Reflection

     Now that we have studied the media, I have become more aware of the techniques and needs advertisers use on us. Every time an ad comes up on TV I start to break it down and identifying the techniques they used without realizing I’m doing it. Now I try avoiding ads as much as I can. When an ad comes up on YouTube while I’m trying to watch a video, I skip it as fast as I can because I know I see way too many ads in one day and I don’t need to look at more.
     My media consumption habits have changed because I have learned to see ads and the media in a different way. I try to pay no attention to the ads but looking at the product itself. I think about how it could be helpful to me, or if I actually like it. I pay more attention to the word choice used in newspapers and articles. This can also be applied to speeches and things said by politicians in interviews. I can now identify when they are using doublespeak or ambiguity to make it seem like they know what they are talking about.
     Seeing the misrepresentation of women in media changes the way I look at ads and movies. When I see movies that recently came out, I check if there are any leading female characters present and I see their role in the movie. When looking at ads, I see how advertisers use women to bring attention to their brands. I have become more aware of these techniques used, and I try to pay attention to the ads and not let them get to me.
     I think it’s interesting all the trouble advertisers go through to get our attention. It reaches a point that they try to make us feel bad about ourselves to make their products seem like they are the solution to our problems. They literally try to sell emotions to you, but they do it in such a weird way that you don’t even realize they’re doing it. Now that we have studied it, we know how advertisers are trying to influence us and we know how to stop them from influencing us. Being an educated consumer is important because we know what the advertisers are selling to us and we know the messages they are sending us. We know how to avoid falling for their techniques and seeing that product for what it actually is, not for the emotions the advertisers attach to them. 

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