Ashton Kutcher: Cheater or Hardworking Man?

Ashton Kutcher has been accused of infidelity many times. Through all the accusations over the years, he and his wife of six years, Demi Moore, have managed to stay together. Despite their 26-year age difference, the couple’s bond seemed to withhold just about anything. That was until September, when a 22-year-old woman named Sara Leal came forward claiming she had an affair with Ashton Kutcher, which lasted one night. She said Ashton told her he was separated from his wife on the night of the alleged affair. 

After attempting to reconcile and undergoing marriage counseling, this allegation proved to be too much for Demi Moore, resulting in her filing for divorce on November 17^th. She told the press, “It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I end my marriage with Ashton.” She also said, “As a woman, a mother and a wife there are certain values and vows that I hold sacred, and it is in this spirit that I have chosen to move forward with my life. This is a trying time for me and my family, and so I would ask for the same compassion and privacy that you would give to anyone going through a similar situation.”

Ashton is being portrayed in a very negative light right now. He is in the public eye for partying too much and not wearing his wedding ring while the divorce is underway. He was seen flirting with co-star Lea Michele at the premier of their movie New Year’s Eve and seen partying with many girls at local bars in his hometown of Iowa City over Thanksgiving. Although the main focus is on Ashton, Demi has also been seen out and about with several “mystery men.”

Ashton Kutcher needs help to be shown in a positive light, the opposite of how the press is depicting him right now. He is under the microscope due to his hurtful actions, and it needs to be shown and proven that Ashton is a good man. This can be done through emphasizing Ashton’s good qualities.

He is a hard working, dedicated man. He has landed the leading role on Two and a Half Men, replacing Charlie Sheen, and also in the newly released movie New Year’s Eve. Ashton is truly devoted to his career. He began acting as a teenager and has made a name for himself in the industry. Not only is he successful, but also talented. For years has made America fall in love with him.

Ashton Kutcher is no stranger to charity work. He is a supporter of ten charities and foundations, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Habitat for Humanity. In 2008 he announced he would donate one dollar to the Habitat for Humanity for the first 50,000 people to add him on Myspace. Also in 2008 he spent a week building homes for the disadvantaged in Central America. Ashton and Demi created the DNA Foundation, which raises awareness about child sex slavery. The foundation’s goal is to eliminate child sexy slavery and change cultural stereotypes. The foundation also offers rehabilitation. This shows Ashton is helping the world with the large amount of money and resources he has. He is a good man, despite what the press says.

Ashton proved he truly cared about Demi Moore through his recent tweet stating, “I will forever cherish the time I spent with Demi. Marriage is one of the most difficult things in the world and unfortunately sometimes they fail.” This shows he genuinely loved Demi, and the years he spent married to her.

A way this campaign could backfire, making Ashton’s words seem empty, would be if Sara Leal kept talking to the press. If she continues to share details about her and Ashton’s one-night-stand together, this will make it hard for Ashton to repair his image. Another way the campaign could backfire is if more mistresses were to come forward. This wouldn’t be the first time America has seen this happen, referring to Tiger Woods’ story of  infidelity. If more women come forward claiming to have had affairs with Ashton, he will be outnumbered. If these instances were to occur, Ashton will have a hard time getting out of the hole he has dug himself.

 

 

 

Read more about Ashton and Demi’s divorce:

http://www.eonline.com/news/demi_moore_divorcing_ashton_kutcher/275715#ixzz1fuufDLvq

http://www.examiner.com/tv-in-oakland/demi-moore-divorce-ashton-kutcher-spotted-without-ring-kabbalah-bracelet

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/07/ashton-kutcher-and-demi-moore-awkward-run-in_n_1133689.html

http://www.tmz.com/2011/11/17/demi-moore-divorce-ashton-kutcher/#.TuBFrxwz7Ng

Read more about Ashton’s charity work:

http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/15-ashton-kutcher

“Operation Hackerazzi”

Invasion of privacy is the intrusion into the personal life of another, without just cause, which can give the person whose privacy has been invaded the right to bring a lawsuit. According to a legal dictionary, celebrities are not protected in most situations because they have placed themselves in the public eye, therefore causing everything they do to be considered newsworthy.  Although public figures, celebrities do have protection against four common torts, also known as wrongful acts.

