My Relationship With Media

Media is everywhere, and, as such, I interact with it daily. Oddly, though, I interact more with my Blackberry these days than I do my PC. That's probably because I take my Blackberry with me everywhere I go, but my PC stays hooked up to its monitor. I'm a fan of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. While some people might argue that these sites make it easier for people to disengage with their fellow human beings, I find the opposite to be true. Thanks to Facebook, it's easier for me to plan nights out with friends, and Twitter helps me keep in contact with people the way mere e-mail never could.

I have been described as a media addict, probably because I spend what little free time I have watching movies. However, this is not the only way I interact with media. I don't think there's a single way in which my daily life is not surrounded by media. When I wake up in the morning, I turn on my Wii to work out. When I go to work, I use Google to research information to make my job easier. In school, I use a netbook to take notes in class, and my Blackberry keeps me up to date on all my sports teams through Twitter and text services.

My primary use of the Internet, when not working, is to read up on films. I visit Roger Ebert's website through the Sun-Times in Chicago every week to see the new reviews and other special features such as the Great Movies collection, the Answer Man column and the Overlooked DVD feature. I check IMDb to keep up with release dates and trivia on films I have just seen. I also visit Entertainment Weekly just to see what other people are talking about in the world of entertainment.

Without the Internet, and the convergence of media that is so prevalent today, I would have to work much harder, and spend countless more hours in the library to get the same information I can get just by sitting at my desk at home.