Introduction

Greetings!
My name is Rebecca Heath. I am a first year student at Wilfred Laurier University, in the Journalism program.
This blog is going to be discussing the various media outlets used in current society, and how much television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and many other forms affect us in our everyday lives. It may not seem like television could affect us, or that a billboard advertising a beauty product could make a young girl buy it. However, the media is a very powerful tool, and it has gained the power to alter lives, with positive and negative effects on those closely attuned to it.
Through this blog, I will reveal how much the media has affected people. As technology has grown, so has the media, and with it has come great influence. If you take a moment to reflect, think on how many young girls become bulimics because of the way that women are portrayed in the media: flawless, beautiful. In reality, these are just air-brushed images. What started out as a simple commercial for makeup or some other beauty product has become an epidemic of self-loathing and suffering.
The media has the power to change people's lives, either negatively or positively.
I first became interested in the idea of media affecting lives because I, too, saw the beautiful pictures of celebrities and looked at myself, hating how I wasn't as thin as those other women, and that I didn't have flawless skin. My stepmother was the one who told me that those pictures are nothing more than an illusion. In reality, those women aren't that thin, and their skin isn't perfect. As I thought on it, I realized that, through a simple picture, my way of thinking about myself had been changed. What else could the media do to me if I let myself be drawn in by it?
This blog is different from other people's because they usually focus on how one aspect of the media affects humans, while I am trying to show how all forms of media can change a person's perspective. Hopefully this will bring to light how much television and other aspects of the media are manipulating us to make sure we buy a certain product.