WCC COMM 101 reflective project #1 feedback LUTHER

1. COMM 101: UNDERSTANDING MASS MEDIA
PROJECT #1
• Avoid ALL direct and indirect contact with
MASS MEDIA MESSAGES sent/received via the
7 mass media channels for one 24-hour period:
• Print
• Recordings
• Cinema/Film
• Radio
• Television
• Internet/Video Games
• Mobile

2. YOU THEN REPORT ON THESE 4 AREAS:
• (A) The media contacts you could not avoid and why
• (B) Those you avoided but missed having in your life
• (C) Substitute activities you used to fill non-media time
• (D) Personal conclusions about the role of mass media
in your daily life
COMM 101: UNDERSTANDING MASS MEDIA
PROJECT #1

3. REMEMBER THE DEFINITION OF “MASS MEDIA”:
• “Mass Media” channels always use technology of
some kind to deliver the SAME message to a great
number of people at widely separated points who
typically don’t know each other.
• This only applies to mass media MESSAGES – you
may still engage in personal communication via
technology also used for MASS MEDIA (phone
calls, texting, emails, etc.) – just be aware when
interpersonal communication slips into mass
communication and you’re receiving “mass media”
messages.
COMM 101: UNDERSTANDING MASS MEDIA
PROJECT #1

4. • WORK: Stores, Restaurants, Bars, etc.
• SCHOOL: Textbooks, homework, etc.
• TO BE WITH OTHERS: Family time, friend
time, etc.
• GOING THROUGH EVERYDAY LIFE: Gas
pumps, GPS, etc.
• BECAUSE “I’M ADDICTED”
(A) The media contacts you could NOT avoid and why:
COMM 101: UNDERSTANDING MASS MEDIA
PROJECT #1

5. (B) Those you avoided but missed having in your life
• STAYING CONNECTED: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,
Snapchat, email, etc.
• COMMUTING: Driving/riding without music,
• WORKING OUT: Music as a motivator
• INFORMATION: Immediately knowing something
• DISTRACTION: Media while doing something else
(homework, laundry, chores, etc.
• AVOID BOREDOM: Media while waiting, etc.
• SLEEP AID: Media to go to sleep, help sleep, and stay
asleep
COMM 101: UNDERSTANDING MASS MEDIA
PROJECT #1

6. (C) Substitute activities you used to fill non-media time
• TIME WITH FAMILY, FRIENDS, & PETS (often
outside)
• MAKING MEDIA (ALL KINDS)
• SLEEPING/NAPPING
• WORKING OUT
• CLEANING ROOM/CHORES
• CATCHING UP WITH HOMEWORK
COMM 101: UNDERSTANDING MASS MEDIA
PROJECT #1

7. (D) Personal conclusions:
What did you all discover
about yourselves and your
relationship with mass
media?
COMM 101: UNDERSTANDING MASS MEDIA
PROJECT #1

8. (D) Personal conclusions: What did you all discover about
yourselves and your relationship with mass media?
• “Although challenging, I willingly avoided a great deal of mass
media, such as things on the internet, what I didn’t realize though
is that even sometimes the interpersonal communication that I
do involve myself in, has a lot of mass media factors within it”
• “So much in the world moves so fast, I discovered that if you miss
one day, you miss a lot.”
• “Thinking about my personal dependence on mass media, I would
say that I usually subconsciously make the choice to engage with
mass media.”
COMM 101: UNDERSTANDING MASS MEDIA
PROJECT #1

9. COMM 101: UNDERSTANDING MASS MEDIA
PROJECT #1
• “I definitely loved being in the moment and communicating with actual
human beings instead of a screen.”
• “Consuming the media I do helps get through life as I deal with depression
and other forms of social anxiety and mental illness…It also made me realize
that mass media isn't something we just consume but it helps move through
our society and find our place within it…The media I consumed has given
many of my closest friends that I have today and introduced me to a
community where I can express myself with my passions with people who
think like do”
• “While I spent time with my friend I realized that mass media does, in some
way, bond people together. If we played a game we would have had a better
time. I know people say that we lack face-to-face communication these days,
but I see that mass media actually gives us something to talk about and bond
(or argue) over.”
(D) Personal conclusions: What did you all discover about
yourselves and your relationship with mass media?

