Christina Berthaud
October 11, 2010
10:30 Class
English Composition
What is mass media? The mass media is any way or form that news reaches you, whether it is through print like magazines and newspapers or through television and radio. I have come to realize I have an issue with shopping. I love to shop and spend a lot of time shopping. Therefore I am a major consumer, mainly of clothing. I will also admit that the media also has a major influence on what I buy and wear.
Media also influences consumers because of their advertisements and promotions of course! The person had to have seen it somewhere for it to catch their eye. When advertisements are created, like billboards there is a whole science behind how they look and their placements. For instance, beers like Coors Light and Corona, are mainly drunken by men, and so for the advertisement beautiful women in bikinis may be placed drinking the beer, in order to catch the eye of the man. Another example, another form of advertising is by getting people to “jump on the bandwagon”, meaning making it seem like everyone is doing it or buying it therefore, you do or buy it as well.
The way I see it is, if I am flipping through a magazine and I see Kim Kardashian has on a shirt and I think it is cute. I just might want it. Unconsciously I will think the shirt is cuter because it’s on Kim Kardashian. Knowing me, I would not purchase the same exact shirt for it will probably be incredibly expensive. Kim and I are definitely not working on the same budget. But what I will do is purchase a shirt that looks just like it.
I feel like when people purchase things they seen glorified on television or in magazines they buy it and wear it in hopes that someone will recognize that someone else, perhaps a celebrity or A-lister, has on the same item. For example, Ugg boots, those are made in Australia, originally as house shoes, then they made it to the United States via celebrities and people began buying them. Many people said that Uggs are ugly, but when they were seen on the feet of celebrities and their children, people began buying them and wearing them year round. I was also part of the group that said they were ugly, but then they began to grow on me as I noticed more and more people wearing them, and they are also actually quite warm and comfortable and took it upon myself to order a pair though they were expensive.
As much as people make claims saying they don’t jump on the bandwagon or follow the latest trends and fads, I feel they are lying. I say this because whatever the person has on, they have seen it on someone else or somewhere before, and by purchasing the same thing; you are in some way, a follower. Always remember, someone was wearing it before you. So yes, my shopping habits are influenced by media.
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