Do We Get The Media We Want, Or Want The Media We Get?

    

Media Melts Minds

     “Whoever controls the media, controls the mind.”  The great musician, Jim Morrison, hit the nail on the head with this statement about media.  Our media is responsible for all of our thoughts due to the power and influence that it has established within us. Therefore, I state that people today are tricked into thinking that we get the media we want, but actually want the media we get.

     The media will cater their message to the desires of their target audience.  This is a pivotal method of trickery that the media employs on us today.  Our textbook reads, “…advertising can be seen as a form of propaganda and brainwashing…” (O’Shaughnessy, Stadler, 2012 p. 16)  As long as we allow ourselves to act as a mirror to the media, our society’s culture will continue to plummet towards humiliation.  Unfortunately for those who don’t understand this, they are misled into wanting the media they get, instead of getting the media they deserve. 

     Another example of this is how the media presents its content in a misrepresented way.  Our textbook also touches on this subject by stating that, “…content analysis can be used to locate and measure patterns in what the media actually produce;” (O’Shaughnessy, Stadler, 2012 p. 21)  A common thread that can be seen strung through almost every media outlet is the idea of ‘new’.  Anything that has been recently added to the world is constantly pushed in every magazine or TV station.  This may be the new iPhone release, or another Kardashian scandal, but these are always the key focus of every media message.  People should pay less attention to these headlines, and notice that we are becoming zombies to the media.

     Many years ago, the media had a reputation as a very dependable news source, but has recently abandoned that status.  Unfortunately, many people permit the media to govern their every thought and motivate their actions.  People want the media they get because they have been fed lies from the media and should realize the truth – the media will act as a faulty compass until you can find true direction.

O’Shaughnessy, M., Stadler J. (2012). Media and Society Fifth Edition. Victoria, Australia: Oxford.