Entry #09: Changes Within Media

 Most people tend not to think about media and what they consume. They can mindlessly scroll for hours and not remember much of what they just watched. The ads, videos, people, and everything gets blurred together and disappears like the time they just spent. 

Recently, our professor showed two documentaries that helped open my eyes that I believe need to be discussed more. The first being Tough Guise which had an in-depth research done on how males are taught to fit themselves into this tough persona that is displayed all throughout media, especially in files. This changed how I thought of male influences. As a girl, I never truly understood that men would act how they would. I was raised with a traditional father who thought boys shouldn’t cry and that they have to be strong and independent, which in return rubbed off on my brother. When I would see men act differently than my brother and father, I would think they are weird and sometimes I still catch myself thinking that they are feminine or not masculine enough or not violent and aggressive. But after watching this movie, I realize that it is how the media taught them to act and they are stuck in this grueling cycle that needs to be broken. But with the popularity of TikTok and other social media, this “tough guise” as described by Katz in the documentary is slowly being broken down and changing in our generation. This is amazing to see since this perception of men have been standing this way for millenniums. 

Slowly with social media, we will experience other stereotypes being broken down and a switch towards a better society, which isn’t as stigmatizing. 

While social media is being so beneficial, we still need to look at it with a crucial eye to make sure we aren’t wrongly being influenced.