WHAT DO I HOPE TO GET OUT OF THIS CLASS?

I am a Psychology major.  There are many classes that I am required to take in order to graduate that don’t relate directly to my major.   Rather than comment and question ‘WHY?’  I’ve decided that I will find a way to relate that knowledge to my major.   That being said, I hope to get a better understanding of mass media and to use it in my career after I graduate.

ARE WE UNDER ATTACK FROM MASS MEDIA OR ARE WE THE ATTACKER!

WHAT ROLE DOES MEDIA PLAY IN YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE? – I never really thought about it before, but there is seldom a time during my day that I am not being inundated with media messages.  How would we know which grocer had the best sales this week without the media?  Which cereal is the best for us?  Where to get our hair done? How would we know which car to purchase or where to go on vacation? How do we determine which college is best for our needs?    

All of these questions are answered by our dependence on mass media.  Whether it is the ads that we see or word of mouth, we are dependent on the information. 

Many of you may not remember that a song by wrapper, Nelly, caused a sneaker revolution.  Everyone had to have a pair of Air Forced Ones. Check out the video! (Oh yea, you may have to watch a quick ad before the video begins)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfzsMQGqrt0&ob=av2e

SO, DO WE MOSTLY CONSUME MEDIA MESSAGES OR DO WE ALSO CREATE MEDIA?   Both.  We deliberately and inadvertently consume media in our daily lives as I mentioned above.  We also inadvertently create media.  Our jobs give out free t-shirts and key chains, laptop bags, coffee and drink mugs all with company logo.  We carry grocery bags with store names, drive cars with make, model and dealership names.  We carry designer handbags and wear designer clothes with the name of the designer plastered all over it. 

 In my opinion, word of mouth is our biggest deliberate contribution to mass media.  When someone asked who did our hair, we give the name of the salon.  Where did you get those shoes, we give the name of the retailer.  What kind of car is this? We tell the make and model.  Where did you order your this pizza, it looks great?  We give the name of the restaurant.  Actually, if you take a good look at it, we are feeding the media monster and making it grow.  We create more media than we consume, simply by getting dressed in the morning and driving to work or school.

Video Source: You Tube, Nelly, Air Force Ones