Media Impact

I think an interesting media research project would be to compare TV shows fro a decade or two ago to today. I could choose two or three shows from each generation and use content analysis to see how many references to violence or sex it contains. It would be fascinating to see whether or not TV shoes contain more violence or sex than they did ten or twenty years ago. I predict that the number would be slightly higher now, but also that the violence and sex would be more in your face, while the older shows really just allude to these subjects.

Media Autobiography

To say I’m almost always connected to media would actually be an understatement. There’s no doubt I’m one of those “wired” kids you always hear about. Thanks to the Internet I always expect information t be available at any time. I probably read a dozen or so blogs. Reading these blogs has completely changed the way I look at newspapers and magazines. I view these as outdated, expensive, and not nearly fast paced enough to keep up with my lifestyle. This has become even more true now that I own a smartphone. I get breaking news, sports updates, and other information sent to me constantly. I literally have everything I need in the palm of my hand. Why waste time with magazines or newspapers. However, as with most things on the Internet, I’ve found blogs have serious drawbacks. Most are full of biased information, sometimes unreliable stats, and personal opinion. Normally this is fine, but often these blogs attempt to hide these flaws, as opposed to acknowledge them. Then again, we see this on television as well. Many so called news stations engage in similar practices to gain viewership and attract a specific audience. Thanks to the Internet, no longer listen to radio. Why listen to a station that may play songs you like every now and then when you could listen to songs you love all the time. I use Pandora a lot, which has help me discover new artists and genres I would never hear on radio. Even though I use the Internet for all these things, I am more old fashioned when it comes to books and movies. I’ve never attempted to read an e-book in my life. I never liked the concept, for some reason it has never appealed to me the way digital music has. As far as movies, I think I’m one of the few people that still uses Blockbuster. I like being able to get movies right away as opposed to waiting a few days for movies to arrive in the mail. I also don’t digitally stream movies too often, as I think it sacrifices too much quality. But technology is constantly advancing, and my opinions could change and time now.