How we use Media - Essay

How we use the Media

The world is a changing place, with new technology and ideas being created and discovered every day. The media is a main part of this process, its purpose being to promote these changes. The world evolves because we as humans evolve, and as we become more advanced, our demand for modern media increases too. For the past few weeks I have attempted to understand the similarities and differences between individuals’ media interactions. The people I chose to study and make comparisons with are myself, and a fellow student at Burnside High school, Oriwa Nicholas- Rakatau.

In my hypothesis for Oriwa’s media use, I stated that she would use the internet for YouTube and research. This is one of the major similarities between our media interactions, we both rely on the internet as our main source of information. The reasons are that the internet’s range of resources is very vast, you can access information quickly and simultaneously, and the internet is very modern. This media trend signifies that a lot of us try to find the easiest, most advanced way to access information. Our world relies heavily on technology, which is one of the reasons why new media products always appeal to consumers. We are constantly trying to find better ways to accomplish tasks.

Oriwa and I are both interested in fashion, so a similarity in our media use, is that we both read fashion magazines. To name some specific examples, VOGUE and HARPER’s BAZAAR. From this media trend, I discovered that a person’s interests and personality contributes vastly to their media interactions. I am an aspiring fashion designer, and Oriwa expresses great interest in the subject. Oriwa and I also have similar personalities, we are independent, reserved, and thoughtful, and we both crave creativity in our work. From these facts I can conclude that people do have similar interests, and at times, similar personalities. This is why one particular media will have more users than one. Companies and promoters prey on this fact, in order to sell products to specific groups of people who crave similar things.

Another similarity in our media interactions is that we both watch cooking shows on television. This trend happens because of a similarity in skill between Oriwa and I. The media people use or can use, partly depends on how much skill they have. Oriwa and I are both skilled in that we ‘understand’ cooking, and have a ‘feel’ for it. If we didn’t understand the logic behind cooking, then the cooking show on TV wouldn’t make sense to us, and therefore wouldn’t appeal to us. The relation between skill and media use can be seen in a much wider sense. People who are more skilled can use more advanced technology, and understand more complicated media, compared to those who are unskilled. With that’s said, by using a wider range of media, you can also increase your skill. This proves Oriwa and I also use more media than a percentage of people in the world.

There are similarities between Oriwa and I’s media use, but most notably, there are also differences. One of those differences is that I have a penchant for foreign film, while Oriwa gravitated towards Hollywood movies. This difference between our media use, is mostly due to our dissimilar cultural backgrounds. I am Chinese while Oriwa is NZ-Maori, so that is one obvious reason why we would enjoy different types of film. I have a deeper understanding of foreign culture, as China’s history is longer than New Zealand’s. Oriwa’s native tongue is English, which is the second most spoken language on earth, and Hollywood is the entertainment central of the English speaking world. It’s no surprise that Oriwa and many others like Hollywood movies. Most Hollywood movies however, are rather basic compared to foreign films; they rely on modern special effects and clichéd scripts to capture attention. This shows a person’s lack of culture can mean that they like media that’s more ‘advanced’ or ‘popular’, rather than media that’s un-commercial but meaningful.

Another difference I discovered in our media interactions is that I use the iPad and iPod, but Oriwa doesn’t. This is because I buy into media products much easier than Oriwa. I grew up in Shanghai, an industrialized, commercially driven city in China made up of metropolitans. In such a place, people always try to keep up with the latest technology, and being modern is the purpose of life for some people. The amount of media I was exposed to in Asia, exceeds the amount of media Oriwa has been exposed to in her entire life. Buying new technology has become a habit for me because of this. The types of media people use, the media products people are interested in, and how much they use it depends on how much the media affects that person.

The last difference between Oriwa’s media use, and my media use, is in the types of music we listen to. Oriwa likes to listen to Reggae, Pop, and feel-good music, while I like Rock, Electronica, and Indie-Pop music. This difference in media interaction arises from our different interests, and the fact that we all want specific things out of the media. I mentioned before that two people can have similar interests, but often they have different interests too. I’m engaged in music that has beat and rhythm, music that brings out emotion and energy. Oriwa enjoys soothing, ‘free’ music that relaxes her mind. We also want specific outcomes from our music. I listen to music for motivation and inspiration, while Oriwa listens to music for relaxation and distraction. A person’s interests and purposes for using media, decide the genre of media the person engages in. In society, some people want more out of media than others, and as a result they receive more.

As a result of this media project, I have also made another important discovery about the usage of media. Many types of media are all inter-related. For example if a person enjoys watching horror movies, they may also enjoy loud rock music, and TV shows to do with the supernatural. Horror movies, loud rock music, and supernatural TV shows are similar in that they all surround the same genre of media, and they all give people thrills. Media inter-relation can also be seen in Oriwa’s media interactions, and my own. I enjoy watching cooking shows, I watch movies concerning cuisine, and I also watch podcasts to do with food. Oriwa is interested in Fashion, so she reads fashion magazines, watches design shows on TV like ‘Project Runway’, and visits fashion sites on the web.

How a person interacts with media, or consumes media comes down to their interests, personality, skills, demands from media, and also how much the media affects that person. Some people are more commercial than others; they feel the need to keep up with modern technology, while others can live on life’s basics. Those people feel no need for nor want of advanced gadgets. Humans can also have similar or dissimilar interests, and therefore they can have similar or different media preferences. Humans also have skills, some have more than others. Those with more skills can use far more advanced media than those who don’t have much skill. Some of us also want more out of media than others, and those who try to get the most out of readily-available media generally achieve their goal. Another discovery I made is that media are all inter-related, so use of one type of media can lead to the use of another similar type media.

We are a world of evolution, with individuals striving to be different. The world and its media will continue to change for a long time.