May 10, 2009
A Media Driven Society Raises Today’s Youth
“Beep!” “Beep!” “Beep!”… Its 7 o’clock am, I rise to an alarm set to 94.5 where I hear the latest news and media gossip. I jump into the shower where I continue to catch up on the world’s news reports. My pre-set coffee brewer has coffee already prepared for an on-the-go person such as myself. I grab my laptop, cell phone, ipod, and jet off to work. After work I stop at a local café where I can pick up free wi-fi and sign in to my online classes. I email a few friends in the process of emailing a professor about the assigned paper. I can’t forget to check my facebook to catch up on the latest gossip while listening to lecture notes podcasted from the previous day. Once finished, I stop at the local grocery store to pick up dinner and while standing in line at the cashier I feel compelled to buy a magazine to keep up on the celebrity gossip and check out new poperotsy photos. On my way home a billboard advertising the new corona makes me stop at the local 7-elleven for a six-pack. I speed home to pop my tv dinner in the microwave and sip a beer. While I wait, I turn the television on and watch the news on one screen while watching another show on the split screen monitor. After a long day, I set the coffee pot, my alarm, plug the ipod, computer, and cell phone in to charge and lay my head on my pillow. As I close my eyes, I think of all the information I’ve seen, heard, and communicated throughout the day. I sleep comfortably relying on the alarm clock to awaken my senses the following morning.
Each day we awaken to this world of unavoidable influences. Everything from television, radio, Internet, billboards, advertisements, magazines, newspapers, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers force us to evaluate others and ourselves. It is virtually impossible to ignore these outward forces because even in solitude they cross our minds. Media infiltrates everything,