Day One

The Inevitability of Media Consumption

Saturday, March 14th, 2015

I woke up this morning without the thought of checking my e-mail. I didn't want to check my grades, browse Facebook, or watch any of my favorite Vloggers. I just wanted to read, clean, and relax on my Saturday. It seems like an easy enough idea, but I've found out that being disconnected from the media and the world is a difficult feat. 

My morning seemed to be going along uninterrupted by the media. I had done my laundry and swept the floors already without being bothered, but while beginning to read Paper Towns by John Green, my phone buzzed. Without thinking, I picked it up and checked my Facebook notifications. A picture, a message, and three hundred posts later, I realized what I was doing. I had broken my supposed time of seclusion for social media so easily. It was like second nature to remove myself from the real world and consume the media that was literally in my hand.

While pondering the idea that I had failed so easily, it came to my attention that I failed at my goal of secluded relaxation long before the Facebook notification. On my desk sat products with brand names that serve as advertisements. I had picked up my Elle magazine and flipped through a few pages. My roommate listened to music and an inappropriately loud volume, and I had heard it and the Pandora advertisements. I had even read the morning paper, for crying out loud! At this moment it really struck me that I could not avoid media stimulation just by staying off of my phone and computer. It is everywhere. 

I think that many people make the same assumption that I made today: media pervasiveness only applies to social media. But we couldn't be more wrong. It's not just Twitter and Instagram that influence our lives. Papers, emails, text messages, music, clothing, and products of all kinds contain media that are designed to influence us into buying something, thinking a certain way, or feeling something. I think it's important for us to remember that. We aren't alone just because we are alone. It's nearly impossible to escape the media.