THREE SEMESTER REVIEW

I have changed a lot throughout the college experience as the first year of college was completely online then transitioned into in-person for a sophomore year all during the pandemic. Throughout my scholar’s experience, I have changed in the way that I look at the news and view what is going on in the world. Before joining the scholar’s program I was up to date on the news in the world, but not on how it was presented in different forms and the bias that one could develop based on how they get their information. After 3 semesters of the scholar's experience, I feel that I consume media in a more conscious way, paying attention to how what is on my feed and how information is presented influences the things that I do and the way that I look at events going on in the world. The biggest influence that scholars had on me was being able to constructively look at how media impacts the world and how that applies to the work I will be doing in public health in my future career.

 

The program's full title of Media, Self, and Society is fitting for the content as media has a large everyday impact on both the individual and how one acts. The society part is fitting as well as how populations act within society and what people think about events going on in the world based on the media that is consumed and the bias presented. Media has an everyday role in my life as I feel like I am consuming content for a large majority of the day. I am a big consumer of media through tik toks, Instagram, and podcasts which have had an influence on the way I view the world and the way that I act. Tik toks and Instagram influence my everyday life as I will often get ideas for meals, how to dress, nails, or other micro influences from these platforms, which is a way that media has had an effect on my everyday life. Media’s larger role in my life and how I view society comes from the way that I consume news, which after 3 semesters in Media Scholars has shifted. I tend to consume my news through social media and podcasts, but am now aware of the way bias and false information can be portrayed through these platforms. If there is an issue that I care about or think is important that is going on in the world, I tend to look for other sources and fact check to educate myself now, because I have learned how easy it is to spread misinformation.

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There are many connections that can be made between public health and media, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Media is important to portray public health issues because it is the main form of communication that informs populations about health issues going on in their communities. It is important that media is utilized correctly and the information shared is accurate, as it is a matter of people’s health in the information that is being shared.