Media Fast and Media Immersion - Essay Example

REFLECTION ESSAY ON MEDIA FAST AND MEDIA IMMERSION By Location Reflection Essay on Media Fast and Media Immersion Introduction There is evidence that the media exerts multiple effects on different people in the society. Although the level of influence was not studied previously, emerging studies are trying to understand the specific ways in which the media influence an individual. The available media forms have different ways of influencing the targeted audience. Although the audience may not realize it, they are victims of strategies applied by the media in maintaining a high level of audience. In a bid to understand the level of influence exerted by the media to an individual as well as the time dedicated to different forms of media, I undertook a media fast that lasted an entire day. During the media fast, I ensure total abstinence from any form of media content. In order to create contrast the following day, I ventured into a media immersion activity for an entire day. In both cases, I took note of several factors. This paper is a reflective essay about my experience during the media fast and the media immersion days. Undertaking a media fast that lasted an entire day was not an easy task, especially because of the usual routine of having a phone, unlimited access to internet, proximity to television and books. However, during the media fast, I had to stay away from all this. The fact that I did not have access to my phone was the hardest task during the media fast day because of the continuous communication with friends over the phone, through calls, text messages and instant messaging (Berger 2012, p. 67). Moreover, I am used to a routine of sharing different files and pictures either through the internet or using the phone to various friends and relatives. The television also forms an influential media form in my life because I get access to the latest news and also different programs aired throughout the day. The media fast placed a compulsion of abstaining from all these forms of media. The lack of contact or access to any form of media made me realize that I had a lot of time left to myself (Vernallis, Herzog, & Richardson 2013, p. 56). Undertaking a media fast activity made me realize that, I had a lot of time to focus on other activities. It prompted me to think about the time I dedicated to different media forms and how the content I was constantly in affected my perspectives towards different issues. It became evident to me that, having access to multiple media forms had become the main reason why I only developed virtual relationships (Potter 2013, p. 78). Many of my friends were people that I had not met physically, although we interacted frequently through instant messaging and sharing files and pictures. My focus on virtual relationships only dawned on me during my media fast and it proved to be a distressing reality (Bock 2009, p. 89). I realized that I did not have real life friends with whom I could spend the free time that I had gained from my media fast with. This compelled me to look back to my life before the internet, the phone, television and books became an integral part of my life. Back then, I had real life friends with whom we indulged in a variety of sporting activities. However, after different media forms became so influential, I focused on making friends online. Since I realized that I had a lot of time, I decided to check on my old friend and hold some real life conversations with them. This plan came after my realization that the different forms of media that I had access to had taken over my life and influenced my view of building relationships (Straubhaar, LaRose, & Davenport 2010, p. 34). Therefore, the media fast served as an awakening call that there is a salient need of establishing a balance between the time spent on different media forms as well as the level of influence of the content in the media. Since I kept my phone away during the media fast, I faced the compulsion of visiting several friends when I had a message to convey to them. This served as a prompt for me to realize that some forms of media addressed the challenge of distance in communication. After a close analysis of the media fast day, I realized that it was quite impossible to abstain from all media forms (Fourie 2007, p. 54). Even though I kept my phone away, did not watch the television or read a book and I had no access to the internet, the content available in different media forms still affected me indirectly. I interacted with people who brought about the contents in the media. Moreover, some form of media such as billboards are available in different areas. This makes them unavoidable, especially when they are in close proximity to my residence or working area. Therefore, the media fast could not be rated 100% abstinence from all media forms. After the media fast day, which was free of any content from the leading media forms, I indulged in an intensive media immersion the following day. Contrary to the media first day, I wanted to have access to the diverse range of media forms as well as the diverse content available in such media. In order to carry out an effective assessment of the influence of media to me as an individual, I recorded all my indulgence with the media. Unlike the previous day when I had lots of free time, the media immersion day presented a busy schedule. I interacted with people online using my phone and on social websites due to the availability of the internet. I realized that my time was taken up by different media forms. For example, I found myself watching the television if during instances that I intended to have some rest. As a young person, I focused on the programs that aired what is popular in the globe especially in the entertainment industry. A close analysis of my favorite television channel revealed that the channel only focused on the popular issues while according little time to serious conversations and topics. This observation conforms to what Ellis described in his article titled Battle between Television and its Audiences is a discussion of how TROS had managed to overtake other broadcasting sessions in the 1960s after it introduced a strategy of airing only what was popular and wanted by the people (Ang 2006, p. 23). An additional aspect highlighted by Elis on how the television gets to hook its audiences through sound was evident in other forms of media (Mazzarella 2007, p. 90). For example, billboards utilized a similar strategy through the design adopted that seeks to talk directly to the audience. When watching television, I realized that the sound strategy was highly influential to me (Ang 2006, p. 21). The presenters on different stations succeeded in indulging me and hence I got more interested in watching. During the media immersion day, I registered a different trend from the previous day’s media fast. I was actively involved in an ending conversation with several friends online as well as through my phone. Many of the conversations I indulged in had their basis on issues available in the media (Rose 201, p. 75). This served as evidence that the content aired in the media influenced the perspectives of the people and that it formed a central subject matter. During this day, most of my conversations were virtual. I shared files and picture with friends as I had done previously before the media fast. A clear analysis of all the activities I recorded, the time and form of each medium presented me with reliable data to undertake a comparison of life without the media and how the media had served to influence the existing cultures (Gentile 2003, p. 54). In comparison to the media first day, I came to the realization that the media has overtaken our lives. The effect is overwhelming because in a single day, an individual has access to a diverse range of content in the form of texts images and advertisements. Upon my reflection on the media immersion day, I realized that the internet was an outstanding media form. This is because of its tendency to combine all other media forms (Gupta 2006, p. 98). For example, it reflects the content aired on radio or television. Having access to the internet alone does not limit the influence of the media in the society. The internet combines the strategies highlighted by Elis in his article Battle between the Television and its Audiences only if one is watching a television channel online. Other pages on the internet only highlight the versions available in newspapers, television and radios. Conclusion As highlighted above, the media is very influential to individual, communities and societies. The effects of different media forms to us cannot receive any form of under estimation. Either directly or indirectly, they influence the perspectives of people. A considerable measure of time is dedicated to the different media forms by people. However, the duration varies. The media fast experience helped me to develop an in-depth understanding of the time and effect of media content at a personal level. On the other hand, a full day of media immersion helped me to estimate the total time spend on different forms of media as well as their common content. Bibliography Ang, L 2006, Living room wars: rethinking media audiences for a post-modern world, London: Routledge. Berger, AA 2012, Media and society: A critical perspective, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Bock, A 2009, The crossover of new media immersion and site-speciificity: Contemporary art and spatial experience. Fourie, PJ, 2007, Media studies, Cape Town: Juta. Gentile, DA 2003, Media violence and children: A complete guide for parents and professionals, Westport, CT: Praeger. Gupta, O 2006, Media: Society and culture, New Delhi: Isha Books. Mazzarella, SR 2007, 20 questions about youth & the media, New York: Lang. Potter, WJ 2013, Media literacy, Los Angeles: Sage Publications. Rose, F 2011, The art of immersion: How the digital generation is remaking Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and the way we tell stories, New York, N.Y., [etc.: Norton. Straubhaar, J. D., LaRose, R., & Davenport, L 2010, Media now: Understanding media, culture, and technology, Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Vernallis, C., Herzog, A., & Richardson, J 2013, The Oxford handbook of sound and image in digital media. Read More