Weekend Media

During the weekend of September 7 -9, 2007, I encountered several different mediums. Media was everywhere this weekend, especially while driving. I definitely wasn’t surprised with the amount of media I saw and heard about. In just three days I saw a large amount, all in different ways. What I was surprised about was the amount of times I overheard people talking about the celebrity gossip, especially from younger and middle aged people. I didn’t think adults paid that much attention to celebrity gossip because most of the adults I know are more interested in the news and what’s going on around the world. The thing with younger kids that surprised me was that I had no idea that they would be that exposed to all that news. It’s crazy how some people can get the celebrity gossip everywhere so fast and so accessible that even kids of such a young age can read or hear about it. I find that what you hear depends a lot on where you are and if you're paying attention.

I don’t feel that my exposure to media is too much or too little. I think that when I want to know something I’ll look more into it and pay closer attention, but when it comes to something I’m not totally interested in, I tend to pay less attention. If you’re busy and distracted with something, things in the media won’t pop out at you unlike if you’re actually paying attention and listening.

I personally am more likely to listen to celebrity gossip then anything else in the media. I’ll notice Justin Timberlake or Britney Spears before I notice brand names or things happening around the world. For example my attention would be drawn to a conversation about Vanessa Hudgen’s nude pictures on the internet and her job with High School Musical or if Michael Vick is going to jail over his dog fights because that’s where my interests lie.



This weekend I was more affected by the things I watched on TV on Entertainment Tonight and the conversations about celebrities, but that doesn’t mean that the media I chose not to pay closer attention to didn’t affect me. Even though I didn’t pay much attention to brand names or music playing in stores, doesn’t mean I didn’t know they were going on around me. I could tell that I was affected because when I walked out of the store the song that was playing in the store was playing in my head. I may not have completely tuned into the music while in the store, but the fact that it was playing and that I knew the song well, still got me singing it even after I left the store.

I think media affects everyone in a different way and it all depends on who that person is.