So this is it, guys. This is the last
one; the last media blog. But let’s not fool ourselves: this has been too fun
for me to just put down. So even after this final media blog is finished and
published, hopefully there will be many more great blogs that get produced by The Smoking Gun in the future.
I’d like to thank all of my viewers
again for all the support. I never would’ve thought three months ago that my
writing would become so popular, especially on a worldwide scale!
To all of my classmates, thank you
for the warm encouragement and the feedback. This blog couldn’t have improved
without your comments and recommendations. It’s been a pleasure working with
all of you guys to try and make sense of this crazy world of neon signs and
billboards.
Lastly, and perhaps most
importantly, I’d like to thank Mr. William Maxwell for his outstanding support
as a teacher. As a truly intellectual man as well as a hilarious comic, it was
an absolute pleasure to study under you. Had it not been for your class and
your unique style of teaching, I wouldn’t be where I am today in terms of media
literacy.
I guess this is what it feels like,
hmm? This whole idea of online appreciation… It’s such a wild feeling, and
believe it or not, I’ve never really experienced it before. I don’t use
Facebook or Myspace or Vine or Instagram or Twitter or Kik or Skype or anything
else like that. (YouTube, maybe, but it’s up for debate whether or not it’s a
form of social media.) Truly, this blog is really my first hands-on experience
with the grit of media. And I’ll admit: it’s pretty cool! To be part of this
flow of ideas and feel part of this worldwide community makes me ecstatic just
to think about it.
It’s fun for a while. And then the
feeling sets in that something might not be right. Usually, this comes with
something like #YoloSwag2014. It’s at this moment that you may realize that
that comment was completely useless. But what do you and most people do? Not
only do you ignore the stupidity of the comment, but you may go on to say
something of the like!
You see, the one thing that I’ve
taken out of these past three months is that we’ve got access to this awesome,
powerful force called media, but we abuse the living daylights out of it.
Here’s a fine example: the use of
hashtags. You may remember my blog #Hashtags
but in case you haven’t read it, let me sum it up for you: Hashtags were originally
designed to get people to connect over various specific topics (i.e. An
interest in Miss Representation à #MissRepresentation), but instead, it’s used more commonly
for complete nonsense – say, #YoloSwag2014. At the rate that media and
marketing are expanding, our entire lives will begin to look like a walk
through downtown New York, Tokyo, or Shanghai. But then again, in a way, they
already have.
So what do we do to fix this
predicament?
It starts here, with us. I’m talking
about all of you media-analyzers, you truth-seekers, you skeptics, and all of
my fellow critical thinkers. We’re the people who are going to set the record
straight about all of the BS that marketers and social media creates.
But
we can’t do it ourselves; we’ve got to pass our literacy onto our peers. Here
are some starters:
·
Remember
the difference between having a little fun on the internet and it becoming a
full-blown obsession.
·
Monitor
the time that you spend on the internet or watching television.
·
DO NOT
make people like photo-shopped supermodels and idealized idols your role
models.
·
Remember
who you are. Do not let businessmen and jackasses in the comments section dictate
who you should be or who you are. Be yourself.
·
Strive
for truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
It won’t solve all of
our problems, but it’s a damn good place to start. The sooner we start working
towards revising this twisted and idealized world that we live in, the sooner
that we can start living our lives again. And I can like that.
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