D

IB A2 ENGLISH

MEDIA ESSAY
Our media kind of life

Presented to
Mr. Paul Bougie

Collège Laflèche, Trois-Rivières
September 18th 2010

I f Facebook were a country, it would now be the third most populous in the world. Some find it extraordinary to have access to social networks and to keep in touch with people from anywhere in the world, while others will be disgusted by the “virtual” relationship effect created by those sites. These days, one of the most popular social network site is Facebook, created six years ago. The most recent statistics reveal that there are now more than 400 million active users on Facebook and what is even more interesting is that the average user spends more than 55 minutes per day on Facebook, which amounts to 20 075 minutes per year. The numbers are alarming, but it’s not all black or white. There are some positive sides to it too. This essay isn’t a warning against nor an advertisement to promote media use, but it’s a way of trying to make you realize what the real facts are and it’s also meant for you to think about your personal use. What is responsible media consumption and what are the effects of media use ? These are the main questions that I will be developping and I will use myself as an example to accentuate the accuracy of my sayings.

Whatever you do, use or say, if it’s done wisely, there won’t be any complications. This is valid for almost everything in life, including media use. Being reponsible about media use is using it in a sensible way, which implies that there is no exaggeration and a pretty good dose of judgement. Spending more time in front of a screen than with actual people is exageration. Thinking that everything they say on television or write in the newspapers is true also shows a lack of judgment. Having easy access to media is one of the greatest particularities of the 21st century. Critics about media might be frequent, but media itself is fantastic and the bad side of it is due to the