Module 2 Reflections

Module 2 made me think deeper about the media and its affects on society. Like so many others I have gotten lost in the media and I am truly not a critical thinker. I simply believe everything I hear and see with out a second guess that it could be wrong information. Both Module 1 and 2 have taught that there could be far more to the story than one thinks. Tollefson (2008) states, “…that the biggest problem that Americans are facing is that we have a hard time believing in possibility and imagining that things could be otherwise” (p. 130). The first thing that I thought of when I saw this is politics. People can be persuaded and deceived very easily when they think that the person who is speaking is credible. As a critical thinker I ask, “but where is your credibility?” Persuasion and deception goes far beyond politics, what I found interesting, and actually never thought of was how easily supermarkets can manipulate consumers. When I moved to college my mom gave me a grocery-shopping hint: never go through the middle aisles! My first year, I didn’t listen to her, but then as I got into eating healthier, I realized she was seriously right. All of the unhealthy food is in the middle aisles of the grocery stores. Tuttle explains that supermarkets strategically place food items so that consumers can be drawn to them as they shop. What stood out to me the most in his article was his example of cereal boxes and how they are designed. I remember when I was little I loved Golden Crisp cereal (THE ONE WITH THE BEAR!) However, I did not like the Honey Smacks (the one with the frog), probably because when I was little, bears were a lot more appealing to me than frogs were. Once again, advertisement won me over. Anup Shah’s article, Children as Consumers, explains that children basically make the food market big money because they are so easily persuaded (2010). Cartoon characters don’t seem that harmful, however there are other sources of media that are far more dangerous for children’s developments, especially when deception is involved. Shah (2010) states, “…manipulation of imagery, fake news and more are so prevalent that young people in particular are vulnerable to a lot of influences from all angles” (p. 6). As I mentioned in my VoiceThread one of the biggest problems with media and young children is body image. I have seen so many young girls, look at themselves and absolutely hate their bodies simply because it doesn’t look like the photoshopped model on the cover of Victoria’s Secret magazines. Not only did Module 2 made me realize how deception in the media can be harmful to society, it also taught me the danger of social media and inequality in the media.

In chapter 3, Sternheimer asks the question, “Does Social Networking Kill?” This is still something that I struggle with understanding. I have seen how social networks can have a negative impact on your mental health and especially self-esteem. In my opinion social media is very harmful to young people. Sternheimer explains, “…the Internet allows for uncensored and seemingly anonymous speech, enabling angry, often hateful websites free rein” (p. 49). My question is, what can society do to change this negative aspect of social networks? I am a fan of social networks but I can see how they can be harmful. Media can also be harmful in the way that is lacks diversity and can extremely stereotypical. Americans spend many hours a day watching television (Gross, 2001, p. 407). As we scroll through channels we see how little diversity there is in the media, as we all saw in activity 12. Gross (2001) gives the idea that there are “elites are (mostly) white, (mostly) middle-aged, (mostly) male, (mostly) middle and upper-middle class, and entirely heterosexual (at least in public)” that dominate the media (p. 406). As I become more media literate, I will pay more attention to how the media plays a huge role in what we perceive. Not only will I be able to recognize lies within the media but I will be far more aware of the inequality that mainstream mass media evokes.