Reflection!

The amount of media i consume impacts my life greatly. The media which i consume almost every hour of the day, is something that i suprisingly enjoy. The amount of media i consume gives me reasons to be happy. There is always something new such as nail polish, cell phones, restaurants, cars, laptops, etc. I like knowing that there is new stuff out there that i can possibly get. However, the media i consume can also take upon a negative effect on me. Meaning, we all want stuff that we cannot always have which can put us in a down mood. Also, media sometime distracts me and takes away from the actual nature of Sacramento. Such as, everyday as my father and I are in the car, and i always see a billboard with an advertisement or a person dressed up in a costume trying to advertise there store, to coming home, and listening to Pandora and within 5 minutes later, i am forced to look at a 2 minute commerical when really i just want to listen to music, that annoys me! After being and learning the new techniques commercials use, i am defenitely more aware and alert when it comes to watching tv or seeing billlboards. The first thing that always comes to mind is the colors the advertisers use, if they decide to use famous people, and ofcourse, the audience which they are trying to sell there product to. Yes, my media consumptions have changed this semester. Since i have this blog and since we had to post 2 media blogs every week, i had to look for different examples of advertisements such as videos and advertisements in magazines. Therefore, i would say i have consumed alot of media this semester. Also, another reason is that i took the TIME to explore the different commercials and i understood the concepts used rather than looking at an advertisement and saying to myself, "oh this is fine, i see colors used for expression." No, i took myself beyond that level, and i tried to think like an advertiser and what the advertiser wants us consumers to see and think of a product being sold. I think that it is important for everyone to have media literacy and being an educated consumer is important, so we don't get ripped of. A majority of the people today get ripped off when they buy a product because advertisers know how to "think like the consumers". The advertisers have been able to get inside our heads and they have been able to see what we like, and what we desire. I also think it is important to have media literacy and be a educated consumer so we have a better understanding of ourselves too. I think without having the media literacy knowledge, then we, ourselves, couldn't really be able to explain why we by things or why we want things or even why we must have the things we want so badly. Out of keeping this log, i have learned the ways and the thoughts of the advertisers. I have also been able to not "be held under the advertisers spell" since i know what they are really trying to do is fill my desires and needs, when really i don't need half of the things i want that advertisers sell. Lastly, i enjoyed learning about the media and the media literacy. This subject is something fun to know and yet, entertaining also because it is the real world and it is funny how the real world works. Also, im pretty sure half of the grown ups are clueless about the needs and the advertisement techniques used. I am now a little smarter than the average parent who buys everything that they see advertised. Thank you.