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.