The first wrongful act is appropriation. This is the use of a person’s name or identity for trading purposes without consent. The second tort is intrusion. This is a physical, electronic, or mechanical intrusion into someone’s private space. This is an information gathering, not publication act. The wrong occurs at the time of the intrusion, with no publication being necessary. The third unlawful act is public disclosure of embarrassing private facts. This is the publication of newsworthy, private facts about an individual that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. The fourth tort is false light. This is the publication of false, highly offensive information about an individual.

Scarlett Johansson filed for an invasion of privacy in September when nude photos intended for her ex-husband, Ryan Reynolds, leaked on the Internet. This is a violation of all four torts. Her name and pictures were used without her consent, someone hacked into her computer and gathered information, the embarrassing pictures were then published, and they were considered highly offensive information about her.

The leak of these pictures is the result of a man named Christopher Chaney from Jacksonville, Florida. He was arrested after a yearlong investigation of celebrity hacking known as “Operation Hackerazzi.” He is being accused of going through celebrity’s email accounts after figuring out their passwords, then forwarding their messages to his own email account. According to U.S. authorities, he offered the information and images found in these celebrity’s emails to celebrity blog sites. Scarlett Johansson’s lawyers have threatened to take legal action against these blog sites for posting the pictures. Almost all the sites took down the pictures immediately after.

Chaney is facing 26 charges including unauthorized access to a computer and wiretapping. He pleaded ‘not guilty’ in a California court. If convicted, he may face up to 121 years in prison. His trial is set for December 27^th. The judge has set bail at $110,000 and ordered he wear an electronic tag.

Christopher Chaney

Scarlett Johansson is not the only victim of this man. There are 50 alleged victims, including actresses Mila Kunis and Jessica Alba. The hacking of celebrity’s private information is seen very often. People thrive off of reading about the people our society puts on pedestals. This gives sick men like Christopher Chaney the motive to invade their privacy and make their personal things public. People sometimes forget celebrities are human beings too and often treat them as something to make money off of. If the hacking of celebrities continues to occur, stricter laws are most likely going to be created and more thoroughly enforced. Celebrities have the money and power to see that criminals such as Christopher Chaney are brought to justice. With the chance of facing prison time of up to 121 years, hackers such as Chaney should think about weighing the costs vs. benefits before ever messing with a celebrity again.

Heaven is for Real

A book that has made a significant difference in my life is “Heaven is for Real.” It is a Christian non-fiction memoir about a three-year-old boy named Colton who was rushed to the hospital into emergency surgery due to a burst appendix. When Colton woke up after surgery, he recalled an amazing experience. He had died and gone to heaven.

In heaven he met his great-grandfather, John the Baptist, the biblical figure Sampson, and Jesus. Colton described Jesus as having eyes that were “sort of sea-blue and they seemed to sparkle.” When Colton’s mother asked him if he remembered the hospital he replied, “Yes Mommy, I remember, that’s where the angels sang to me.” When asked what the angels sang to him, Colton informed his mother, “Well, they sang ‘Jesus Loves Me’ and ‘Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho,’ I asked them to sing ‘We Will We Will Rock You,’ but they wouldn’t sing that.” His parents were in disbelief. They asked him to describe the angels and he said, “One of them looked like Grandpa Dennis, but it wasn’t him, ‘cause Grandpa Dennis has glasses. Dad, Jesus had the angels sing to me because I was scared. They made me feel better.” Colton had never met his Grandpa Dennis, he died thirty years before Colton was born. Just as Colton’s parents were ready to believe it was all some crazy dream he had, Colton told his parent’s he went up out of his body and was looking down and could see the doctor working on his body. He saw his father in a little room by himself praying, and his mother in a different room praying and talking on the phone.

