CTQ 1

Our species has undergone hundreds of thousands of years of evolution and so have our ways of
communicating with one another - from cave paintings and petroglyphs to using pigeon post all the
way up to exploring further opportunities through various social media platforms and other
communication channels.

Mass media has turned out to be an inseparable part of our lives and more so of our sense of
belongingness and identity. It is through its means that we know what is going on anywhere around
the world at any given moment, talk freely and keep in touch with our loved ones, even if separated
by thousands of miles, as well as express ourselves creatively and let others be a part of it. In
addition, now more than ever, we are presented with numerous ways to entertain and educate
ourselves be it through films, news, podcasts, etc. The advantages of mass media are
immeasurable, to say the least.

However, with all of the pros come some downsides of mass media and its content. Mass media
channels have been widely used to spread inappropriate and sometimes hazardous information in a
matter of seconds to vast number of individuals. For example, many terrorist organizations have their
own media channels which they use to boost their propaganda and reenforce their distorted beliefs. It
is also because of mass media that the majority of young people have set unrealistic expectations
upon themselves in attempts to look or live life like someone else. Furthermore, despite the fact that
we live in the most “connected” of times, we have and continue to become increasing disconnected
from the people arounds us, because we are so consumed with the digital world that we often forget
to tune back into reality. Even though the advantages of mass media outweigh the disadvantages,
they still shouldn’t be overlooked.

The idea that I personally most agree with is that mass media provides users with a platform where
they can express themselves and inspire others to do the same. There are countless of opportunities
to display one’s talents/interests and receive acknowledgement. There is a whole world out there,
which without the existence of mass media will not be familiar to most of us.

My main wish concerning the media psychology course, is to gain a more in-depth understanding of
how mass media affects our psychology, the way it shapes of our consciousness as well as how it
makes us perceive each other relative to our surroundings. Last but not least, I want to have some
fun while learning more about how media and psychology are related.