June 28, Media Consumerism

Today in class we watched a documentary about media consumerism and social media marketing and then discussed how we felt about it and the impacts it has on our daily lives. Some of the messages that stuck most with me from the movie ere how obsessed teens today are with getting a certain amount of likes, retweets or shares and the lengths they will go to gt them. The two kids who were doing racy thing just for more likes really shook me and they both started out with talent and then shifted away from that to get more coverage. another thing that really surprised me was how planned out and managed social media advertisement and coverage is by both companies and celebrities. I feel used a little bit by company’s on social media because they are always pushing products on you all the time in multiple ways and they also push for you to do thing and buy things, so in that aspect I feel used. However I personally don’t feel used when I like a creators content or even a company’s content because I like to support the creators I follow. I think teens engage in consumerism because they like to be a part of something as well as support the things that they like. Also the support promos to be noticed and gain attention. I think integrated advertisement is acceptable and ethical because people agree to it and it isn’t doing harm to anyone in they way that it is currently being used. However if people start using integrated advertising to influence important issues it could be dangerous. Some consequences of social media advertising on teens is that it can influence opinions and actions when teens try and gain recognition. I think it is positive for the most part though because it exposes teens to multiple views and opinions. Overall I thought that the video was a good reminder of why teens and people today in general need to be careful about what they see and what they do on the internet. Its good to be aware of whats going on around you and how company try to influence people. Social media can be a great tool to both connected and influence and as long as people understand what they see and are getting what they want out if a platform and not being used, I think that social media and marketing are okay.