This book came to my attention because on August 20, four of my close friends passed away in a car accident. The driver was my best friend and I was having a very hard time coping with this. My mom and friend suggested I read this book because it may help give me a new perspective. I went to Target that night and bought the book. It turned out to be an amazing story and gave me comfort knowing my friends are okay and in a safe place. Although people may be skeptical of his story, how I was raised and what I believe in, there is no way Colton’s story his fictional.

This book impacted my life because I feel better about where my friends are. I find comfort in knowing there is a place to go after you die and this book helped me through a tough time. After reading this book my mom gave me the book “The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven.” I am going to read that book next. In a way I suppose “Heaven is for Real” influenced my reading because I like reading other stories like it now. I still love reading fictional suspense stories, but stories like Colton’s are starting to be added to my bookshelf. Colton’s story gave me peace of mind; I recommend it to all.

Maybe She’s Born With it, Maybe it’s Maybelline

An advertising campaign that I have seen on television, in magazines, on billboards, and on the Internet is Maybelline New York Mascara. This company uses multimedia campaigns to reach their target audience, which are women of almost all ages including teenagers and older women. These women are targeted because girls start wearing make-up during their teenage years and continue with age. I think the company does a successful job of reaching these women because every woman wants beautiful, long eyelashes. The ad shows a woman, usually a celebrity, with gorgeous eyelashes. These eyelashes make her eyes stand out and her face look more feminine. This is very appealing to women. 

Through using a celebrity on commercials Maybelline is using the “Famous person testimonial” appeal. By using this strategy, they are convincing consumers they’re eyelashes can look like these well-known, attractive celebrities. The ad uses words like “bolder” and “flirtier” to describe the look of your new eyelashes if you use their product. This is using the “hidden fear” appeal. A lot of women are insecure about their looks and afraid to put themselves out there. If they think by simply buying mascara they will look and become more bold and flirty, chances are they will most likely take that risk.

While I was watching television the Maybelline commercial came on numerous times. The commercial was about thirty seconds long but did a great job of advertising their product, appealing to their consumers, and used strategies that influence consumers. While flipping through Cosmopolitan magazine I came across two Maybelline ads back to back. I didn’t really notice the first ad and turned the page but when I saw the same ad again just with slightly different colors, I had to take a second look. This made me stop and read the advertisement. Placing two ads back to back was very smart. It not only caught my attention, but also caused me to compare the two ads and read them both. Once Maybelline has your attention they use their appealing words and pictures to reel you in.

Maybelline also has ads on Billboards in New York City. This is a great place to advertise because thousands of women walk through the city everyday and will see the ads. They also appear online as banners all around various websites. At first I didn’t notice the ad but it’s flashy colors and familiarity made me take a closer look.

The catch phrase for the company is, “Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline.” This gives the idea that your eyelashes will look natural and effortless. This is also very appealing to women because we all want to be naturally beautiful. If we can find mascara that will help us look this way, we’ll surely use it.

This jingle is short and sung in a catchy way that it is almost impossible not to get stuck in your head especially if the commercial appears various times while you’re watching television. Once again, Maybelline has you thinking about their product even after the ad or commercial is gone. I think Maybelline does a great job of effectively reaching their target audience. After sitting down and analyzing Maybelline and their mascara, I know I want to try it.

No Body is Perfect

 

I found “Killing Us Softly 4” to be very shocking and disturbing. I had little knowledge of how badly women were being subjected. Hearing that four or five women are literally taken apart and put together on a computer to make one perfect woman for ad is sickening. The reason no one looks like that one perfect woman is because she doesn’t exist and she shouldn’t. No one is perfect and yet we never see an ad anymore that doesn’t contain a “beautiful” woman that hasn’t been photo shopped. Even though these images aren’t real, women and young girls compare themselves to the women in these ads everyday. This causes these girls to get the message that they are not good enough or not pretty, when if fact everyone is beautiful in their own way.

 

These ads give the message that black women are only pretty if they have Caucasian features. They are often put into ads involving jungles or exotic scenery. This is wrong. Black women are beautiful, they shouldn’t have to pretend to be something they’re not. White women are not the only race that is beautiful, and yet ads most frequently show young, thin, white girls with blonde hair and blue eyes as the typical beautiful girl. It’s almost as though if you’re not conventionally beautiful, you’re an object of ridicule.

