What I've Learned

Looking back, I’ve learned a lot in this class. I learned how much the media and technology is such an important part of our lives. I never realized how dependent I was on all of this for both information and entertainment until I focused on the media I used to get me through the day.

This class also brought to my attention how much communication technology there is, and how it’s constantly changing. Everything we use today, like televisions, computers, radio, telephones, and even printed sources like books, have evolved over time. It was interesting to see how throughout history people saw media technology as “advanced,” like Gutenberg’s movable type, for example. However, technology is constantly changing and being updated. We have tiny cell phones, flat screen HD TVs, satellite radios, electronic books, and portable computers, to name a few recent “advanced” mediums of communication. All of this will not be considered advanced one day as the future of media continues to evolve.

I also realized how much the internet is impacting other types of media. People are becoming so dependent today the “on demand” aspect of the internet that TV, newspapers, and radio are losing their audiences to convenience. People can access news, music, articles, and TV shows all in one easy place, so it was interesting to see how much of an impact the internet has on all types of media.

In this class I also learned a lot about major media conglomerates, like Disney, Viacom, and Time Warner, and all of their holdings. I never knew that so many brands were associated with each of these big media names, so it was interesting to make connections between brands and see the relationships.

There was a lot of different information covered in this class. Overall it really opened my eyes to how much the mass media and the technology associated with it affects our everyday lives.