Seriously.
I want to know who comes up with all the "creative" puns and such that
go around on Twitter. In one day, every parody account that I follow
will tweet something like "I like people how I like my coffee... I don't
like coffee" or "50 shades of [sarcastic comment about an action no one
wants to do]." And every single one of them tweets that on the same
day. And then I see the same tweet a week later... Yes, very creative.
This repetition, however, makes me think that one unknown media dictator
or corporation is coming up with these sayings and making hundreds of
accounts from which to direct them. In my mind, average individuals do
not operate these accounts. They are just a hoax.
Notice
I said "media dictator." Yes, the media dictates us. It dictates our
thoughts, our actions, and our perceptions. With each post, there is an
expectation set. With each tweet comes a new rule. There are three main
categories in which I have noticed this.
Cliche possessions for [white] girls
Social media makes it seem as if every all girls (girls, not women or young ladies) want the same things. Diamonds and hearts and pink and princesses and flowers. Really, has anything changed since we were six? (It's almost as if the media wants us to be brainless and immature... hmmm....) In almost every "girl post," these items are promoted. It is as if the media dictator in the magical box in the sky is saying, "Every girl must want this. So I will say that every girl does want this." Well, I am fairly certain that not every girl wants diamond-studded Nike shoes. Nor does every girl want Nike shoes. Not every girl is obsessed with the Victoria's Secret brand Pink or Tiffany & Company (to be quite honest, I don't know what the latter is). Not every girl wears boots and leggings and sweaters and Vera Bradley backpacks and drinks Starbucks. Media consumers view these things as cliche jokes. Sure, it might be humorous to observe the trends in "white girls." But these observations are not jokes. They are standards. According to the media, only white girls drink Starbucks. Only white girls wear Pink yoga pants. This is wrong on so many levels; I will not even go in to racism and discrimination. The point is, the media is not making observations. The media is telling girls how to live.
Pointless rules for relationships
I recently came across a few "articles" (by articles, I mean poorly written lists written by nameless authors and found on websites such as Cha Cha and Buzzfeed) about relationships. They held titles such as, "Dump him if...." "Things not to tell your friends about your relationship" "Things you should tell your significant other everyday" (Remember when I said poorly written? The title said "everyday." That isn't a word. The correct term is "every day."). Some of the items made sense to me, but others I questioned. Maybe I should not comment on this subject, as I have never been in a romantic relationship myself, but I would just like to bring awareness to it. I think some of these rules are pointless and stupid. One such rule is that if someone is bored with the relationship it is time to break up. "I'm bored, time to find a new boyfriend." Sorry, that isn't how it works when you get married (Oh wait, divorce has skyrocketed. What if there is a correlation...?). It's also apparently bad to be single. According to these opinion-based "articles," if I did have a boyfriend, I would have to tell him he was hot everyday (I mean... every day), and he would have to say the same to me. When I see the word "hot" I wave a huge red flag. Do not even get me started on how I feel about that word (for most circumstances); trust me, I do not have good feelings for it. Call me beautiful instead; it is less objectifying. In addition, good morning texts, daily compliments, and cuddling are mandatory. Relationships, supposedly, must have these. Don't get me wrong, it's sweet when guys do this. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with these ideas about how relationships should work. However, I reiterate that these things are pushed onto young people through the media so much that rather than being good suggestions, they are turning into mandates. That is scary. There are many other pointless "rules" dealing with relationships but they tie more with...
Unrealistic, high expectations for boys
The standards for girls are cliche and annoying. The standards for guys, however, are far higher and extremely ridiculous. Guys are expected to look like Channing Tatum, Zac Efron, Dave Franco, Hunter Hayes.... the list could go on. They are also expected to be classy, athletic, sensitive, dress nicely, strong, always understand girls, musical, made of money, romantic, protective, tough, and gentlemanly. All of those things are good things. I wish all guys understood how girls think and dressed nicely. But not all do. Some of these traits, while desirable to both guys and girls, are simply not attainable. It is sad that some girls only desire what is not real. Another problem with these "standards" is that most boys are portrayed as having completely opposite traits of what girls want. I cannot think of a better example of this double standard than a picture I have seen multiple times. It is a collage depicting Kanye West opening car doors for and holding an umbrella over Kim Kardashian while she gets in the car. The caption reads, "A**hole to the world, gentleman to his girl... I like the way Kanye thinks." Do you now? Being a disrespectful jerk to everyone else is acceptable as long as the guy perfect for his girlfriend or wife? Absolutely not. His negative personality will prevail in his relationship eventually.
Once again: I desire boys to become gentlemen and treat women right. However, I see the media presenting, in some cases, contradictory and unattainable standards. There is the principle issue about not having double standards. But there is also the issue of misleading girls into thinking that if a guy does not reach the media's standards, he is not good enough. Again, the media as a dictator....
All this is to say that the magical media dictator in the sky sells standards that it wants to be culturally acceptable. A song that communicates the negativity of the media is "Selling the News" by Switchfoot. It addresses the fact that opinions are valued more than truth, money and ads and ratings mean more than truth, large corporations rule the ordinary people, and substance is no longer valued. Whatever sells is important. Whatever the masses believe is important. "The fact is fiction." If we wake up to see how the media is dictating our lives, perhaps we wouldn't succumb to its lies so easily. We would discern propaganda from truth. Please listen to that song; it is powerful and convicting in relation to this subject.
There are so many examples I did not mention in this post. I did not even include how many issues there are with the writers of these "articles" not receiving credit for their work, no matter how unprofessional (and grammatically incorrect), nor did I mention how parody accounts kill individual creativity. I must say that though there are many negative elements to social media, there are good things as well. I still have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and obviously, a blog. I am not negating the communication benefits and conveniences for individuals along with many other assets. However, our culture needs to be aware how much the media has affected us. Let us stop being controlled by the dictator.