 

This false advertising has resulted in an increase of cosmetic surgery, There are 11.7 million cosmetic procedures being performed a year and that number is continuing to increase. Depression, eating disorders, and low self-esteem rates are also increasing due to these ads putting negative thoughts into girls’ minds. Sizes such as 0 and 00 should not exist. Zero is not a number. It’s nonexistent. This gives the idea that if you’re waist is that small it doesn’t exist. That’s not a healthy message to be giving young girls. They shouldn’t go on diets or try to strive to be size zero.

 

Another negative factor adding to the spike in eating disorders are stars such as Lady Gaga and Kate Moss, whom young girls look up to, giving bad messages. Lady Gaga once said, “It’s all about starvation, pop stars don’t eat.” This is a horrible thing to say because pop stars are people and all people have to eat. Kate Moss once said, “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” This is another horrible message to give to young girls that are developing and very impressionable.

 

Sex is also commonly seen in advertisements. Women are either nude or barely dressed and appear in vulnerable positions. They are also dressed to look young and innocent. Girls learn young that sexualized behavior is rewarded by society through these ads. High heels are now available for babies. Seven year olds are beginning to wear thongs and padded bras. Toddlers are seen wearing shirts that say, “PIMP Squad.” This is very disturbing. Babies and young girls should be able grow and develop without so much pressure from society to live up to a certain image.

 

How women are portrayed in ads is the opposite of how men are being portrayed. If a man is half dressed he is in a position that makes him look masculine and strong, not weak and vulnerable. It is not fair that women are being subjected like this. This needs to change. Women need to stop staying silent, which is another way they are appearing in ads; covering their mouths. Women stand to stand up for themselves and their rights and say enough is enough. We are no longer going to subject ourselves to the ridicule of society. We are going to be who we are whether it’s socially acceptable or not.

 

Free Marketing, What’s the Catch?

There really is no catch when it comes to businesses using social networking sites to market their products. I found an article that discusses how businesses use free social media sites such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, LinkedIn, and blogs to generate business. They use these social networking sites for four aspects: spreading the word, getting friends, fans, and new business, marketing and communication. These four aspects prove to not only generate new business, but ultimately help a company create successful products.

Spreading the word is the use of these social networking sites to inform potential customers of their company and products. Through these sites they can give detailed information about the product and even provide pictures. They can also give information about their company and employees, once again providing pictures to give interested consumers the comforting idea of putting a face to a product or company.

Businesses use social networking sites to get friends, fans, and new businesses by providing a way for people to connect with their company and product. On Facebook people will have the option to “friend request” the company, or “like” their product. On Twitter you can follow the company to get updates on products and offers. This is getting people involved because once businesses secure a “friendship” or “follower” on these sites, they can then send out more information about their company and product. Through the excess information people are getting, they will be more willing or interested to try a product, thus buying it. The article used the phrase “ripple-effect” to describe how getting fans and friends will result in new business.

Another way businesses benefit from the use of social networking sites is through marketing. Companies can create Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter pages for their products. Since social networking sites are free of charge, companies get to market and advertise their product completely free. Another way companies can use social networking sites to market their products is placing ads on the homepage of sites like Facebook. This way however is not free. The company would have to pay for their ad to appear when Facebook users are checking their page.

The fourth way a business uses social networking sites is communication. People can “like” a Facebook page and comment on the “wall” giving their personal input and opinion on the product. This gives the company feedback so they can alter and edit both their product and page to satisfy customers’ needs and demands. Communication is the key for a successful anything in our society; relationships, businesses, education, and so on. Through using social networking sites, businesses are providing open, easy, and free communication for their customers. They can directly talk with them, which is a huge advantage for a business.

I think businesses’ idea to use social networking sites is genius. It is literally free marketing that allows for feedback and the actual liking of a product on Facebook. Ellen Degeneres tweeted about a flash mob here at Towson. She said everyone needed to dress in a tiger costume and go to the West Village campus. Although it was raining, thousands of students rushed over to the west side of campus with the hopes of being her TV show. This is an example of how Ellen Degeneres used a social networking site to promote not only her show, but Towson University too. The amount of people that responded and how quickly they did was amazing. This goes to show how social networking sites are paving the way for a new kind of marketing.

