Module 4 Reflection

Module 4 for me was a great one. It was a little difficult to wrap my head around all the new material but I feel like I was able to widen my knowledge on media literacy. Especially with the guest lecture we were provided. It was amazing to develop an understanding between media and health. I feel as if that is just another aspect of media that we were able to make a connection within ourselves with the great material that was provided to us.

I also leaned a lot from Terry Dugan’s video series that were on culture and mass media. Although, Terry Dugan’s videos were a little difficult to understand. It was interesting to see that culture has been learned in various ways which was what the video “Impact on Media on Culture” focused on. He explained that culture is an aspect that can be learned through behavior, individuals, and by groups. Being grown up in a different culture from other in America has truly made me view this concept differently. A lot of my friends are of the American culture as to where I am from the Indian culture. I have viewed the decline in family values through others where I have had a strong foundation growing up. This is also a point Dugan makes of the decline in family values. This concept can also be related to the readings for this week. In chapter 6 in Sternheimer’s text it spook in depth about popular culture being in blame for entrenched social problems. Sternheimer made an arguments about media phobia block attention away from such basic issues. Such as unequal access to skills, education, jobs and resources, and how the media ignored the “real culprits” (2013). Which I thought was very interesting. Do you guys believe teens are the culprits here in the social issues? With making connection to the guest lecture, I believe it has a lot to do with the balance that was spoken about. Teen years are years for trail and error and learning to balance the media with the fast pace society we live in tends to get difficult. However, do you guys believe media is to blame rather than the social structure? I also was thinking with videos and the text and the connection that can be made; since our society is a lot more open now can that can a reason for the decline in family values? These questions really made me question mass society in a whole and connect it to culture. I understand teens are to blame for a lot but maybe it is the society that has made them the way they are. Which can be another example of how media tends to blow issues out of proportion.