How I see it...

Media. This word is associated with both positive and negative connotations. Some people appreciate media for its informative purpose; as a source of everyday information and yes, I am grateful for this also. Thankfully, on the other hand, some people are also able to distinguish the negative part of media, which is deception and marketing strategies to influence consumer’s choices. Why are we told by advertisements, which products are the best, which product we definitely need and which products should we like? And what is even more, why we listen to them? We have minds of our own to decide, what is good or bad for us. Those questions, we should ask ourselves especially in relation with our nutrition.

Television, the Internet, billboards and posters are constantly surrounding us with fast food advertisements, trying to present fast food as cheap and healthy option. Let’s discuss the reality. People are in rush continually; we hurry to school, to work and so on. I live in that world as well. When there is lunchtime, what is better than a cheap, delicious and mainly, FAST food menu, including a hamburger, sandwiches, French fries or delicious soft drink? I will tell you - a home-prepared meal. It is true that a homemade lunch require a time and effort, but if you consider that health is only one, this is an option we really should take into consideration. If you are the case eating fast food often, even every day, you should definitely watch a documentary movie Supersize me, showing the surprising impact of unhealthy food on human body. On the other hand, advertisements presenting fast food as cheap and healthy is not the only cause of a high rate of obesity and health related issues of nowadays generation. Pediatrics, besides, claims “There are a number of ways that watching TV could be contributing to obesity: increased sedentary activity and displacement of more physical pursuits; unhealthy eating practices learned from both the programming and the advertisements for unhealthy foods; increased snacking behavior while viewing” (Strasburger, C. Victor, Pediatrics, 06.2011).

Another serious media cause becomes diabetes. It is unbelievable, how much sugar contains a single can of fizzy drink, which is sold in several colors and flavors to be attractive for consumers, especially for children. In my opinion, people should STOP for a while and rethink their values. I believe all of us study and work hard for higher quality of our lives, so why we damage our health by eating a food of poor quality and thus, increase the risk of serious diseases, that can highly reduce our life expectancy?

What I am trying to say through this blog is, that media is a good thing in one way, but in another way it is very dangerous tool of marketers and advertisers, how to sell the most and how to influence people to sympathize with their brand. They do not care about us, they do care about their profit and we should realize it once and for all. Additionally, I believe they are successful in what they do, because many people really believes in what the advertisements say, but they are forgetting about very important thing – health.

Strasburger, C. Victor, "Children, adolescence, obesity, and the media". Pediatrics, 06.2011 http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/128/1/201