My ramblings on media

Media to me is an unavoidable existence. Everywhere we turn, it stares us back in the face. It's almost become a force of nature in it's evolution since time immemorial, from the first oral stories and cave paintings to the tweets and snapchats of today. So ubiquitous is media that we keep at least one device on our person which its sole purpose is to deliver more media to us throughout the day.

I am no exception to this, a good part of my day is spent staring into a screen whether it be a computer monitor or my smartphone. Because of my nature, I enjoy the solidarity of being on the internet and what it can provide. A good portion of my education comes from reading articles and watching documentaries. No longer do I listen to the radio nor do I watch television because media has evolved to bring me everything on the internet. The latest episode of a hit T.V. show will be ready to consume by the next morning, songs ready to listen to on demand. The Internet is the newest form of media and it's both exciting and frightening to see it continue to evolve. On one hand, it has connected the world and bringing about change for the betterment of humanity. On the other, it creates monsters who use their time to commit crimes such as sexual predators looking to exploit children.

But who cares about the rest of the world right? Let's talk about me. First and foremost, the form of media I consume the most are video games. To the point where it dwarfs everything else combined. Gaming is still stigmatized heavily in our culture, but I don't really care too much. Many friends have been made over hundreds if not thousands of miles away, some who I've known for nearly a decade and feel more connected to them than classmates that sit next to me every single day. Video games are growing as an industry making billions of dollars a year to which I admit that I contribute quite a bit to. To put my hands on something an entire group of people put their hard work into and being able to pick it apart by myself is amazing. For example, a game series I put quite a lot of time into was Mass Effect. To be able to make the character my own and bond with virtual characters, feeling emotions for their stories was incredible, And when I watched a character I had bonded with die, it felt like a sucker punch to the gut, not just to myself but to almost every other person who had played the game and experience his death as well. The casual run and gun play of Call of Duty to the hardcore tactical strategies of X-COM are all works of art crafted by people with visions to share with the world.

And in each game, every player has a story whether it be of the character they play to the gun they use to even the random location they visit. Media is evolving, can we all keep up? +10 points to whoever gets this image.