As a digital communications major at Georgian Court I have taken several courses that are similar to this CM101 Intro to Mass Communications. After one year of being a digital communications major some of the similar courses I have taken are CM113 Visual and Digital Literacy and CM302 Mass Media and Social Issues. Those two classes each focused on different specific ideas of mass communication. CM113 Visual and Digital Literacy taught me about certain aspects of mass communication including how to understand media and the differences of each medium that the media is perceived in. For example, there are differences between reading an article in print and digitally reading an article online, just like how there are differences between watching a show on television and listening to a show on the radio. CM302 Mass Media and Social Issues went in the direction of teaching about some of the problems that come with or are caused by mass communications.
Certain mediums of mass communication such as the internet, television broadcast, radio, and print are all great ways of reaching mass amounts of people with news or other important information however nothing is perfect. The ability to reach a mass audience with a certain message is very powerful and sometimes those with the power can push any agenda that they want. This becomes an issue because of things like fake news, propaganda, and those in power distracting the population away from important things and replacing them with sports and trivial tabloids. The idea of mass communications to me is very complicated because of all the consequences that come with such a revolutionary thing for humanity.
Personally, I connect more with television as a way to get entertainment rather than use it as a mass communication tool to learn about the news. The medium that I use most to learn of the news is the internet. I use the internet everyday because it is the most convenient way for me to stay connected. Instead of having to turn on the television at a certain time of the day I am able to look up the news or connect with others at any time of the day. The internet also has created other mediums for mass communication such as social media.
Social media is a great tool to reach countless amounts of people in order to connect with others to share content and ideas. Even though social media can be a great tool, it can also be used negatively. Depending on the social media site and under certain circumstances the privacy of a person’s account could be in jeopardy. Typically, social media platforms make their users electronically sign and agree to their site’s terms and conditions, however the terms and conditions are so long that I doubt anybody actually takes the time to read and understand everything that they are agreeing to. Despite this I use and enjoy social media every day. Recently, I joined Twitter and I actually enjoy using Twitter because it is a good place for me to make a collection of my thoughts and opinions that I can share with my friends. Also, I am active on Instagram and use that platform as a way to connect with other people as well.
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