Media Literacy Reflection
Part II
The unhealthy relationship with our technology has made us less social in the real world, and made us more concerned about how many likes we may have gotten on a picture. No one communicated with anyone anymore because we are too absorbed in our phones. In order to avoid this from becoming a permanent reality, we need to find people who share the same opinion and don’t have the obsessive connection with their device that everyone else has. They need to be able to entertain a child without using an iPad, because that’s just sad. We can control that addiction by sitting the phone down, and going to do something with friends, like an actual social outing. People don’t realize that bonds are stronger when you communicate with a person face to face, and not through a screen and a bunch of text. If this addiction were to get out of control, I feel that we wouldn’t even step outside of our own homes because we would be glued to a chair staring into a screen, constantly refreshing the page to see if anyone has liked a certain photo or message you may have posted. It’s not about likes in the virtual world; it’s about the people who like you for who you are in the physical world. If people seriously think getting likes is more important than spending time with family or friends, then their addiction has already gotten to the point of no return. I learned that family and friends in the real world are what count, and that being obsessed over a device or social media site is just ridiculous. I use the media to post motivational quotes, or just to compliment someone, or to just wish them the best, and that’s it. I don’t mull over the photo then delete it if it doesn’t get a certain amount of likes… that’s stupid. My goal is to spread good news, no gossip; to show my condolences for someone, not to try and get pity from others; and to be able to try and convince people that the “followers” don’t matter in the real world, that they’re just a virtual thing that doesn’t truly exist.