E! News : Entertainment News

A news program that advertises a website dedicated to their show is E! News. The show and website are both dedicated to informing the world about what’s going on in celebrities’ lives. E actually has its own channel that features many reality TV shows and popular movies. The segment E! News airs on this channel every weeknight at 7:00 and 11:30PM. Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic, the two most famous faces of E!. host the show and give the world its celebrity news.

The show tells us who’s dating who, what stars were scene together, the latest scandals, and what’s going on in the lives of celebrities. The most popular and replayed story currently is Kim Kardashian, a famous reality TV star, and Kris Humphrey, a NJ Nets basketball player’s, divorce. E! News also covers huge events such as the red carpets at the Oscars, MTV Music Awards, Grammy’s, and virtually any other huge event in Hollywood.

The site is organized with a large picture of Ryan Seacrest and Guiliana Rancic at the top including the details of when their show airs. Above their picture is an organized catalogue of choices to click on with drop down menus. Some choices include photos, videos, fashion police, red carpet, movies, and many more. While sitting on the site for a few moments without touching anything, a video popped up to the left of the picture of Seacrest and Rancic. The video clip is a small segment of information about celebrities. I tried to pause the video and found that I couldn’t. I was being forced to watch whatever the video played.

When you scroll down the site you are informed of what interesting, juicy, gossip will be on tonight’s segment. There are also many polls, videos, links, and stories to click on. A link for E! News’ blogs, twitter, and pictures is also included. E! News not only uses a website to advertise, but social media trends such as blogging and twitter. The site is designed with a cool background that looks like a city but isn’t a clear picture. Of course red, E!’s signature color appears frequently on the site page. Many ads also frequently occur on the page. They are at the top and side of the site.

The functionality of this site is for entertainment and news. The entertainment is purely up to the audience; what they find enjoyable. The surveys blogs, videos, and pictures are also entertainment. The stories about celebrities and what is new in Hollywood is the information part of the site. The “e” in E! News actually  stands for entertainment. Therefore it is “entertainment news.”

The reason E! News is so successful, both the show and website, is because people thrive off knowing what celebrities are doing everyday. Many people live vicariously through these famous people and want to live like them. In our society, it is interesting to hear that Justin Bieber has been accused of impregnating a girl and that the money spent on Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphrey’s wedding could’ve saved over one million starving children. People are dying to know why Kim and Kris’s two-month marriage has failed already.

Our society has put these people that appear on our TVs on a pedestal. We often find it comforting to know that they are just like us and have failed marriages, make mistakes, and like to spend time with their children. We also enjoy knowing what our idols are up to, and what disastrous mistakes stars like  Lindsay Lohan are going to make next.

While exploring the E! News site, I honestly could not think of additional information to suggest adding. It literally has everything you could imagine on celebrities. The site even offers you the option of making an account to receive newsletters, comment on articles and pictures, post your own opinions, and submit information. E! New’s advertisers literally thought of everything when making their website.

Disney: sending good or bad messages?

Disney films had a huge impact on my childhood. I was a enormous Disney fanatic. This included not only Disney princesses, but super heroes, and almost every other type of movie too. I had Disney costumes, stuffed animals of characters, just about every movie on VHS and DVD when they came out, and any other merchandise imaginable. Looking back at Disney movies I once was infatuated with, I found two major themes. The first I found on my own, while the other was pointed out to me through reading an article by Kathy Maio, a journalist in Boston.

The first major theme that is portrayed throughout all Disney movies is a loss of innocence. The main character goes through a transformation when presented with a difficult situation. For example Cinderella loses her innocence at an early age through the emotional and mental abuse she is put through by her stepmother and stepsisters. She finds an escape from this abuse when her prince charming comes along. Mulan also loses her innocence at an early age when she pretends to be a boy and goes to war to fight for her country and represent her family. A third example is “Finding Nemo.” Nemo loses his innocence when he is taken from his father and home in the ocean. He is put in a fish tank at a dentist’s office with creatures that are complete strangers to him.

