It's what you know that counts...

Have you ever wondered what the world would be like without the media’s conflicting influences? Would it be naked and boring or would it actually be a better place all together? No matter how much we question this, the media’s influences is a reality that we all have to face at some stage in our lives, whether it is a negative or positive impact, it is inevitable.
As individuals we choose how we want to portray ourselves to the world, from the clothes we wear to the subjects we choose to study, it all boils down to who we want to be in this world. As we choose the fashions we like from the millions of unique other choices we are given, we should be able to do the same with the media we are influenced by. This, however, does not always occur the way we want it to or as easily as it is to pick a shirt off a clothes line to wear for the day. The media is a complex and varied industry which has powerful influences that are not always controllable. This is where I, Tegan Johnson, aim to be of service to the many readers that will hopefully read this blog.
The media influences people through many different devices, such as television, magazines, internet, newspapers, radio and even Facebook, Twitter and other blogs. It is easy to become lost among the many stereotypes that the media sends out to manipulate and persuade the minds of the world. To be lost in today’s society cannot be a good thing, we need to learn how to filter through the messages that the media around us sends to our minds and be able to criticise successfully and thus find out our own self image and unique style of thinking, dressing, acting, and living.
In Journalism first year, we are taught about media and its powerful influences, it is an extremely crucial lesson in life to know what happens around us especially what is having an impact on our lives often without us even being aware of it. Journalism has taught us to be wary and to criticise and assess the message s which the media sends out to us through its disguised devices of mass influence. I believe that we, as young South Africans have the ability to know what we want and need and what is necessary for us, sometimes we need a little help though and I hope to be of some assistance to you in your decision making process.
Now, I am not a hugely intellectual person, I do not have degrees from various high class universities, I am not going to sit here and preach to you about what to believe and what not to believe. All I can do is stick to what I know, and I hope that at least something that I say will, in some way, keep you away from being lost.