The
media affects people who are somehow connected to cable television and/or the
World Wide Web, which is practically everyone. Through mass media, societies
are presented with information that they form an opinion on. However, the most
popular sources of information are the most corrupt. In turn, the information
presented is biased and we create opinions based on the opinions of the media. As
a result, the mass media has a significant effect on our societies that is more
often bad than good.
I
have been using Tumblr for over three years. For people who aren’t on the
blogging site, there is a stigma around being a user because it carries a
stereotype of providing nothing more than pictures of adolescent girls with
their Starbucks drinks, and that lacks authenticity (note that with the boom of
popularity Tumblr has experienced recently, Starbucks has become a favourable
choice amongst adolescent girls – an impact of media). Being a user, however, I
learned that Tumblr is an excellent source of information.
When
I started using Tumblr, I was centre-left politically. With frequent use, I found
people who stood against social standards. I learned more about corruption in
popular political parties (the majority of their focus being on power and
wealth) as well as in other sources (I.E the CNN and CBC). I frequently find
images containing nudity in a non-sexualized manner – especially of women – in
an attempt to normalize and end objectification/“sexualization” of the naked
body. This pushed me to be more open with what is censored in our society, which has now changed my political view. I have become much
further left wing, and I get infuriated with almost all news stations because
their depictions of stories and presentation of information is biased.
While
media sources can be corrupt, it is an excellent method of campaign and
awareness. A large portion of its audiences are brainwashed and thus believe everything
that it feeds them. Many media sources now take advantage of this by doing two
things:
1. Exposing the
corruption in other sources.
2.
Promoting awareness
of the unpopular.
The
“Let’s Call Bull#$!T” (http://callbs.ca) campaign, otherwise known as “Call BS”, is a prime example of using
media to promote awareness. Their objective is to bring more attention to
mental illness in youth by “calling bs” on how society deals (or fails to) with
it; they expose corrupt sources while promoting awareness. I had my share of
mental health issues throughout secondary school and I found that Call BS not
only sends messages; it receives them. Their website allows anyone to express
themselves anonymously. However, those confessions are posted publicly and they
bluntly use them in their advertising. This method of campaigning is controversial
but it’s one that I put most of my faith in, because it’s one of the few
sources of information that remains less concerned with money than with the
issue at hand. Media has impacted me in such a way that I now only trust few
sources of it.
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