taylor Vents shared the exact same idea how people are exposed to an idea and they in turn go in depth seeking reliable exporters to ensure the accuracy of facts “People knew what was happening yet most people choose to still watch the form of media o get reassurance of the information’s they wanted to hear was the truth.”  (http://st13sw.wordpress.com/2013/10/21/blog-entry-2-do-we-get-the-media-we-want-or-want-the-media-we-get/.) On the other side Sabina and I have a contradicting thought when she said that it’s the same “whether we get the media we want, or want the media we get”.

Alex Mohamed mentioned that media can influence us and make us believe what is said “The media can then influence us by the over-exposure to then make us want the media we get.” (http://am13lr.wordpress.com/). In my opinion, people are not influenced by any kind of media unless they have some kind of inclination. I’m a living proof that any news I read will never impact me unless there’s something in it that suits my interest and then drags me to search profoundly more trustworthy sites.

Keenan Beaumont simply read my mind by mentioning an incident where he was subject to some gossip about a ridiculous music video and he continues saying  “It only took about a day or two for me to give in to my over powering curiosity.” (http://keenbeau80.wordpress.com/). This is precisely a summary of my thoughts. It is human nature that we, as public, are driven towards what makes us curious once something grabs our attention. If Keenan had no interest in the content of the video he would have never thought about it once again.

As a conclusion, various news to different people in one society grasp news distinctly. Some of us want the media that services a common interest and others want the media to be a mean that concentrates on one communal party and describes them. But it’s up to me to choose and get driven towards what fits my interest. Even if I get across some gossip on twitter I simply look it up on professional sites. Therefore, people approach media differently depending on their interest.

The Media We Want?

 

Do we get the media we want, or want the media we get? This “double aspect” of media literacy is a critical topic to talk about and a widely diversified subject with no median. I believe that we want the media we get. I argue in favour of this because we as individuals seek out information on social media and control it. Whether it is local or global news, information for school, or just “gossip” about celebrities, it is us who click onto the sites to get the information we want. 

Nowadays, people spend most of their time with media and although we know it has its pros and cons we still choose to get the information we want to hear from it.  We should know how senders deliver the messages to the audience and how media operates in the first place. Some audiences are influenced by what they hear and read while others try to put their word out there and oppose the flow.

With all different forms of social media, we can find any kind of information we want.  We can go on news sites to find out what is happening or we can log on to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram to see what our “friends” are up to. As mentioned in the textbook “[t]he media are not the only social forces to make sense to the world for us, nor do they have total control over how we see and think about the world. They combine with other forces of socialisation” (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2012, p. 36).

We have perceived for a long time that politicians lie to us unhesitatingly, but most of us have not yet realized that our media deceives us much more. The trust that most people have in our journalists and broadcasters has led us to destructive outcomes. Those consequences are that most of the news is not as it has been stated. If we hear of something happening in the world, it is faster and easier to find a social media outlet to get the information we are searching for. For example, I can remember checking different sites frequently when President Obama was running for presidency. Knowing full well that some of the information I read may not be the exact truth, it was still giving me the information I wanted. In addition, I was able to see what people who were voting for and against were saying because I was able to check out different sites. 

 
I have the Score app, Fantasy Football and many more apps that constantly update me and give me the latest information. This in my opinion is one example that supports the fact that individuals seek out the specific type of information they are looking for.   

In conclusion, since we have access to information and a wide variety of sites we can search social media for the information we desire as mentioned in following quote “the audiences influence, if not control, media output through their choices of what media products to consume.” (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2012, p. 38).

 

References

 

O’Shaughnessy, M., & Stadler, J. (2012). Media and Society, (5^th ed.). Australia & New Zealand: Oxford University Press.