Create a Top 10 Listicle
What are the ideas and information that you will want to remember most from your learning experience in COM 250?
The following is a list describing key ideas about the most relevant, interesting, and important ideas and information I learned in COM 250 this semester. I presented it in reverse countdown order, from 10 to 1, with 1 being the most important kea idea.
10. Advanced technology and the widespread information superhighway.
I learned there are both benefits and disadvantages to newer, advanced technology in the current world we live in. The new wave of developed technology has advanced our world in many ways and the information superhighway allows easy access to complete daily actions with the click of a button. Although, it is proven that technology has taken its toll on human relationships in many ways including the lack of co-presence between two people, lack of built-in human sense of responsibility/empathy we have for each other, and lack of social skills. Technology is encouraging the globalization of communication which you would think would bring us more together in the sense of community, however, we are experiencing just the opposite.
9. Credibility versus cognitive authority conveyed through media sources.
Credibility and cognitive authority go hand in hand. Credibility is the believably of a concept, with cognitive authority a principle aspect of deciding who (people) and what (information sources) to trust. Both are complex concepts involving expertise and knowledge and create a basis of trustworthiness in the information I wish to examine.
8. How social media influencers attract and hold a viewer’s attention.
Many people, myself included, perceive influencers as being fake online content. Regardless, they still succeed in accruing followers and public attention. Techniques used in influencer content often include candid, relatable moments/products put forth in an aesthetic manner to appeal to viewers. In turn, I sometimes feel the real pressure to conduct and present my own life in the same manner, imposed through social media platforms.
7. The influence of cultivation theory in the media.
The cultivation theory demonstrates how media systematically changes a person’s perception of social reality through repeated exposure to promoted content. For example, I have experienced in my own life the social pressures to look or behave a certain way and for many people this repeated exposure to behaviors in media influences people to accept distorted social attitudes.
6. Should advertising to children be regulated?
When faced with this question during the course, I thought about my own upbringing and all the commercials I experienced as a child. This is how my friends and I heard about virtually every new toy like the Easy-Bake Oven, Barbie, or Legos and we would beg our parents for it. Looking back, I agree that advertising should be regulated because children are in the development stages of life and they can become materialistic when exposed to so many products, especially in the technologically advanced world we live in today. Additionally, teens may face insecurities and the desire to fit in with certain products they also say they need. The US does not regulate advertising to children, like some other countries, because our culture values marketing strategies and thrive off consumers and this is wrong. Kids who are more materialistic report lower levels of happiness and academic success and are less inclined to experience the importance of relationships and life satisfaction. What I found to be the most interesting key idea in this lesson is that advertisements are influencing kids’ ideas of nutrition since I learned that 98% of televised food ads that kids see are for unhealthy foods. The issue of promoting unhealthy foods to young people, in my opinion, is something the US should be actively concerned with amending.
5. Influence and persuasion often take the form of propaganda in media.
Propaganda is information with the direct purpose of promoting a certain point of view. Oftentimes, when I fall into the trap of persuasion and I learned this is because Maslow’s hierarchy of needs shows how products can be advertised in such a way that elicits our needs, combined with our natural desire to follow the crowd, in hopes we will respond by purchasing a specific product. The effective use of words/images and what they symbolize draw public attention to a certain cause and in the same context outline the power of persuasion tactics. I’m persuaded by propaganda when it activates my feelings and draws me to what is being promoted.
4. How and why does collaboration create tensions and challenges that actually promote creativity and innovation?
Collaboration creates tensions with the challenges involved in incorporating two separate viewpoints in a timely manner. “The Power of Two” (as I experienced in Leap 5) demonstrates how this can work to a team’s advantage, however, since collaboration actually promotes creativity and innovation even at a distance since the drive to create something is there and productivity is often increased as two perspectives join.
3. The importance of content moderation in the media.
I learned content moderation is the process of controlling what is published on the Internet and over online platforms like social media networks. Censoring, suspending, or shadowbanning online content or posts is usually for liability protection. Online platforms, just like any other business, are responsible for their content appropriateness and how relevantly it is aligned with company branding. For example, one inappropriate comment can ruin a media platform. For many platforms, the process of content moderation is carried out through individuals who perform the duties of a team content moderator. Content that is posted is first reviewed, screened, and filtered for any offensive, distasteful, or unacceptable content before it is released to the public eye. It is essential that online businesses take this action as part of their normal company and marketing strategy.
2. Personalized entertainment and algorithms embedded in media platforms.
In this course, algorithms were probably the most interesting to me because personalized entertainment can be applied in my own life and the concept was something that made me want to further explore in our collaborative Leap 5 video project. As a Netflix user, I learned a lot about how this platform customizes its streamed content to a viewer’s specific preferences and ultimately works to increase their watch time. In doing so, Netflix’s cover art and thumbnails are all tailor-made for the user and are created using algorithms that calculate 80% of all content streaming the company produces. Accordingly, the company puts a lot of work into choosing every thumbnail each individual user sees, although “taste communities” aid in assigning alike content recommendations to various users with similar tastes. Before Netflix can decide what image will show up on your account, they first have to sift through a ton of data and use algorithms to combine a specific user’s gathered information with the information gathered during the tagging process. The company uses labels to identify “good images” based on visual, contextual, and compositional graphics. Personally, I thought it was very interesting that Netflix recognizes this behavior and includes an option in settings for users to opt out of their algorithmic personalization under ‘test participation’ in settings.
1. You can always rely on The New York Times as a trusted, informative source!
Before this course, I never used The New York Times as a source simply because I did not have a subscription and had no reason to believe it was worth it. Throughout this class, however, I am realizing how useful a source it is to learn about what’s going on in the world and I often find myself walking away with more knowledge than I would have expected after reading an article. The New York Times keeps me engaged one article after another and I am learning so much about various subjects in the process, all relevant and interesting!
