MY RELATIONSHIP WITH MEDIA

MY RELATIONSHIP WITH MEDIA

Media is inescapable to me and nearly everyone in our modern world, and its presence seems to grow as the years go on.  Nearly everything I do from school, sports, vacation and even while eating now involves media thanks to the little glowing box in my pocket or hand that stays with me at all times.  Children have comfort objects like stuffed animals or blankets and I have my phone, iPad, and Laptop to deliver me constant comfort at a moments notice.  In a way my relationship with media is very positive, it helps me connect with friends when I'm not with them and also helps me learn about the world around me with updates nearly every minute.  However, just like too much of almost anything, media is also perhaps the most toxic of poisons in my life.  I have absolutely no need to see what someone ate over the weekend, and how they also won a game of Fortnite when they should have been finishing their term paper.  The poison that is media can be seen in side effects such as the need for instant gratification, laziness, jealously, and plain ignorance to the physical world around me.  For example, over break I was having a great time on a skiing trip with family and friends, yet I still spent hours jealously looming over my phone looking at cool things my friends were doing that I wasn't.  Yet, as I was jealous of them I was doing the same thing they were, capturing only the best moments of my life to create an image that pleases me, and makes others want to experience what I am experiencing, further adding to the vicious cycle of jealousy.  This is one of many examples of how media does more harm than good to my life, yet I choose to continue to consume it like the all-you-can-eat buffet it is, there exists a seemingly endless supply of it, and I, like so many others would "starve" without it.