To What Extent Is Human Identity Increasingly Mediated? - Essay Question

We believe that the media does shape our sense of who we are to a certain degree because we are continually passively consuming various types of media that could potentially influence our lives and our identity. Some people may aspire to be like the characters they see in the media, on television and film for example, as they can relate and identify with them. One example of a television programme that could shape the identity of youths, is Skins, youths may aspire to the characters within this programme because they can relate to them. In the news, there was a girl who wanted to throw a party like seen in Skins through this there were many negative effects. In terms of reflecting our identity we believe that most representations are false as they are over exaggerated and do not reflect us accurately, this could then gives youths a negative stereotype.

We would say that the media isn't necessarily important in how we shape our identity but it is becoming increasingly relevant and involved in creating our identity. Media is everywhere so we will always be influenced by it throughout our lives, whether it effects us or not is down to us and how much we actively consume it. David Gauntlett's states that 'the media sends out huge number of messages about identity and acceptable forms of self-expression'. People will conform to these and believe that this is they way to be within society. This could have detrimental effects on people's live, for example, youths who watch programmes such as america's next top model may see that losing large amounts of weight and being exceptionally thin is acceptable and they way to look and be.As well as false representations, some portrayals of collective identities may challenge stereotypes and change people's perceptions of particular people. For example, in the film London to Brighton, a prostitute is shown in a very motherly, caring way and the stereotype usually connected with prostitutes are that they are cheap and nasty but this film overcomes this.

The media is becoming more and more powerful in how we shape who we are. The media is rapidly expanding especially now with Web 2.0 and the internet, we as a society are consuming considerable amounts of different media types compared with the past where media wasn't such a powerful tool for shaping identity. In the future our identity and lives may be formed entirely through the media. Jacques Lacan theory the Mirror Stage, states how children learn and shape their identity through imitation, this could then mean that the media is forming their identity.

Marcuse's theory argues that 'society creates false needs which divert us from our private identity'...'these false needs are created through advertising and the media in general, emphasising the need to behave and consume like everybody else.'' This is saying that what we see and consume mould and shape our identity rather than our won internal ego and personality.

In conclusion, we believe that human identity is becoming more and more mediated, especially in the younger generation because of their vulnerability and naivety. Passive consumption is occuring a lot more frequently due to the indreased amoutn of media now present within society. So overall, we think that human identity is mediated to a large extent, in socity today and in the future we as the public will be formed and our identity shaped by the media even more and as increased amount of media becomes more apparent.