Cliche possessions for [white] girls
Social media makes it seem as if every all girls (girls, not women or young ladies) want the same things. Diamonds and hearts and pink and princesses and flowers. Really, has anything changed since we were six? (It's almost as if the media wants us to be brainless and immature... hmmm....) In almost every "girl post," these items are promoted. It is as if the media dictator in the magical box in the sky is saying, "Every girl must want this. So I will say that every girl does want this." Well, I am fairly certain that not every girl wants diamond-studded Nike shoes. Nor does every girl want Nike shoes. Not every girl is obsessed with the Victoria's Secret brand Pink or Tiffany & Company (to be quite honest, I don't know what the latter is). Not every girl wears boots and leggings and sweaters and Vera Bradley backpacks and drinks Starbucks. Media consumers view these things as cliche jokes. Sure, it might be humorous to observe the trends in "white girls." But these observations are not jokes. They are standards. According to the media, only white girls drink Starbucks. Only white girls wear Pink yoga pants. This is wrong on so many levels; I will not even go in to racism and discrimination. The point is, the media is not making observations. The media is telling girls how to live.
Pointless rules for relationships
I recently came across a few "articles" (by articles, I mean poorly written lists written by nameless authors and found on websites such as Cha Cha and Buzzfeed) about relationships. They held titles such as, "Dump him if...." "Things not to tell your friends about your relationship" "Things you should tell your significant other everyday" (Remember when I said poorly written? The title said "everyday." That isn't a word. The correct term is "every day."). Some of the items made sense to me, but others I questioned. Maybe I should not comment on this subject, as I have never been in a romantic relationship myself, but I would just like to bring awareness to it. I think some of these rules are pointless and stupid. One such rule is that if someone is bored with the relationship it is time to break up. "I'm bored, time to find a new boyfriend." Sorry, that isn't how it works when you get married (Oh wait, divorce has skyrocketed. What if there is a correlation...?). It's also apparently bad to be single. According to these opinion-based "articles," if I did have a boyfriend, I would have to tell him he was hot everyday (I mean... every day), and he would have to say the same to me. When I see the word "hot" I wave a huge red flag. Do not even get me started on how I feel about that word (for most circumstances); trust me, I do not have good feelings for it. Call me beautiful instead; it is less objectifying. In addition, good morning texts, daily compliments, and cuddling are mandatory. Relationships, supposedly, must have these. Don't get me wrong, it's sweet when guys do this. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with these ideas about how relationships should work. However, I reiterate that these things are pushed onto young people through the media so much that rather than being good suggestions, they are turning into mandates. That is scary. There are many other pointless "rules" dealing with relationships but they tie more with...
Unrealistic, high expectations for boys
The standards for girls are cliche and annoying. The standards for guys, however, are far higher and extremely ridiculous. Guys are expected to look like Channing Tatum, Zac Efron, Dave Franco, Hunter Hayes.... the list could go on. They are also expected to be classy, athletic, sensitive, dress nicely, strong, always understand girls, musical, made of money, romantic, protective, tough, and gentlemanly. All of those things are good things. I wish all guys understood how girls think and dressed nicely. But not all do. Some of these traits, while desirable to both guys and girls, are simply not attainable. It is sad that some girls only desire what is not real. Another problem with these "standards" is that most boys are portrayed as having completely opposite traits of what girls want. I cannot think of a better example of this double standard than a picture I have seen multiple times. It is a collage depicting Kanye West opening car doors for and holding an umbrella over Kim Kardashian while she gets in the car. The caption reads, "A**hole to the world, gentleman to his girl... I like the way Kanye thinks." Do you now? Being a disrespectful jerk to everyone else is acceptable as long as the guy perfect for his girlfriend or wife? Absolutely not. His negative personality will prevail in his relationship eventually.
Once again: I desire boys to become gentlemen and treat women right. However, I see the media presenting, in some cases, contradictory and unattainable standards. There is the principle issue about not having double standards. But there is also the issue of misleading girls into thinking that if a guy does not reach the media's standards, he is not good enough. Again, the media as a dictator....
All this is to say that the magical media dictator in the sky sells standards that it wants to be culturally acceptable. A song that communicates the negativity of the media is "Selling the News" by Switchfoot. It addresses the fact that opinions are valued more than truth, money and ads and ratings mean more than truth, large corporations rule the ordinary people, and substance is no longer valued. Whatever sells is important. Whatever the masses believe is important. "The fact is fiction." If we wake up to see how the media is dictating our lives, perhaps we wouldn't succumb to its lies so easily. We would discern propaganda from truth. Please listen to that song; it is powerful and convicting in relation to this subject.
There are so many examples I did not mention in this post. I did not even include how many issues there are with the writers of these "articles" not receiving credit for their work, no matter how unprofessional (and grammatically incorrect), nor did I mention how parody accounts kill individual creativity. I must say that though there are many negative elements to social media, there are good things as well. I still have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and obviously, a blog. I am not negating the communication benefits and conveniences for individuals along with many other assets. However, our culture needs to be aware how much the media has affected us. Let us stop being controlled by the dictator.
Here is a link to "Selling the News" lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/switchfoot/sellingthenews.html
Buy the song on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/selling-the-news/id450987801?i=450987807
Or on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Vice-Verses-Switchfoot/dp/B005MW5G1E/ref=sr_1_2_title_1_mus?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1388035512&sr=1-2&keywords=switchfoot
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