How is media vital in modern life?

Media has been, personally, active throughout my entire life. Television, newspapers, posters, radio and most recently internet. It's aim to inform and persuade, whether it's a piece of news or a new item cd in HMV, media is there advertising and selling this to you. Other then giving out facts and information needed on a day to day basis, the media is there to provide entertainment, such as social networking sites, (facebook/twitter) where you can interact and socialise from the comfort of your very own home, gaming sites and dating sites.

Aside from the entertainment and propaganda side of the media, there is also the secondary sources that can be found on any search engine, or information site, Google and Wikipedia being main ones. These sources help with such things as homework, studies and personal interest and has taken over the use of books which used to be the main source of information before internet and television documentaries came about. This is because it is much simper to use a search engine, all that's needed to do is to write in the search box, hit enter and thousands of results are gathered in seconds.

As the world of media is expanding we are becoming more and more reliant on it, using sites to predict the weather, checking what your friends are up too on twitter, checking crops on farmville. Where would we be without media? It is one of the most influential and important things in the 21st century even if some people don't realise it. Are we being brainwashed into buying iPads and Gucci and unnecessary products or is it just a quick and easy way to promote goods? It's debatable how vital it is, people like the Amish, do not believe in media, and the use of new and futuristic technology, but most will agree that since technology was introduced, there is just no possible way in going back to ways without things such as internet.

'Media: The means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines, that reach or influence people widely' this is the dictionary.com definition. Even the definition shows how vital the media is, where would we be without the communication of the news, telling us about certain things happening in different countries or even our own. One example being the London Riots of 2011. How would we have known the potential danger of the mobs without the use of television news programs and newspaper giving us the latest information on the whereabouts of each mob and where they were to strike next.

In conclusion, the media is vital to everyones life, even in small portions. Even though you may not use social networking sites, you will still read the newspaper, watch the news, or vice versa. The challenge is how you use it.