Can the media change the way I view myself and others?
By Haley Butler
Hmmmmmm…..How am I affected?......Screech! I lost my train of thought when out of no where I heard this old, black truck with unusually dark tinted windows stopping right next to me. Thump! Thump! I could hear my heart pounding against my ribcage inside of me. I was all alone, walking home from my friend’s house at 8:00 PM. , and with an extremely frightening truck stopped on my left side. I started walking faster, picking up the pace every time my foot left the concrete. I was running now only to find the truck following me. I tried to ignore it and stay as calm as possible, even though all I could think about was “Oh my gosh, what is this crazy man trying to do? Is he going to kidnap me? Should I call the police?” But, even with all these horrifying thoughts racing through my brain faster than a criminal running from the cops, all I could do was run. Every time that I breathed I saw my breath turn into steam as it escaped my frightened body. “STOP, STOP,STOP! Young girl, stop!” I heard this deep man’s voice yelling from inside the car. No way was I going to stop, but I did have the guts to turn around. To my surprise, this old man wearing a black trenchcoat with dark shaded sunglasses was holding a cell phone. Could that me mine? Of course not. I reached into my jeans pocket and amazingly, it was gone. It couldn’t be… Or was it? It was. The man that I once thought was trying to kidnap me was holding my cell phone. Out of breath, I decided to stop running. I backed away from the car though, still thinking that this could be a trick. The man got the drift, rolled down the tinted window, threw my cell phone right at me, and then just drove away. He left me in pure embarrassment and shock. I had just ran over five blocks, causing me to have a terrible side ache. I couldn’t belive that I had just run away from a man who I thought was going to harm me, when all he wanted to do was return my cell phone that must have fallen out of my pocket. After I caught my breath, I continued on my journey home trying to remember what I was thinking about before my whole, big, cell phone fiasco…..Oh, yeah, I remember. How am I affected by the media? I couldn’t think of one answer and then BOOM, it hit me. Everything, or almost everything, I do and/or think about the way I view myself and others is because of an effect the media has on me.
Getting scared because a truck stopped next to me while I was walking home is only one of many ways that media has a negative effect on the way that I view myself. The thought that the old man in the truck was going to kidnap me and wondering if I should call the police was all because of the news that I watch on TV with my mom before I go to school. All of the Amber Alerts and breaking news with kidnapped and missing children freak me out to death. When I see them, my heart sinks, and I feel as though I am the child getting kidnapped. My soul of my heart is telling me to keep watching, but my brain of my heart is telling me no, and to stop watching these bad, traumatizing events. So….what do I do? I keep on watching. Why? I know I shouldn’t watch it because then I end up getting scared of innocent, kind-hearted people like the guy in the tinted window car. Besides making me view myself as a kidnapping target, the media also makes me view myself as not good enough. Am I pretty, skinny, hip, cool, or nice? No, well at least I’m not compared to people in the newspaper and on television. Me compared to all of the famous people is like a penny in a girl’s wallet with ten other hundred dollar bills. I am a nobody. Me, loaning my friends money to buy lunch is nothing when Oprah Winfrey is giving teachers cars and homeless people beautiful houses to live in. Whether the media scares frightens me out of my skin, or makes me feel like I am worth nothing, the media has a large negative impact on why and how I view myself the way I do.
Even though there are many negative ways that the media changes the way I personally view myself, there are many more ways that are positive. When I am sitting on my black, cushiony couches with my mom and sister watching TV and a commercial comes on trying to raise money for a hospital, it makes me feel so grateful and blessed that I am on the couches in my living room instead of on tubes in a hospital bed. Also, if you’ve seen Supernanny, you will know what I am talking about. When I watch Supernanny, which is about completely insane kids who have lazy parents that can’t get control of them and have no choice but to call Supernanny, I feel extremely lucky that I have the family that I do. It gets me thinking. What if I was one of those children that act like they are from a different planet? It also boosts up my self esteem and shows how media affects me and the way I view myself in a positive light. As a woman and with Hillary Clinton running for president, it makes me think of myself as a free and independent woman, and that I can achieve anything that I set my mind to. See, the media isn’t as bad as it appears, and it, at least for me, changes the way I view myself in a good way!
Yes, the media changes at least my views on myself, but does it change the way I view others? Of course. Okay, so because of all the news on television, I fear people from Iraq and think of people from New Orleans differently. During the tsunami, I felt sorry and upset for the people from New Orleans, and viewed them as helpless, depressed, and hopeless. I fear Iraqis because even though most of them are sweet, loving and caring, the war in Iraq is really frightening. Why do I do this, and is it alright? I do this because it is all over the news, and in the newspapers, and no, this is not alright. It is sad that it even got to this point. Another thing, the media gives people, including me, the wrong impression that make people judge and view others in different ways. On reality shows like the apprentice and the real world, the media is sending mixed messages. These messages include: if you lie and stab others in the back, you will be successful, and people fight and sleep with people non-stop, and lastly, bosses and people with more money are mean and aren’t respectful to other people with more money are mean and aren’t respectful to other people. No! This isn’t how the world is. I mean, think about it. Before people had televisions and a ton of media, you never heard about hundreds of people going anorexic or using violence to solve problems because they saw a celebrity on TV doing it. On the other hand, shows like extreme home makeover and uplifting stories you find in the newspaper make my views on others change dramatically. In extreme home makeover, a team of designers get together and build a drop dead gorgeous house in a week for a family in need. When I watch this show it lifts up my spirit and makes me think that there are some really wonderful people I the world that just want to help others. Will you do everything and anything for someone you truly love? The answer was yes for a little boy who gave his blood to his older sister when she was nearly dead. His blood was the only blood that she could take, and when the transfusion was over, the caring little brother asked how long he had to live. He simply asked this question for one reason and one reason only. He thought he was going to give all his blood to his sister. It is because of these kinds of things that I rarely find in the media, that make my views on people as harmless and truly giving. Concluding, my views on others are greatly influenced by what is shown in the media.
What would happen if I wasn’t affected by the media, and the media didn’t change my views on others and me? First of all, I wouldn’t look stupid by running from the freaky car because…well…I wouldn’t be scared. Basically, if the media didn’t have any effect on me whatsoever, I wouldn’t be who I am. But that doesn’t matter, because the media has an overwhelmingly monsterous impact on the way I view myself as well as others. From scaring me half to death to boosting up my self esteem to making me see others as gift giving people, the media changes the way I and everyone around me view each other.
