Our Relationship with The Media

If you grew up in the 90s chances are you were raised by Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network to some degree. I personally had heavy doses of network TV administered to me as a kid. On the mind of a young child, TV can be highly influential and I’m sure our parents did not think that deeply into it. We have messages passed onto us whether explicitly or subliminally and it affects how we move about the world. It’s not called television PROGRAMMING for no reason.

As a result of constantly tuning in day in and day out, we develop a rather unhealthy relationship with the media. It becomes a form of escaping and we falsely view information that comes from media messaging as fact because it’s so widely disseminated. I mean, if what was said weren’t true, then why would it be broadcast to the entire country? Media messaging is so subliminal that it goes undetected, so we’re programmed with out realizing it.

As we move into adulthood our viewing habits change and our relationship with the media grows stronger. To the point that even when we are alerted of the programming taking place, we justify or disregard, viewing a life of having messages imprinted on our minds as better than a life with no TV. The media messaging has become more sinister. Rather than just having useless facts fed to us by historically inaccurate renditions, we’re told to who to hate, who to love, HOW we should love and what values we should have to guide our lives. Those values usually include acquiring stuff so that we can feel fulfilled, objectifying women and of course, obedience to authority.

Our relationship with the media has convinced us to believe we can govern the lives of celebrities, because they have an impact on the lives of children. Not realizing that the impact stems from our unhealthy relationship with the media, rather than any media personality in particular. With social media, the game is completely changed as parents have to be more diligent when exercising control over what messages are impressed upon their child’s mind. And with the culture surrounding Netflix, binging TV shows one series at a time, our relationship with the media has become pseudosymbiotic.

The media is used to shape the minds of those who ingest it. This may have seemed like a far out conspiracy theory at some point but it’s not even being hidden anymore. There are documents online that outline the ways media can be exploited to control the minds of the public. The people running our society are so bold because people are so complacent. Unless we see our current relationship with media as dangerous, it will continue to worsen. My main concern is if the media has such control over people’s minds, what do they plan to do with that power?