10. COMM 101: UNDERSTANDING MASS MEDIA
PROJECT #1
• “Mass Media is everywhere, there is no way to avoid it unless you
are living in the wilderness like an animal…I believe has invaded
our lives and literally took over the way we function as humans.”
• I think it’s a good cleanse to maybe get away from time to time. It’s
just something you can’t live without and that’s if you want to be a
normal human citizen.
• “although mass media can help you learn, cope, escape reality,
and/or talk with friend’s people will still use it to lead u astray. That
is because anything that can be used can be abused and in mass
media people do it all the time to manipulate the populace for
what they desire.”
(D) Personal conclusions: What did you all discover about
yourselves and your relationship with mass media?

11. COMM 101: UNDERSTANDING MASS MEDIA
PROJECT #1
• “(One) conclusion, one that I believe everyone needs reminding of,
is how much fun it can be to just sit around with your friends to
talk, joke around and maybe get lost in a children's board game
for an extended amount of time.”
• “It really opened up my mind and felt as if I was living in another
time. It felt good and relaxing to not be connected with everyone
all the time.”
• “Life seemed so different without it. Everything seemed so
different. I was actually able to listen to the sounds of the world
around me. I never really took in to consideration how much the
earth sounds different without listening to music or watching
youtube or playing video games during the times I am used too.”
(D) Personal conclusions: What did you all discover about
yourselves and your relationship with mass media?

12. COMM 101: UNDERSTANDING MASS MEDIA
PROJECT #1
• “It seems nearly impossible to avoid mass media
channels…However, it can be done in moderation by putting your
best interests into action. Instead of looking up videos of pets on
YouTube, why not adopt one? Find yourself looking up pictures of
nature? Why not checkout a local park and experience it for
yourself first-hand? The role of mass media is to spread some
type of message or propaganda to a wide audience of people who
do not know each other. We can use mass media messages to
connect with one another by developing shared interests but we
can also use these interests to start a protest, a fan base, a get-
together, etc.”
(D) Personal conclusions: What did you all discover about
yourselves and your relationship with mass media?

13. •BOTH USING AND AVOIDING MASS
MEDIA ALLOWS US TO BOND WITH
OTHERS
•BUT CONSUMING MASS MEDIA ALSO
HELPS US BE ALONE
•MASS MEDIA IS A MAJOR PART OF OUR
SOCIAL, WORK, AND EDUCATIONAL LIVES
– WE NEED IT TO FULLY PARTICIPATE AND
BE PRODUCTIVE…IN OTHER WORDS, WE
NEED IT “TO LIVE”
PROJECT #1 OVERVIEW POINTS

14. • MASS MEDIA TECHNOLOGY INEVITABLY IMPACTS
OUR SENSE OF PERSONAL FREEDOM AND
RESPONSIBILITY IN DIFFERENT WAYS; WE EITHER
ACTIVELY CONTROL IT OR FEEL AS THOUGH IT’S
CONTROLLING US…SOMETIMES BOTH AT THE SAME
TIME!
• ANYTHING WE SPEND THIS MUCH TIME WITH
DESERVES OUR COLLECTIVE ATTENTION AND
SCRUTINY SO WE CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND ITS
ROLE IN YOUR OWN LIFE AND THE WORLD AROUND
YOU…
• BUT MEDIA DOES NOTHING TO US BY ITSELF…
PROJECT #1 OVERVIEW POINTS

15. SO WHILE YOU’RE USING MASS MEDIA NEVER FORGET THAT MASS
MEDIA IS ALSO USING YOU…