Listicle: Top 10 COM250 Ideas
To be honest, I thought this class was mostly going to be about social media and its impact on us as well as our youth. But to my oh-so pleasant surprise, I learned a lot more valuable information regarding media and how it impacts my life every single day, and how I can So without further ado, here's what I found the most interesting from Digital & Media Literacy, as well as what I personally took from these concepts.
1: How stories shape our minds
People are extremely impressionable, taking things in from our environment and the people around us that impacts our development from a very young age. Stories that we follow from characters in books, shows, or movies tend to make us think we too are impacted by their decisions, and result in us acting differently in reality than we would not having watched that clip. I found it fascinating how books are more influential than movies or shows because of how much more mental processes go into us diving into the characters and plotlines on pages than mindlessly watching scenes on our TV. Assimilation is a crazy concept to me, how our thought processes and personal beliefs can shift based on what we interact with every single day.
2: Algorithms in entertainment
Algorithms across different media platforms differ heavily based on what that platform offers, specifically looking at Netflix versus Tik Tok or Instagram. Depending on the purpose of the media platform, algorithms are specific and tailored to the user, collecting certain data to help the company develop new ideas or techniques to get us to use their media more frequently. When we think of Netflix, we know that the thumbnails vary based on every single users personal data and preferences, where Netflix finds one frame from an entire show that they believe is more likely to draw you as their audience to click on the title. Tik Toks algorithm looks more at shares and interaction to push out similar content to keep you scrolling on the for-you page. Instagram is similar, looking at interactions like saves, shares, and comments to suggest similar accounts on the explore page and rewarding users who are on their app longer.
3: Content Moderation
Every media platform you use is monitored to some degree by content moderators. These people sift through endless photos, videos, and posts to make sure everything fits their platforms specific guidelines, and they have the right to remove anything that seems to go against them. Some of these moderators are extremely picky: Instagram removed my post for saying I would jump into the ocean for ‘minor safety: threat of self harm’ when it was just supposed to be a fun caption. Content moderation is in place to mainly keep the users safe, and also protects the media company from any serious legal issues if something inappropriate were to go viral on their site.
4: Research on media and gender stereotypes
The more we hear or read something, the more we are to believe in it and then even act upon it. Gender stereotypes like what people where or how people act influence how we interact with others and who we associate ourselves with. Kids are learning about these stereotypes at a younger age every year, and this leads to the creation of new gender norms faster than we can keep up with. We are constantly challenging and changing what these norms are defined as, and its important to at least try and stay up to date on new findings to support those around us as well as educate ourselves.
5: Delayed Imitation: Social Learning Theory
Personal coping strategies and our behavior in general are molded by those and the environment around us as we are children. Human aggression specifically can be explained by our parents and guardians, of which I see myself agreeing with completely. Delayed imitation such as myself writing letters to my mom when I’m upset the same as she did with my dad is evident here, where I mirrored my mothers behavior because her anxiety about confrontation instilled upon myself. Even the short fuse that my dad has when he gets angry has rubbed off on me, something that is definitely being worked on as I get older but was a big problem for me in elementary school.
6: Tropes vs. Women in Video Games
Seeing how the media and specifically video games have been tailored to the male gaze was definitely disheartening, but also extremely insightful and eye-opening. Because the video game industry is predominantly a male owned franchise, the characters in these games more often than not are made to make men want to purchase and play that specific game. I took this lesson from this specific module on stereotypes in a more zoomed-out view, considering how this stereotype may ring true for other forms of media. The idea that certain industries will capitalize off of their specific audience is very smart, but can become very dangerous to those in that industry if it at all is inappropriate.
7: Draw a Scientist Experiment & Stereotypes
After watching a short lesson plan from Mr.Fiske, I was doing extra research on the perceptions of scientists similar to the ‘draw a scientist’ activity from this class’ homework. Mr. Fiske asked his students to simply draw a scientist, where the majority of 11-year-olds drew a female. However when this short study was redone on 16 year olds, the majority shifted to drawing male scientists. This concept of stereotypes from such a young age is very interesting and can be utilized and studied to look at how other preexisting things can factor into our perceptions and personal stereotypes.
8: How might others interpret media messages differently?
Perspective in general is a very important skill to master, or at least practice, especially in today’s society. Being able to consider another person/ party’s point of view in a conversation or regarding a certain subject matter is difficult to do, as we all tend to stick to our preexisting beliefs due to confirmation bias. Basically, even with new information or insights, we tend to make the information fit our beliefs and support our original conceptions, even if it isn’t exactly logical. Human beings are extremely stubborn, so being able to acknowledge new perspectives is definitely a challenging skill in my book. Others may interpret media messages differently just based on the punctuation used, making it important to consider all viewpoints. We all know how using a period at the end of a sentence can mean someone is mad at us over text, or how certain emojis are only used in a sarcastic way, even if it is just a creepy looking smiley face (😀).
9: How do songs get popular?
Social influence is very prominent in todays society, mainly because of the major jumps we’ve made with social media. Apps like Instagram tell us what styles are currently trending, Tik Tok helps us find new music and artists, and Twitter is becoming adolescents’ main method of news today. Social influence plays a huge part in our lives, and impacts a lot of the decisions we make when it comes to things like music taste or what jeans we should buy, and even in part determines who our friends are and who we associate ourselves with. We will often partner up with those who are social influenced in similar ways to us, like whats popular on our Tik Tok for-you pages and what trending hashtags we see on Instagram.
10: Intricacies of Copyrighted Media
Copyrights are in place to protect the original owner of the content someone posts or published, allowing them to have full ownership that is protected from other companies or people who may try to steal it. I always kind of understood what it meant to have something copyrighted, yet was unaware of how intricate copyrighting was. When reposting images on social media platforms, there are specific rules in place to give the original owner credit, otherwise lawsuits can arise. This was extremely important for me to learn about, as my brand constantly reposts mental health graphics from other pages, and now we always make sure to research who the original poster is to give them their credit.
