How the Media Influences
After reading much about the topic of how the media shapes our views I was most surprised by its cultural relevance. More specifically I would like to address the topic of aging. I happen to have a few gray hairs, usually this possesses my wife to make the comment every few months that I need to color my hair. This isn’t anything new to me since I started having this wonderful situation from the time I was 20. (Thanks Grandpa Andrew) Fact of the matter is that I really don’t care, I have a baby face and I keep telling the wife it gives me some creditability. This helps since I have the maturity level of a 9th grader. Regardless, in many other cultures aging is looked at quite fondly. Growing older and wiser is looked upon with respect, elders are revered as more honorable because of their age. With much reflection I came to the conclusion that the media plays a large roll in shaping this view. More specifically the retail industry, pushing anti-aging products, hair coloring, and a vast multitude of other products. That’s not all, you can turn to the service industry and see the same trends: plastic surgery, tanning beds, botox, laser treatments, and many other multi-million dollar industries.
The stark reality is the underlying message it leaves, a message that we are only happy and satisfied in our youth. Everyone over the age of 25 is somehow trying to relive and get back to that moment in the past. It concerns me that we can no longer be satisfied in the present and embrace the aging process. My gray hair will see no Just for Men, even if it means Anderson Cooper and I become twins.
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