While definitions of “the good life” vary from person to person, most will agree happiness is something sought by each of us. Happiness generally results from participating in activities we enjoy. How many things do you do throughout the course of your day you really enjoy? Before you answer that question, think about the activities we engage with on a daily basis. Most would agree our days consist of maintenance activities, work, school, eating, and media consumption. In fact, it is reported that the average 18 year olds spends approximately 6 hours a day in contact with some form of media.
Growing up as a latch key child, I spent many hours after school watching television. I had my regular afternoon diet of Happy Days, Three’s Company and Laverne & Shirley. I grew up with a desire to be like those I watched on television. They were funny, interesting and – most importantly- predictable. What motivated me to watch the shows was the fact I always knew what was going to happen. My life was chaotic, but my stories were not. I remember challenging myself as a viewer to see if I could predict the way the show would end. Now matter what happened during the day, at least I could predict what would happen with Laverne or the Fonze. In retrospect it is both sad and funny that I found such a sense of accomplishment in being able to determine, quite accurately, how my shows would end.
The most ignored and overlooked aspects of my daily television diet were the commercials. I didn’t watch for the advertisements, but they were there. I imagine I’ve viewed tens of thousand of ads in my younger years. But, the truth of the matter is that I looked to the advertisements to show me what products were hip and cool. This was really important for me because I moved quite a bit growing up. It’s hard to always be the new kid. I needed to know, as a matter of social survival, what jeans to wear if I wanted to fit in with my peers. As much as adults lament advertisements, I celebrate them. In your teen years, you want to fit in. You want to be liked. In order to do this more easily, all you need to do is look at what is advertised on television and in magazines. It will tell you what is in style. In retrospect, the real issue wasn’t the advertisements; the issue was I, like most of my peers, consumed them mindlessly. If the television or the magazines said a product was to be used, tried, eaten or worn – I wanted it. Sadly, because of my parents’ guilt, I usually got what I wanted.
As I’ve matured, I realize I still want those things I see on television -the nice car, the big house, the granite kitchen counter tops. However, nowadays it’s not just the advertisements telling me how to fit in; it is the show themselves. Product placements have become so commonplace we simply don’t notice them anymore. The advertisements are dangerous to us mostly because we don’t teach with them, we think we should ignore them, and (worse of all) we think they do not influence us.
Everyone consumes media for different reasons. As we mature, our tastes change. Today, unlike 25 years ago, technology provides so many choices I find myself overwhelmed. There was something comforting in only have four channels to choose from as a kid. The predictability I once craved in my media environment as a child isn’t really there anymore. If you had asked me why I watched my shows years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you, but today I can. I watched them because they made me happy. I enjoyed watching them. Today, I wonder if I had been taught to view more mindfully or if I had been more media literate, if I would have spent less time watching. My guess is probably not. However, I may have derived more pleasure from viewing. As adolescent “happy” moments rarely occurred except when I consumed media, in my case, specifically when I watched television.
What motivates young people to consume television, the Internet and video-games today? Are we so different from our children?
I’m not lamenting the “good old days”, but I am pointing to something in our media environment. Viewing habits and patterns have changed. When it comes to advertisement consumption, we typically didn’t seek it out when we watched. However, millions of Youtube viewers chose to click on advertisements because they WANT to watch them. A simple look at the top most viewed advertisements on Youtube reveals that millions of people are clicking and watching. While many decry the horrors of the mass media, I celebrate it. I think we should consume. The problem I have is that it appears too much consumption happens mindlessly. We use to escape life, not to participate fully.
Awareness requires both the ability to “see” aspects of our environment as well as the motivation to actively engage with one’s surroundings. The study of human communication - from message creation to message interpretation – provides one of the most powerful opportunities for understanding how messages both subtle and profound effect our attitudes, beliefs and values. In fact, it is through the examination of our environments we come to greater self – awareness. If we want to achieve an greater appreciation for who we are as individuals, we must stop and think. Much of what we consume is automatically processed. Fixed action patterns are a necessary component of human information processing behaviors. In order to effective manage our daily lives, we must take cognitive shortcuts. Unfortunately, it seems as if far too much time is spent in a mindless state of consumption.
We need to teach mindful media consumption.
Join me over the course of the 2010-2011 academic year to read about how I’m using media to engage students, create a better quality of life for my students, and encourage media mindfulness.
Interesting idea..but does media make us happier? I think it does. I think today its much more unpredictable. Maybe even more exciting. You gave me a few things to think about. Thanks.
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