Rarely a day will go by when I don’t use the media as a way to escape from reality. My addiction to the media goes far beyond what is necessary to function in the world. My focus on the media is primarily entertainment and I for one am not ashamed of it.
I think that different aspects of the media provide a great opportunity to escape from the realities of life. I personally use the internet, magazines and television for entertainment purposes. I check websites like people.com daily for the latest news about celebrities. Letting myself get involved in the glamorous lifestyles of the rich and famous makes me forget about my own problems and focus on theirs instead.
I also go to websites like overheardinnewyork.com, where people post the crazy things they have heard people say around New York City that day, which is always good for a laugh. I do the same with gossip and fashion magazines life US weekly and Cosmopolitan. Finally, I let myself become engrossed in the dramas of various television shows, like The Office and Grey’s Anatomy.
I use these mediums primarily to escape from doing things I don’t want to do, like homework or exercising. It’s very easy to put off the work for an hour and let myself get distracted by the media. It’s desirable to escape because it takes the pressure of even thinking about the things that you don’t want to do. You can just pretend your problems don’t exist and relax. Unless the work I am trying to escape from is very worrisome, it is easy for me to escape from my problems this way.
I feel like this form of escapism is probably something I shouldn’t do as much as I do, but I am now to the point where I don’t know how else to relax. Without this release stress would probably eat away at me night and day (I am an avid worrier). I often feel like there are more constructive things I could be doing with my time, but I don’t really see anything wrong with using the media to escape. The only time it truly becomes a problem is when people let themselves waste away in front of the television to the point where it stops them from living their lives. I think that as long as I can complete my work, see my friends and go to class, then my media escape is not unhealthy.
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I did not realize that you went to that website about what people have overheard other people saying in New York. It is almost like it is the audiences own little reality show. I was about to say that this is more "real" but is it? I think that people's memories remember what they want to hear sometimes, and they exaggerate it more to make it more outrageous or funny. However, what is great is that a lot of that stuff on there, I am sure, is not made up, which makes it all the better!
ReplyDeleteHow do we define when someone crosses the line into not living their lives? If they take care of their work and financial obligations but then spend every other waking moment consuming media are they wasting their life?
ReplyDeleteThe plural is media not mediums.