Symone Williams- Jounal Entry 3/28


Journal Prompt: 3/28/18
                The reading and videos examined how media shapes our society from an anthropologic perspective. In my opinion, media and communication through media is so rapidly evolving that societies are adapting just as fast. Keeping up with this rapid adaptation in media is dominating not only our interactions with others, but our sense of self. Media is hard to define because it has expanded so quickly, and it is no longer just people in power that reach a large audience As Michael Wesch explains in his video explaining knowledgeable behavior and information, platforms such as YouTube have opened media for the common person to express themselves to a lot people. Before, you had to be on TV to be seen by a mass audience, which is a difficult task. Now, potentially anyone with wi-fi can produce content that will be seen by millions of people.  
                This phenomenon of accessible content on YouTube fascinates me because YouTube started in a very simplistic interaction of uploading videos of essentially anything you want. However, as YouTube grew and became what it is today, more people have capitalized upon You tube’s presence in media, and YouTube has been industrialized. There is a jackpot within viralbility of content with YouTube. More views bring in money and attention, which converts to power. The most viewed YouTube channels may have started as a simple form of expression, but many have converted into a business. They use marketing within thumbnails, raise production value, and many more aspects that contribute to a lucrative channel. Connecting to Wesch’s video specifically about YouTube, it is interesting to view it as what it once was before it became an industry because it is an interesting perspective about our sense of self in relation to our digital footprint. This is also discussed in the book’s introduction because
                Wesch describes digital media as flexible and ever-changing. I agree with this narrative because even looking at my own digital footprint, I can pinpoint how social trends and norms have evolved since I have been using the internet. For example, the movement from Myspace to Facebook. When Facebook took over social media, there was an emergence of new social rules of what to post and how to post it. It became the go-to social network and people followed what was perceived as acceptable to post. The emergence of other popular platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram are also milestones within the anthropological discussion of media. These platforms also set new rules as to how/what we share with other people. In conclusion, the anthropology of media is incredibly complex, and studying requires both an individualistic and societal perspective.

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