Wanted: The Media That We Need

Is The Media That We Want The Same As The Media That We Need?

I don’t believe the media we want is the same as the media we need. My parents always told me that what I wanted and what I needed were two different things. A need is something that helps a person to survive and to live like water, food, shelter and clothing. A want is something a person would but isn’t required for survival. When we look at food there is difference between want and need in there. We need food from the four food groups and we would want chocolate bars because they are not needed.  So the same goes with the media, there is some media out there that society definitely needs to access.

                

The media we need is consistent of things that would affect the way we live our lives, whether it be for the day, week, month or life. A good example of this is traffic as many people drive to work. This means they would need to know what is happening on the route to work and if they would need to take another way to work.  “The relationship between the media and the audience is like a fisherman and fish.”  (http://shelbylafreniere.wordpress.com/2013/10/25/blog-entry-2-the-media-we-want/) I chose this quote because when fishing there are certain lures that one needs to use to catch fish, not all fish go for the same bait. So the media works in the same way. There are certain stories /things that need to let the audiences know and that the audiences need to survive.

               

“As an important industry in the world today, the media tries its best to supply content that will satisfy consumer demands.” (http://nk13ps.wordpress.com/) This true in all aspects of media, where these companies need to both put out the things people want and the things people need but they are not the same things. I love watching shows on TV like Criminal Minds or NCIS: Los Angeles but they are not needs to survive, whereas for me knowing the prices of gas and listening to sports are needs for me because of the way my life style is.  What I want and what I need are different than what other people want and need in the media industry. Some people may want Facebook notifications because it is personal for them but others may need Facebook because it is for an organization for them.

               

“We simply do not want whatever the media shows us, but we actually have some choice about the type of media we consume.” (http://bb11tl.wordpress.com/2013/10/20/blog-assignment-2-do-we-get-the-media-we-want-or-want-the-media-we-get/)  Having the ability of choice is what determines which media is a want and which is a need. Meaning that we choose what we consider to be a need and what we consider being a want or maybe a better word, a piece of entertainment. The ultimate thing that we have as humans is the ability of choice in almost every aspect of our life.

               

So in conclusion I believe that the media we want is not the media we need because the media we want does not help up to survive in the life we live today.