The media is like popcorn and we eat it up. According to my recent personal consumption log, I don't just eat it, I devour it. Unlike popcorn though, the media communicates through renowned mediums which include radio, television, books, etc. These mediums, also known as sources, are discovered byproducts of constructed paths through which the media can funnel messages. This can be better defined as mass communication, the process of creating shared media. My mass media consumption log gave me the opportunity to analyze each medium and devise a summary of their techniques and abilities to communicate. I took the top three preferred mediums of my two day log, critically examined them and determined their individual characteristics. In spite of the fact that they end in the same result, attracting mass consumer attention, each mediums specific method used in order to achieve said result is inherently unique.
Although not documented in my log, a huge portion of my life has been religiously consumed by video game media. They keep us highly entertained. One of the clever things about video games is the way they hold your attention. Really, they do it by giving you the power, letting you hold the controller. Yet another impressive tactic is their ability to keep that same attention for longer periods of time. Maybe this is why the average American video gamer is 34 years old. This smart and tangible method of media provides direct exposure and reaches out to the masses. This is achieved through many formats but mainly appeals to our inner child/ superhero complex/ primitive ‘survival of the fittest’ attitudes and allows us to free our imaginations in various fantasy lands.
Radio was one of the most prevalent forms of media. Is that really any surprise though? Music is what wakes me up every morning, what I sing along to in the shower, and what keeps me company during the ride to school. It plays an essential role in our everyday lives as a powerful commodity through which mass communication is effectively distributed. This, along with TV, books, magazines, and other various industries, has long been embraced as an integral part of our civilized culture. It has continued to grow in both content and areas reached, in proportion to society’s growth and expectations. Even knowing this, it wasn’t until this recent personal study that my eyes were opened to just how substantial is the amount of media I’m actually exposed to. If asked before, I’d have guessed I listened to about as much radio as the average American, 3 hours a day. In actuality, I listen to the radio an average of 4 ½ hours a day. In logging, I showed that in one day I spent almost 9 hours total listening to this medium. How was that possible? One of the perks of radio as mass communication is that it is heard instead of watched. This allows it to become a “normal” part of the background noise while we are busy with other activities. We don’t even notice it anymore, which opens the door for a steady stream of indirect, sometimes even subliminal, media exposure. In the U.S., even if you’re not looking for something to buy, you’re still likely to be exposed to 3500 advertising messages a day. That’s a powerful media tool.
What really threw me back in my chair though was the ever growing magnet, charting a whopping 5 hours per day in my log, (8 hours per day if you compounded me listening to the radio through it as well) otherwise known as the internet. With its limitless ability to evolve, enhance, as well as enrich itself, it also quite literally liberates the consumer to pick, choose, and tailor their personal media intake all the way down to the home page. This ridiculously advanced medium, already implemented into cell phones and portable devices, is obviously an unstoppable revolution. We should be extra careful not to be oblivious to creating things that are out of our own control.
With so many methods utilized in media distribution, you are almost constantly being bombarded with information, whether directly or indirectly, with or without your knowledge. When you vaguely hear a catchy song emitting from the Starbucks patio speakers, beat Campaign mode just to brag to your friends that it was easy, chat away on Facebook for hours on end, or a myriad of other multimedia activities, the result is the same; you have successfully been immersed in the ever-expanding world of mass communication.
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