Blog #6: What fired me up

There are not many videos that I have seen in school that affect me the way the video we watched in class about the media did. It seemed almost unreal! I can't believe the way commercials are taking over young lives by taking advantage of their vulnerability. I think media is changing 'us' in so many ways. By us, I mean people, not necessarily myself and my family or peers. I think as it is getting worse, it is affecting the younger generations more (or at least that is what I prefer to believe...). I think it is making kids grow up faster because commercials appeal to this desire for them. Kids love to play dress up and pretend to be doctors or waitresses or other things that adults do for their jobs. They do this to feel like they are older and as we saw in the video, commercials appeal to this. Commercials will make kids think that their product is just like an adults product and is therefore something the child needs. That's another way that the media changes us. It makes us feel like what we have is never good enough as they are constantly advertising things that are 'better' and better. Also, the discussed brand loyalty in the video and how kids prefer things that involve their favorite cartoon characters or brand over the same item that is not brand name. The experts said this was because they comfort and a sense of understanding with the characters they watch and therefore want to buy things that associate with them. I was shocked to see how advertisements are hidden in video games, movies and more. This even angered me because kids are, as the video said, like sponges in the way that they absorb things so easily that they see. They are being taken advantage of and are to young to know it. Another factor that upset me is how peoples health are affected by the media. The experts on the video said that kids who watched a lot of TV were more likely to be depressed! The worst part is that parents think they are letting their kids relax and have fun in front of the TV but they are really hurting them. This, in turn, affects family relationships because the parents find it very easy to plop their children down in front of a TV so that they can go live their own fast paced life. This is a change from what family relationships used to be and how the SHOULD be because they are weakening.
   I think we don't want this change. I can't think of any way this is good for people except in that it provides jobs for those creating the advertisements. The video showed me how advertisements affect peoples creativity and academics, health, values, and even gave a rise to disorders and I can't see any reason for someone to want these changes.