Reflection
The use of media blogs has given me a better understanding of media. I would like to believe that I have a better understand of how media, how it is used, how marketers use it, the intent behind what we see in the media, and how the media influences our lives. I would hope that I have a better understanding of all of that. I am not going to go as far as saying that I do not miss anything in the media, and that the media cannot misrepresent anything to me, or that I can understand everything the media does. Through the last few weeks, from in class and these blog posts, I have gained a better understanding to all of this. I have become more aware of the media I consume, and the kinds of media I consume.
I frequently consume media that focuses on current events in the world as well as media that is about action and adventure. That is the type of content in media that I am most frequently drawn to. Now the impact on my life, I am less sure about. I would hope to say that it has had a positive impact on my life, however I am not so sure about that. I can say this though. I like facts and figures, hard evidence, and I like to see that in media. I would say that I look at life based on my facts and figures, the ideas I consume through the media. My life is greatly influenced by the facts and figures thrown out by the media. I would hope that those facts and figures are accurate, and I probably should look into those more closely. The action and adventure I like to see in media is usually through the form of movies and video games I see. I think that I can attribute my desire for action and adventure in my life as the result of that media. I can say that wanting to serve in the military or as a government is the result of the media I consume. My view on life, the beliefs I have, my goals are all definitely the result of the media I consume and the content in that media. That is very obvious.
Now I would say that as a direct result of these blog posts and what we learn in class, that I would have a better understanding of how marketers try to appeal to their audience. I have a better understanding of they try to appeal to our emotions, and that the understand how we work. They understand how to make us use rationalizations to solve our cognitive dissonance. Marketers know their audience better than their audience knows themselves. They know how to appeal to us, and they know what to say to get us to make the decision to buy their product, not to make us buy their product. They are going to make us decide to buy, not force us to buy. That subtle difference is huge to their success. Being able to see the emotional appeals they are trying to evoke, and the techniques they are using to try to evoke those emotions is crucial. I am able to pick up on those better now. Being able to pick up on their techniques and emotional appeals they are trying to evoke is crucial because it is after getting through that then we can understand what they are trying to do.
Once we understand what the is going on in the media, their emotional appeals and techniques, we are able to decipher a lot of information. We are then going to be able to try and figure out their target audience. We are able to figure out what they are actually trying to say to those people, and then we will be able to figure out the overall impact of this specific part of the media. What does this mean? This means we understand our actions better, and we understand the influence the media we consume has upon us which can be very important in these times. Can we attribute some of these problems we face in these times such as terrorism to the media people consume? I am going to say yes because we already know that media influences our lives, and what media we consume also influences our lives because media is different for everyone. However in order to understand the impact of media, we need to understand what it is saying, who they are saying it to, and how they are saying it.
Being educated in the emotional appeals marketers try to evoke and the techniques they use to try to appeal to us is critical to being an educated consumer. This is important because then we are going to understand what these ads are actually saying. Having a better understanding of their messages and how they are conveying those messages will make the decisions on what to buy and when to buy it more effective, more efficient, more logical. We will spend less on wasted junk which is what we usually buy, and actually be somewhat wise with the money we spend. At least that is what I hope will happen.
The bottom line is this, media literacy is crucial to being able to living in this day and age where we are bombarded with media on a constant basis. Being able to understand what messages are being conveyed in the media we consume is crucial to understanding ourselves and others. It is crucial to understanding the impact it has on people, and if we can understand it impact, then maybe we can change it. We can change the way our lives are right now with media. We can change our lives. Being able to solve some problems and changing the way we live our lives can only happen once we learn to understand what is going on in the media. Changes to media can only happen once people understand what is in the media and the affects it has upon us.
I frequently consume media that focuses on current events in the world as well as media that is about action and adventure. That is the type of content in media that I am most frequently drawn to. Now the impact on my life, I am less sure about. I would hope to say that it has had a positive impact on my life, however I am not so sure about that. I can say this though. I like facts and figures, hard evidence, and I like to see that in media. I would say that I look at life based on my facts and figures, the ideas I consume through the media. My life is greatly influenced by the facts and figures thrown out by the media. I would hope that those facts and figures are accurate, and I probably should look into those more closely. The action and adventure I like to see in media is usually through the form of movies and video games I see. I think that I can attribute my desire for action and adventure in my life as the result of that media. I can say that wanting to serve in the military or as a government is the result of the media I consume. My view on life, the beliefs I have, my goals are all definitely the result of the media I consume and the content in that media. That is very obvious.
Now I would say that as a direct result of these blog posts and what we learn in class, that I would have a better understanding of how marketers try to appeal to their audience. I have a better understanding of they try to appeal to our emotions, and that the understand how we work. They understand how to make us use rationalizations to solve our cognitive dissonance. Marketers know their audience better than their audience knows themselves. They know how to appeal to us, and they know what to say to get us to make the decision to buy their product, not to make us buy their product. They are going to make us decide to buy, not force us to buy. That subtle difference is huge to their success. Being able to see the emotional appeals they are trying to evoke, and the techniques they are using to try to evoke those emotions is crucial. I am able to pick up on those better now. Being able to pick up on their techniques and emotional appeals they are trying to evoke is crucial because it is after getting through that then we can understand what they are trying to do.
Once we understand what the is going on in the media, their emotional appeals and techniques, we are able to decipher a lot of information. We are then going to be able to try and figure out their target audience. We are able to figure out what they are actually trying to say to those people, and then we will be able to figure out the overall impact of this specific part of the media. What does this mean? This means we understand our actions better, and we understand the influence the media we consume has upon us which can be very important in these times. Can we attribute some of these problems we face in these times such as terrorism to the media people consume? I am going to say yes because we already know that media influences our lives, and what media we consume also influences our lives because media is different for everyone. However in order to understand the impact of media, we need to understand what it is saying, who they are saying it to, and how they are saying it.
Being educated in the emotional appeals marketers try to evoke and the techniques they use to try to appeal to us is critical to being an educated consumer. This is important because then we are going to understand what these ads are actually saying. Having a better understanding of their messages and how they are conveying those messages will make the decisions on what to buy and when to buy it more effective, more efficient, more logical. We will spend less on wasted junk which is what we usually buy, and actually be somewhat wise with the money we spend. At least that is what I hope will happen.
The bottom line is this, media literacy is crucial to being able to living in this day and age where we are bombarded with media on a constant basis. Being able to understand what messages are being conveyed in the media we consume is crucial to understanding ourselves and others. It is crucial to understanding the impact it has on people, and if we can understand it impact, then maybe we can change it. We can change the way our lives are right now with media. We can change our lives. Being able to solve some problems and changing the way we live our lives can only happen once we learn to understand what is going on in the media. Changes to media can only happen once people understand what is in the media and the affects it has upon us.
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