REFLECTION

            Before taking this critical thinking course, I was not aware of how much media controlled my life.  I find myself constantly on my phone, watching TV, or surfing the web.  Being surrounded by media so much has acted as a huge influence over my life.  One example of this is through celebrities and social media stars.  Because famous personalities have large followings, their posts have the power to alter someone’s mindset.  Say Kendall Jenner posts a picture in a certain outfit, girls all over the world who look up to her would want that exact outfit so they could be like her.  I know that I unconsciously draw inspiration from celebrities, as do many others.

            Now that I know more about the advertising industry, I’ll never watch a commercial the same way.  I find that I analyze every ad I see, searching for advertising techniques or rationalizations.  Just today my mom was watching a soccer game on TV, and I noticed that there were ads surrounding the whole perimeter of the field.  Although it may seem like a dumb placement for ads because people are obviously going to be paying attention to the soccer game, it wasn’t.  I noticed it, and I’m sure the thousands of fans at the game did as well.

            I do not think my media consumption has changed this semester, although I hope to spend more time away from technology this summer.  I honestly forget about the world around me, and all that there is to do without my phone.  Not only this, but technology is a huge distraction to me, and keeps me from being efficient.  I hope to become more focused without my phone.

            Being an educated consumer is important because it keeps us from making unneccesary purchases.  Now that I have learned various advertising techniques, I feel like I can see right through all of these biig name brands.  They don’t actually care about you or want what’s best for you, they just want your money. All people should take a critical thinking class at some point in their lives; it would help out a lot.

            I had no idea how big of a role media played in, essentially, everyone’s lives.  In both positive and negative ways, media influences us.  This semester has taught me to find the good and the bad in media.  One needs to learn to take in the happiness that media can spread and stay away from the negative stereotypes and body images it shows.