I am a fan of media, but I am also a huge critic. Obviously I critique things that I might read or see on the internet posted by professional sources, but mostly I just judge my so called “Facebook friends.” I judge a lot. It’s not like I try to, but in our generation, I feel that the person you are on the internet, is almost as important as the person you are face-to-face. Why? Because I see my friends on the internet, more than in real life. If they annoy me on Facebook, I probably won’t be too excited to see them in person when I know that the second I see her face I’m going to recall all the selfies she posted on Instagram, or when she starts talking about her boyfriend, I’ll already know all the details because she posts way too personal wall posts on Facebook. Do I sound mean? Probably, but it can’t be helped.
I think the reason I might be so judgemental, has a lot to do with being an English major. Sure, maybe I post pictures or update my status on Facebook for social recognition, but I’d like to say I do it with style. Or at least thought. I remember when I was younger I was really embarrassed for anyone to read my written works. I remember hating peer reviews, because then they’d have to read what came from my brain. It showed a lot of who I was, and I wasn’t confident in the self I portrayed with my writing abilities at that time in my life. But times are different now. Because of media, our friends, and even perfect strangers have easy access to whatever we might write on the internet. And it’s completely normal. So, even when my students might walk into my English class with the thought that they don’t like writing, and don’t know how to do it, I know that’s not true. Because I’ll assume they have their iPhone in their pocket, and that they use it all day long to communicate through written word. And not just written word, pictures, emojis, videos and the like. I love sources like youtube, Facebook, Instagram, and even Snapchat because they each have their own art to them. And no, I don’t think “art” is an overstatement. What makes a good Facebook post? Why is this comment funny, but the other isn’t? I can’t really answer those questions with a textbook answer, but somehow we all just know. It’s just part of our lives, and we learned on our own.
I love media because it’s everywhere. You can’t ignore it, and most teenagers embrace it. If I can teach my students to love reading Jane Eyre and writing essays, that will be great. But even if they don’t come to love English as much as I do, maybe they’ll take the things they’ve learned and apply it to their social lives via media. If I can make just a handful of students stop posting embarrassingly personal (and boring) things to Facebook, and replace it with something funny or witty, or just plain insightful--I will be happy. Because like it or not, media is a huge part of our life now, and it is a happy thing when people can express themselves graciously or likeably (I made that word up) on the internet.
No comments:
Post a Comment