Almost all Disney characters lose their innocence in one way or another. This theme is found in every Disney movie. I wasn’t able to recognize this theme at a young age so I often believed my prince charming would come along, I could kiss a frog and it’ll turn into a prince, or my toys really talked and had lives while I wasn’t in the room. I believe that Disney overall sent out a “real” message. That at different times in our lives we are going to be faced with challenges and have to overcome them. Although in real life the good guy may not always win as Disney portrays. Disney takes a life lesson, makes it family friendly, adds some talking objects, and keeps it G rated. Kids don’t think about the real message Disney depicts. They just want Nemo to find his dad. It isn’t until they grow up and look back and realize like I did that Disney really was preparing us for difficult encounters in life. Disney’s messages can sometimes seem extremely harsh such as in Bambi and The Lion King when a parent dies. When I was a child I thought this was the worst thing ever and cried every time I watched these movies. The truth is death happens and sometimes it’s unexpected, but in the end it is inevitable.

Another theme that is commonly seen in Disney movies, that can go along with the loss of innocence theme, is how women are portrayed and viewed. Upon reading an article by Kathy Maio, a feminist journalist in Boston, it made me realize the negative message Disney is giving about women. Snow White is like a housewife and cleans throughout the entire movie. When the wicked stepmother poisons Snow White with an apple the only person that can save her is her prince. This is saying that women need a man to save them. In “The Little Mermaid,” Ariel thinks in order to be beautiful and win the prince over she needs to have legs so she gives up her beautiful singing voice and home under the sea to become a human. This isn’t a good message because she is giving up what makes her unique in order to have a man notice her. In “The Lion King,” when Simba runs away the female lionesses become scared and cannot protect each other from the evil Scar. They need a man to save them and protect them. This is saying that women are not strong. They need a man around to feel safe.

I think Disney has good messages and bad messages. Whether Disney means to give off bad messages is unknown to me, but I think how someone depicts Disney’s messages all depends on their mindset and how they feel towards the empire. I never realized until reading the article by Kathy Maio that Disney makes women look bad. It may not necessarily be true, but it really made me question Disney. When thinking back to all the movies I’ve seen she is right. In many of these movies the women need a man to save them. This isn’t teaching young girls to be independent.

Another thing Disney does is advertise its movies and merchandise more than any other company I’ve ever seen.  They are even starting to remake old movies such as “The Lion King,” which came out in 3D this year. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though. When I was younger and I fell in love with a Disney movie I wanted just about any type of merchandise possible. There’s nothing wrong with Disney making its fans happy. I do believe that Disney should work on some of the negative messages they put in their movies. Looking back it makes me wonder, did my parents realize the messages Disney was sending, was I too innocent and naïve to see?

 

Kicking the Habit

When Dr. Nichols told my class we had to go two days without any media I thought it’d be a relaxing two days. In reality those two days were a nightmare. To say I felt like a grandma doesn’t fit, being that my grandmother emails, texts, and is frequently on AOL chat. I’d have to say I felt the same way I did when my mom dragged my siblings and I to the Amish Country a few years ago. It is virtually impossible to avoid all types of media. Unless you really do live in the Amish Country then face it, you can’t escape.

I’m the type of person that likes routine. I find comfort in schedules and being organized. Cutting media out of my life for forty-eight hours disrupted a routine I was set in. When I woke up I had to avoid my cell phone which was actually impossible since it is my alarm. Another thing I found impossible was avoiding TV. I have to watch TV for at least five minutes before I go to sleep to unwind or I literally cannot sleep. When the power went out due to the hurricane last month and I couldn’t watch TV I laid in bed wide awake for hours. Avoiding media while walking around on campus was also hopeless. Posters, chalk drawings, TVs, and music fill the dining halls, pathways, and walls of my campus. While sitting in class I was also being exposed to media while being taught by my professors. All these are examples of involuntary media consumption.

