p 121 Xsquared

People say that the media influences children and society constantly, but rarely think that we influence the media as well. The media is shaped based on our values and what appeals to us. Think about it. Would a big film producer write something about a kid that just sits home all day, and the entire story is about this child sitting at home all day, doing absolutely nothing? No, that would be boring. We, as the audience, like twists and turns and attractive actors and big adventures and stories that we wish we could fulfill ourselves. If sex didn't sell, the media wouldn't include it. If petty gossip wasn't found interesting, the media wouldn't include it. But sex sells and stupid gossip is found interesting. All the media does is take the highlights of life, the things we find interesting and magnify them. The media makes insignificant things seem more important and small things more prevalent to society. We influence the media just as much, if not more than it influences us.