Who are we?

   When the internet and the media first started evolving, it was a treasure to have. Now, the media is so relied upon, there is no escaping it. As many times as I attempt to delete my social media apps, or ignore it, it always tends to come back to me in some form. I'm not necessarily against social media, because of course I do use it; however, I do believe that it has become like some sort of drug, so addicting there's no way to stop it. Everyday we feel somewhat obligated to instagram our food, tweet good morning, and snapchat everyone a video of us getting ready for the day, but the reality should be that no one should care about details like that.
From the moment this generation was sucked into the vortex that is social media, we were immediately set to some standard provided by the media. From celebrities with the perfect looks and style, to advertisements promoting products to essentially make us "look better." With something as insanely influential as the media, it shouldn't be that way. This powerful tool should be used towards more important aspects of the world, and not just influence people to focus on themselves. I'm not saying that the media is entirely created this way; however, it is how people perceive it. When someone hears "media", they automatically think about social media apps, and Youtube, Facebook, etc. Not many will hear "media" and think about newscasts that portray what is really happening in the world.
   Although there are many negative and unnecessary aspects of the media, there are of course many important areas it covers, especially when celebrities are involved. Currently, one of the biggest social movements is black lives matter. With respect to that, recently several Philadelphia Eagle football players used the national anthem as a moment to protest "social injustice." Instead of placing their hand on their heart, they raised their fists. A gesture popularly known by the Black Panther party, that is associated with black nationalism. When the media uses its power to support something as powerful as this, it makes a difference. With so many different celebrities such as football players, also fighting alongside other protestors, they are more influential towards their fans. So many other celebrities such as Kendrick Lamar, Justin Timberlake, John Legend, etc, also support the black lives matter movement. Celebrities contribute to a large part in the media, so when other people and fans see their opinion, it is more influential in a more positive way, rather than how we should dress and look. With twitter and instagram, information travels so quickly, and although it may have upsides and downsides to it, when it pertains something important a lot more people have a chance to hear about the situation that may be going on. Social media may not always have positive outcomes with it, but in the end media is how many people stay informed with what is going on in the world, and hopefully many more people are able to continue using social media for that reason.