Analytical Paper: Media Inventory and Assessment
One can not underestimate the importance of media as a tool for communication, education, entertainment, creating popular interest and as a place for debate about social, political and economical problems. An average person is exposed to a variety of media types on every day basis: Internet, television, radio, newspapers, games, different kind of advertisements, which effects peoples’ behavior, attitudes and beliefs.
As for me, I am an active Internet and social media user. I often check my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. Though these sites I find about my friends’ lives, about current events that matter for me and people around me, share my thought, something which is important for me with people around. I also spend a significant amount of time on video sharing resources, mostly on Youtube and sometimes Vimeo. Here I watch educational videos, music videos and some funny and entertaining clips. Several years ago I have learned about Coursera, a website where one can get access to hundreds of different on-line courses from world best universities and professors. As many other people I use Internet for social, informational, educational and entertainment purposes. Most of the time I utilize my smart phone to get access to social media sites, but I still use my laptop to watch videos, read news and search for information.
Despite the fact that most of the time I use Internet to learn about latest political and economical events, I also occasionally watch TV news or listen to radio stations when driving a car. As many other people I also am unable to avoid annoying advertisements, which are everywhere: on television, radio, Internet, in the streets, on the pubic transportation. I rarely read printed newspapers or magazines preferring to use their on-line versions because I find it more convenient.
Studies show that the amount of information people are exposed to has significantly increased for the past several years. For example, hours of media consumption grew at 5% a year from 2008-2013, from 11 hours per day to an average of over 14 hours per day. Across all media sources, media delivered in bytes is growing at a rate of 18% per year (Short, 2013). This causes information overload, referred by American writer David Shenk (1998) as “data smog”. The rapid speed with which one has to deal with it forces people to make rush decision without checking the liability of information they receive. It also concerns me, as I sometimes “like” a post automatically, without searching for proof or further information or believe a documentary or an infographic if it is nicely done and believable. On the other hand, one can easily get lost trying to look for proof as it is sometimes difficult to find a reliable source.
I usually tend to use the same channels for the same type of content. I usually use social networks for entertainment and social purposes but rarely search there for news, facts and proof. Despite the fact, that one can find many …