I never realized how much I used Facebook and Twitter until I couldn’t anymore. I love tweeting random thoughts and things that occur daily. When something would happen or I would have a clever thought I’d take out my phone and get ready to tweet or make a status then realize I couldn’t for forty-eight hours. I felt like a drug addict. I was having phantom rings and feeling the need to check my phone that wasn’t in my back pocket. I felt pathetic. My parents raised me to be independent and not need to depend on silly things especially media.

I kept thinking in these two days, “Mom would be ashamed.” My mom has never touched a computer in her life. If you asked her to turn one on she wouldn’t even know where the power button was. Although she does have an email, she still calls me at school and asks me to check it for her. She learned how to text message last year after many frustrating attempts to teach her. She loves living her life like this. She would pick a book over a movie any day. She would rather go for a walk then sit on a couch and watch TV, unless of course the Patriots are on (don’t even get me started on her sports teams). After these two days I realized I want to be more like my mom. Instead of sitting on Facebook in my free time I’d rather go for a run or read a book. Although there are some major habits I won’t be able to kick (like watching TV before bed) the small steps still make a difference.

In these two days I realized how critical media is to our society. Without media we wouldn’t know what was going on in the world. When something major happens everyone immediately tweets it or makes it their Facebook status. I’m convinced that to avoid all media you’d literally have to be a monk or live in the Amish country. Although these past two days made me realize a lot, I’m glad to have my media and technology back.

MAA: Media Addiction Anonymous

Hello my name is Lauren Dalzell, and I am a media addict. Whether it’s voluntary or involuntary media usage, I came to realize after two days of documentation the only time I am not absorbing some type of media is when I’m asleep. That’s pretty sad if you ask me. It truly is virtually impossible to avoid media, but after almost nineteen years of living in a world where media is inescapable I have found that I would be lost without it.

When I wake up the first thing I do is check my phone. This consists of checking my text messages, missed calls, Twitter, and Facebook notifications. Within a few minutes of my day I have already absorbed more media than some people consume in an entire day. Once I wake up and get ready I’m off to class. Walking to class I’m surrounded by chalk drawings on the pathways informing students of Greek life, homecoming, and other various events coming up. There are also flyers and posters all around campus. In class I listen to a lecture given by my professor through Powerpoint.

I eat in the dining halls about twice a day for lunch and dinner. Walking through the dining halls I pass various TVs playing ads for Towson activities. I also pass many posters and banners for Greek life and Towson events. This is a form of involuntary media. My intention was to go get something to eat but instead I am forced to read the bright and flashy posters all around me.

This past week I was very sick; sick enough that I had to give in to my mom’s orders and go to Dowell Health Center. While sitting in the waiting room a TV was on playing the news. After sitting in the waiting room and filling out forms I was sent to a different hallway to wait for the doctor to call me back. In the hallway I was surrounded by a large amount of ads. There were ads to everything from STDs to nutritional food. Not only were there brochures, but coupons and posters too. Since I had to sit there and face all the ads for about fifteen minutes I figured I might as well read the media being thrown at me. I can definitely say I learned a lot and even brought some coupons for allergy medicine home with me.

Since I was sick I couldn’t really go out because I needed to rest. I began to drive myself crazy in my dorm room. My roommate came up with the idea to go to the movies. Since she has her car here at school it made it easy for us to just Google a theater and go. We decided to see the movie Abduction with Taylor Lautner. Along the way we listened to the radio and saw a few billboard ads, but being amateurs at using a GPS we got to the theater fifteen minutes late. We of course had to get popcorn and other snacks to munch on during the movie. This made us about a half hour late. When we walked into the theater previews and ads were still playing. We couldn’t believe there was a half an hour of ads before the actual movie even started. Unlike most people, I love the ads and previews before a movie so I was happy to have been able to see the last few minutes of them.

I never realized how much media I was consuming daily until I actually kept track.  It blew my mind when I sat down and recalled all the ads, commercials, and  information I consumed. I realized that I am a media addict. Although the entire  media intake was not voluntary, I still appreciated it because it helped me to learn  new things and stay informed about the Towson community. I can honestly say I  don’t know what I’d do without media.