The Media, Self, and Society College Park Scholars program has played a huge role in the first three semesters of my time here at the University of Maryland. The name of the program really emphasizes its importance. We are looking at the media and its effect on ourselves and on society as a whole. This is very important because in the society we live in right now, the media plays a huge role. More and more people are actively getting their information about important events across the world through different sources of media than what it used to be. Print newspapers and TV stations are now accompanied by social media which allows people to share their opinions or experiences in ways that could not be done before. My time in this program has really made me realize the massive role the media plays in my life, both positive and negative. As a high schooler, you always hear from adults (at least from my experience) about how social media has very negative effects and we should try to detach ourselves from it. Back then I would simply blow it off and simply write it off as older people not understanding new technology. This program has, however, forced me to look at different effects that the media has on us and has helped me recognize the way it can have a positive impact, such as bringing people together and helping spread different peoples points of view, and its negative impact, such as how easy it is for false information to spread and the role it has played in the political polarization of this country. Overall, the program has made me realize how much deeper media is than simply platforms used for sharing information. It helped me see the effects of it on a larger scale, and ultimately prepared me to be a safer, better, and more effective user of media in future endeavors.
In this class, we were often asked to provide a critical analysis of different forms of media. One assignment in which we did this was earlier this semester, when there were protests happening all across the country due to the police brutality and racial injustice that lead to the deaths of various black people across the country such as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. In this assignment we were asked to analyze the way that different media platforms had portrayed these killings and the protests that ensued. In the media class we had discussed in the past the effects that the media had on the polarization of the country from a political standpoint. This assignment helped me see why. In this assignment we saw primarily conservative news stations discuss the “thugs” and “criminals” who were protesting and rioting and barely discuss the people who had been killed. On the other hand there were news stations that supported the protests and talked a lot more about the events that caused them. These were news stations that were probably watched by people who supported the point of view that they give which causes them to feel like any other point of view is completely wrong. Our class discussions in the past as well as various conversations I had had with some of my classmates allowed me to erase my personal bias (which was very much present during this assignment) and look at it from the standpoint of just the effect that the media had. It really showed me how powerful the media can be.
One of the most important things that I learned in the scholars program is how social media platforms can be both positive and negative to society. We looked at how easy it is for false information to be spread on social media. One example is coronavirus and how symptoms and treatments were posted and spread on social media at first and it became very hard to know what was true or not. This created a potentially dangerous situation for many people. On the other hand, social media can be positive and help spread messages such as the black lives matter campaign or the explosion in Lebanon. Social media drew attention to these, which was very beneficial to many people. This was definitely shown to me through our discussions and lectures with my scholars class. This is really something you learn and explore by talking to people who have different backgrounds and experiences regarding social media. You can compare what they see and talk about what this does to our mentality as a society.
Before joining the Media scholars, I was definitely a passive media consumer. I did not really care what larger impacts the media could have and was affecting our society as a whole. Joining the Media scholars changed that. I am now more critical of the media I consume on a daily basis and am less quick to believe everything I see. That is what it means to be a critical media consumer. The people I was surrounded with definitely played a huge role in this. Being around people who may not necessarily have the same ideologies as me and then talking about what their experience with different forms of media is what really helped me to see the huge role the media plays in forming the way we think about things. It really helped me a lot to have these people around through field trips such as the ones to the holocaust museum and African American museum, and through discussions. Through this I learned a lot more about them and that is the best way to see how prominent the media really is in our society today.
The scholars program was very interactive. Every class period, time was set aside for us to be able to talk to each other about the topic being discussed or work on the problems presented. We also went on field trips as was mentioned earlier to DC which helped us learn more about different historical events and see how the media affected them. Overall it was very interactive which made it one of the most engaging and interesting classes I have taken the past two years. As a Comm major taking the PR track, it is very important for me to understand the media. I have to know how to use it effectively as well as how to avoid using it immorally. This class has shown me both and for that reason is one of the most beneficial courses I have taken thus far.
In this class, we were often asked to provide a critical analysis of different forms of media. One assignment in which we did this was earlier this semester, when there were protests happening all across the country due to the police brutality and racial injustice that lead to the deaths of various black people across the country such as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. In this assignment we were asked to analyze the way that different media platforms had portrayed these killings and the protests that ensued. In the media class we had discussed in the past the effects that the media had on the polarization of the country from a political standpoint. This assignment helped me see why. In this assignment we saw primarily conservative news stations discuss the “thugs” and “criminals” who were protesting and rioting and barely discuss the people who had been killed. On the other hand there were news stations that supported the protests and talked a lot more about the events that caused them. These were news stations that were probably watched by people who supported the point of view that they give which causes them to feel like any other point of view is completely wrong. Our class discussions in the past as well as various conversations I had had with some of my classmates allowed me to erase my personal bias (which was very much present during this assignment) and look at it from the standpoint of just the effect that the media had. It really showed me how powerful the media can be.
One of the most important things that I learned in the scholars program is how social media platforms can be both positive and negative to society. We looked at how easy it is for false information to be spread on social media. One example is coronavirus and how symptoms and treatments were posted and spread on social media at first and it became very hard to know what was true or not. This created a potentially dangerous situation for many people. On the other hand, social media can be positive and help spread messages such as the black lives matter campaign or the explosion in Lebanon. Social media drew attention to these, which was very beneficial to many people. This was definitely shown to me through our discussions and lectures with my scholars class. This is really something you learn and explore by talking to people who have different backgrounds and experiences regarding social media. You can compare what they see and talk about what this does to our mentality as a society.
Before joining the Media scholars, I was definitely a passive media consumer. I did not really care what larger impacts the media could have and was affecting our society as a whole. Joining the Media scholars changed that. I am now more critical of the media I consume on a daily basis and am less quick to believe everything I see. That is what it means to be a critical media consumer. The people I was surrounded with definitely played a huge role in this. Being around people who may not necessarily have the same ideologies as me and then talking about what their experience with different forms of media is what really helped me to see the huge role the media plays in forming the way we think about things. It really helped me a lot to have these people around through field trips such as the ones to the holocaust museum and African American museum, and through discussions. Through this I learned a lot more about them and that is the best way to see how prominent the media really is in our society today.
The scholars program was very interactive. Every class period, time was set aside for us to be able to talk to each other about the topic being discussed or work on the problems presented. We also went on field trips as was mentioned earlier to DC which helped us learn more about different historical events and see how the media affected them. Overall it was very interactive which made it one of the most engaging and interesting classes I have taken the past two years. As a Comm major taking the PR track, it is very important for me to understand the media. I have to know how to use it effectively as well as how to avoid using it immorally. This class has shown me both and for that reason is one of the most beneficial courses I have taken thus far.