Media has become such an important part of most individual’s daily lives. Most of the time people do not realize how much media affects a person’s perception of life.
In light of recent events, especially the stream that killed a sister, it is important that people remember that media affects society as a whole.
Some might say that Millennials have become too attached to their devices. Isaac Henderson (junior, Psychology) would argue in favor of this claim.
“People have a desire to be stimulated. The easiest way to achieve this is to use their device. We’ve arrived at a time when a driver’s favorite passenger is their phone,” Henderson said.
Nakia Garrett (senior, Liberal Studies) stated that media has quickly become a key entertainment source in many people’s lives.
“It is easily accessible and requires little to no effort on the viewer’s part. In America, we are a society of ‘viewers than doers.’ We would rather watch someone else do something (sports) than participate in it ourselves,” Garret said.
One key part of media is location.
“Teens minds and opinions are still able to be influenced. Depending on where they live, they may only be subjected to one type of view on events,” Garrett added.
Professor of Communication Studies, Dr. Marcy Chvasta discussed how media is affecting people.  
“The ‘how’ of it affecting us is in its pervasiveness and relentlessness. Even prior to a time when we began to carry in our pockets a camera/web browser/movie theater/television/stereo/cocktail party, we immersed ourselves in mass mediation,” Dr. Chavsta said. “However, I caution against seeing causation when there is correlation. While I’m unwilling to say that there are necessary direct effects. As a critical media studies scholar, I consider the normalizing effects of mass media to be especially problematic when the population is as diverse as that of the U.S.”
She also discussed how television channels and social media converge to affect the minds of viewers.
“In these days of the internet, it is impossible to separate one medium, in form and content, from another. For example, given that social media can connect you with countless media consumers and producers, you could be influenced simultaneously by a television series, Facebook friends who love or hate it, and the series actors’ tweets,” Dr. Chavasta said.
So, the next time that you check into a social media account or watch a specific television channel, ask yourself how what you see is affecting you. The media may be leaving a bigger impact than you may think.