After being on any form of media for a few minutes, I feel heavy and exhausted. And it isn't because I've become sedentary and dependent on social media or because the screen lighting is straining my vision. It's because there is this constant stream of negativity that cannot be avoided through these media outlets. From cynical and demeaning comments on Youtube videos to rants on social media that has the singular purpose of criticism, the media has become this oppressive source of ill will. What happened to the media that delivered clear information about the world around us? What happened to the media that kept our growing and expanding populace informed us of the change and the progress of our developing world? Why is it that the majority of our media has given way to deconstructive arguing rather than constructive conversation?
There's no other way to put it. It's just a big bummer. The fact that you go online to see a video from an artist that you admire and have to see all the negative comments about how much people dislike such and such for such and such reason. I'm not saying that people aren't allowed to dislike what is out there in the vast and mysterious mediaverse (everyone is entitled to an opinion). But if you're sole intent of posting raging, negative, hateful comments is just to be hateful ... well then, do yourself a favor and go do something else. More often than not these spiteful comments are regarding an issue not even relevant to the media content it is tagged to. People use their ability to comment anonymously as a way to perpetuate bias, prejudice, racism, sexism, homophobia, and many other subdivisions of discrimination. Is it really necessary to point out someone's sexuality as a comment in a music video? What does this accomplish? Is that supposed to be some ill-formed way to diminish the accomplishments of that individual? Because honestly, it just shows how close-minded and prone to hate you are. Instead of trying to commend someone for their accomplishments or their abilities that they show in our media, people are quick to judge and to pin some sort of flaw on what they are seeing. I'm not sure why people insist upon propagating their hate and their negativity on something that they were not obligated to be a part of. No one forced you to watch that video, no one forced to you buy into that form of social media. So why is pushing for negativity preferable to just walking away?
Our media has become cheapened by the fact that technology has made it so easy for anyone and everyone to become a critic and a cynic. There seems to be this unspoken rule that mature individuals become cynical of anything and everything. Caring too much is a sign of weakness, being too passionate is looked down upon. We instead think being jaded and nonchalant about the crucial things in life is somehow more "progressive" and "cool" (though I hate to say so). We see an eccentric and outgoing individual and we label them "weird". We see a male that talks with certain vocal fluctuations and deem them "gay". We see a female that has a crew cut and rocking arm muscles and we call them "butch". Our collective has grabbed on to this habit of identifying differences and using them as an arsenal for perpetuating hatred for one another. Our collective has decided to no longer be accepting of individuals for their differences but rather to shun them because their differences make us uncomfortable. And why is it that we are uncomfortable around things that are different? I blame the media. After seeing all of the images and depictions of individuals who perform under this umbrella of "social acceptability", we forgot that people don't actually live under this oppressive domain. So when seeing someone who colors outside of the metaphorical lines of social mores, our reaction is to reject them.
Media has become this huge machine is self-operating and now the people seem to no longer be able to control what it propagates. We've created a monster. A monster that perpetuates stereotypes, a monster that promotes ill-will amongst people, a monster that does its best to tear down rather than build up individuals. Our standard of beauty has become increasingly discriminative because of the myopic view we have grown accustomed to due to our media. We subscribe to a social construct that has become toxic for both men and women who are forced to feel insufficient in who they are because they do not fit the mold fashioned from stereotypes and sexism. We've become blind to the strings that control our society because we fail to see who and what controls our media. The notion that discrimination is no longer a pressing issue because we've overcome slavery and given rights to certain groups is a lie that our media has been feeding us. Just because we no longer see blatant acts of discrimination does not mean that it has been banished from existence. No, rather it has found more subversive ways to infiltrate our societies and in some ways is more frightening in its seemingly innocuous form than before. Not being able to see it makes it hard for us to register its presence and thus makes us complacent to its hold. And all of this is because our media has become its PR representative and allowed it to hid behind a facade of pleasant advertisements and surface level humor.
I'm not saying that all media is evil and we must dispel all things media. Of course not. Media has and will continue to play a huge role in how our society develops. I don't discredit the good things that do come from some of the media that the people put forth. Positive social messages are out there if you look for them. It's just hard to get there through the muck. The media used to be this force of good that propagated news and information, that used to advance social and political movements, that used to be a platform of conversations between people. And I think we can go back to that. And maybe you think that's overly optimistic or naive of me to say. But I believe in the capacity of human beings for good. I believe in the capacity of knowledge and understanding, of education and tolerance. If we all decide to recognize the negativity of our media and choose to become conscious, educated members to can filter media and become literate in this way, then that's the first step. If we choose to see past the pretty pictures and see the actual messages that are being propagated and we then choose to change the status quo, then I think we're well on our way to a better society.
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