My Relationship with Media


           My relationship with media summed up is complicated. I go through phases when it comes to media. Sometimes I will distance myself from it which usually includes me not spending as much time on my phone, and other times I will be addicted to my phone going on Snapchat or whatever grabs my attention first.
           For me, I have been surrounded by media for my entire life. I can remember watching my favorite TV shows as a little kid. The first time that I was introduced to social media I was in sixth grade. My parents tried to hold back on me having social media for as long as possible, but looking back I can definitely see why. When I first got Instagram and Snapchat (the two main forms of media I use to communicate with people), I was in a word addicted. I was always on Instagram seeing what the latest meme was or who posted what. I've had these types of media for a while now and I recognize that it takes up a lot of my time. Looking at my usage reports of Instagram and Snapchat I have spent 5 hours on Snapchat and 9 hours on Instagram in the past week. That is incredible to me because think of all the things I could've been doing like sleeping or doing homework earlier than 10pm. Honestly, I will have these short outbursts where I stop using my phone for a little bit because I realize how much media affects my life. It's almost like a drug because once I stop using it, I feel this strange tendency to want it back. As a result of this I will waste hours looking at something pointless and it ends up harming me because I get less sleep and I'm less focused when it comes to school. I have found ways to work around spending hours and hours on end when I come home, but at times it can still be challenging.
          On the bright side media has connected me to all different kinds of people and kept me informed beyond belief. My best friend Jaden, who goes to another high school I will always talk on some kind of media because we don't see each other that much. If it wasn't for media, it would be so hard to keep in contact with him and we probably wouldn't be able to be as close. The same goes for all of my friends, even the ones that go to McClatchy. If it wasn't for media, the only time I would see them is at school because it would be impossible to make plans without media.
The point is, media for me has had its ups and its downs but in the long run there is no way I can live without it. Media has connected me to so many people and has informed me about things that have happened across the world.

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