Chapter 1

Being a psychology major I have never taken a critical look at how media affects us and what we do and how we relate to people. This chapter really opened my eye to the effect that media had on the 2008 elections. Sure the campaign adds played a roll in what we saw, but the things that most caught my attention were all the new media frontiers that the election over took. For example you could be Obama's friend on Facebook. There were also programs done by celebrities, like P. Diddy's vote or die campaign. He was not urging for a specific party but he was just urging young people to get out there and cast their vote. By having these different kinds of media be out there I think that it totally affected the 2008 elections. Many of the people who went out and voted didn't even know their party's positions or what they stood for. So was it really good for these people to vote? They had no idea who they were voting for. The idea to get out and vote, and the election as a whole, what more or less shoved down our throats. I totally agree that voting is important and that people should vote, but is it really doing any good when people have no idea what they are voting for?

As media evolved over time, I think that turned more and more into something to make our lives more easier.  I can't help but think that maybe in 100 years there will be no need for us to leave our homes. In the 1840's families with people serving over seas were able to get telegraphs, making it easier for families to be updated on what was going on. As media continues to evolve one, there will be less and less need for actual human interaction and two, life will become more and more easier. As of now there have been studies that are done that shows that are brain is becoming more and more dependent on technology.

And as out brain functioning decreases because of media, it is also having us grow accustom to media that is, how shall I say... sub par. The shows that are on prime time now are, while entertaining, and not doing anything to help us out, intellectually. I will be the first to say that I partake in that few hours of mind numbing television but some of the shows that are on today, I am not sure how they qualify as t.v. shows. The entertainment that we have let ourselves be mystified by is not even high grade entertainment. American has stooped to a level of mediocrity when it comes to being entertained.