Children of the Screen

Hannah Baylon’s article, Children of the Screen, poses an interesting point, that we as a society are heavily influenced by media. This causes an unnatural structure, leaving many people unsure of who they are and what they want. I agree with her statement, our environment is no longer natural, but highly dictated by magazines, movies, and television. While we are controlled in this way, not everyone in society is fully controlled by these boundaries. Many people can actually separate themselves slightly from the media, but to an extent, we are all influenced by the world around us, natural or unnatural.
I feel like I have adopted a screen-based environment to an extent. I cannot deny the influence of magazines and other media outlets in my life, but I do feel to a certain extent I know who I am and what I want. As a kid I don’t remember the movies I watched as much as the crazy car rides and adventures I took. I feel like although I watched Disney and Power Rangers, I also had a good dosage of reality and non-media influence in my life.
Without knowing the earth, as Thoreau put it, and Baylon points out, we do lose our true character. Seeing the natural world, going out in it, experiencing real emotion and loss, that is how we can keep our true nature. While screen reality can give us the occasional break from our lives, doing something productive, like going to the gym or going to the park, offer more enjoyment and relaxation. Screen reality can also keep us connected, but again, we lose that personal contact.
The lack of personal contact is something detrimental to our lives. Humans need contact, and by substituting emotions and love with our favorite TV shows, we lose something in ourselves and in our ability to connect to others. People become obsessed with the lives of the characters on their favorite TV shows and movies, they start to mimic them to a point they lose themselves. I feel grateful that while going to school, even though I watch TV and movies and read magazines, for the most part I have toned down the amount of media in my life. I have rediscovered the fun of sledding or simply walking around a town looking in antique shops. I’ve also gained amazing connections with people. While media can bring people together, it’s the basis of human compassion and connection and ties them for life. In my opinion, by becoming totally consumed with media, we lose that foundation necessary to make relationships last in our lives.