Media Diet Essay

          We can't escape from it, it's all around, watching and waiting. It's something we can't avoid, thought everyone experiences it on a daily basis, we are not fully of it, we've learned to look a it as something natural and as a part of our lives. And that something is media, all kinds of media for that matter. For instance, people don't realize all the places that music is found in until they actually stop and think about it. Music is everywhere, even when we dont notice it. When we go grocery shopping, behind all the other sounds, there is always music in the background, also in the doctors office and even public restrooms. And talk about combining sources of media, every show and movie out there includes at least one song if not more.
           Lately, I've realized that music is the kind of media that is most important in my life. I listen to music all the time and someties I do it without thinking about it, I just automatically turn on the radio. I listen to music on my way to school, on my way home, and everywhere else I go. My favorite aspect about music is that I can always find the perfect songs that fits my mood. But moreover, I have also found that when I am watching a movie that includes a song that I like, I end up putting more attention to the lyrics of the song than to what is actually happening in the movie. I did notice this before until I started paying more attention to how I interact and respond to media, and most importantly, how it affects me.
           There are many aspects to music, I have found that music can do different things for me, it can relax me, get me pumped, all depends on what song I choose to listen. In other words, while songs can match your mood, songs also influence it. Sometimes if I hear a sad song, for example, "What hurts the most" by Rascal Flats, I can't help to feel a bit sad when I listen to it, because the whole mood of the songs is sad, with its lyrics and music. On the other hand, music can also be a distraction for me, for example, I can't do homework or study with music on because music keeps me from concentrating. What is interesting is that this only happens with music, I don't mind the TV being on when I'm doing homework, in fact I can read and focus on the book with the TV on. This proves how music is not only the most important sort of media in my life, but also the most influential.
          When I listen to music, this applies mostly to the radio, I expect them to play songs that I like. If you think about it, when it comes to music, we have as much influence on it as it has on us. If we don't like a song on the radio, we change the station, on Pandora, we click the thumbs down icon, ipods, we only download the songs we want, we can even vote on songs thanks to shows like Top 20 Countdown on VH1 and the Grammy Awards. Those are ways in which we can obtain what we want from the media, in this case music.
           There have definetely been changes on how I react and experience music over the years, and I have learned ways in which it affects me so I can make the best of it and don't let it influence too much. I don't think I would make any changes at the moment with this kind of media. Other sources of media? well that's another story.