Vector Illustration Media Propaganda Concept

Ethical consumerism is well and truly on the rise. But is buying green always the sustainable solution some claim it to be or could it be the perfect distraction? Only if we let it, says Lowimpact.org’s Sophie Paterson.

Hello everyone! I'm so sorry for not writing in such a long time- I've been really caught up with school work, SAT preparation and work for various extra curricular activities. Blegh. However, I did have some really exciting moments over the last month. I turned 15, got accepted as a student officer for THIMUN Hague (are any of you guys going?) and even dressed up as River Song for Hallowe'en. Fun stuff. Anyway, I'm not here to talk about my life right now. Today's post is centered around a simple and often discussed topic: messages from the media. The media dominates our lives. It's everywhere - In our homes, at school, on the roads. Media reaches us through several different forms, from television, to the Internet, to the billboards we see on the highway and the advertisements on taxis and sometimes the stickers on cars. Wherever we look, we're being convinced to buy a certain product because it will make us more beautiful/intelligent/attractive to men or women/etc. However, many of the ideas conveyed by the media are negative and self-deprecating. The fact that we're constantly being bombarded with these messages means that the negativity is very, very hard to ignore. One of the largest problems with mass media is the message that it sends regarding our body images. The women and men that you see in the media always fit exactly the same criteria: skinny, fair-skinned, glossy hair, and golden ratio facial features. This is not an accurate representation of humans. We're all of different shapes and sizes. We all have different skin tones, different hair types and different features. But the media tells us that only a select should be considered beautiful. They sell us products that they claim will help us become their definition of beautiful, such as the skin-whitening creams mentioned in my last post. Those of us who don't fit this criteria often suffer from a warped self image that drives some of us to develop life-threatening diseases, such as bulimia and depression just because they don't look a certain way. I've previously talked about that over here. There are several other issues that plague the media. It contains a huge amount of glorified violence and abusive behaviour. Seeing violence in the media has negative, long-term effects on us: it causes us to become desensitised, meaning that we become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others. We may become more fearful about the world around us, or be more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways to others. Cultural stereotypes are prominent in the media, diminishing the richness of human diversity. The media also peddles gender stereotypes, differentiating products for young children through colours and labels, convincing them that the genders are completely different and they both require completely different items. Messages from the media influence how we think. Mass media can be considered a shared system of knowledge, one that largely affects our mindset. It can affect how we feel about ourselves, how we interact with others and most importantly, our beliefs and values. Historically, beliefs and values are learnt through local communities. They are taught by family members, educational systems, cultural groups and our own balanced judgment. While we continue to learn much from those in our community circles, our values about what is 'right', 'true' or 'beautiful' are greatly influenced by the media. If something is depicted as positive in the mass media, then we tend to accept it, no matter how negative our balanced judgment or previous knowledge tells us that it is. Although right now, messages in the media are mostly negative, we can use it to do good. If the media influences the accepted norms around us, we should be able to use it in order to make sure that those norms are realistic. For example, H&M recently released an advertising campaign for their latest swimsuit line, where they used a plus-sized model. In recent years, companies such as Disney have begun to embrace diversity; in 2009, Tiana from The Princess and the Frog became the first African-American Disney princess. It's good to see the media tackling issues that are relevant to our world today because it is through mass media that our mindsets begin to change, as it influences our values. If models are of different shapes, sizes, races and looks, if violence is no longer glorified, if diversity is embraced, then the media will be influencing our world for the better. If the media begins to transmit positive messages, maybe the people who have negative self-images will begin to feel empowered. We can change the negativity that has plagued the media for so long if we just begin to question it. If we identify where it's going wrong, we can take measures to steer it back onto the right path and make a difference for the better. As Jim Morrison once said "whoever controls the media controls the mind."

Le graphiste et illustrateur Geoff McFetridge, de Los Angeles, livre ces jolies illustrations colorées et abstraites. A mi-chemin entre le logotype et le surr�

Here you will find the latest updates on Andriy Vynogradov's recent work and upcoming projects.

I was born in Italy and graduated in classical piano and composition at the Music Academy of Florence. Music was my first source in a new form of expression. Drawing has been a deeper research in order to discover the different ways a concept or an emotion can be decoded in.

Here you will find the latest updates on Andriy Vynogradov's recent work and upcoming projects.

Conversation illustration designed by Fauzan Ardhiansyah. Connect with them on Dribbble; the global community for designers and creative professionals.

Well, we knew this was going to happen. We were warned often enough but did we listen? Did we heed the warning given out in episodes of The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone or Black Mirror, innumerable B-movies and books from H. G. Wells to Stephen King? No, we thought we knew better. We were having way too much fun to even think about what we may be mortgaging for getting all those likes on Facebook and all those followers on Instagram and Twitter. We were only in it for the LOLz. Then one day, our life’s all used up and we’re part of the machine. It’s no fun anymore but still we can’t help checking our feed, tweeting our food and liking every fucking picture of a grumpy-looking cat. WE are the pod people sci-fi warned us about! Like OMG! Artist Kristian Jones produces neat illustrations of children and families whose lives have been taken over by the technology they use. His figures look like the characters once found in children’s stories who are now transported to a strange, surreal science-fiction land where technology snoops and insidiously steals away their very life force. Jones...

There's a reason why you can't stop checking out your own feed.

1. “Addiction” By Jeison Stiven Escobar 2. “Begging For Likes” By Wonyoung Jo 3. “Click Freedom” By Irinei Kalachov 4. “Cyber Addiction” By Paco Afromonkey Puente 5. “Dinner Time” By Monique Cutajar 6. “Facebook Addiction” By Mohammed Benbachir 7. “Facebook” By Yujin No 8. “FB Addiction” By Enzo […]

Download this Free Photo about Social media concept composition, and discover more than 49 Million Professional Stock Photos on Freepik. #freepik #photo #computertechnology #internet #gadgets

These shocking pictures illustrate the sad reality of everyday life humans live now, and the sad part is, change doesn't seem to be near.

This page has a selection of my self promotional, conceptual illustration work that wasn't commissioned. My illustrative style can reflect the many kinds of publication. Whether it's finance, business, lifestyle or medical, my work can adapt to depending on requirement.

The standing appointment of the inspiration blog to start your creative week! This series includes a mix of the best graphics & all other design fields artworks

In this day and age of Photoshop, we were inspired to explore the lost art of altering photographs by hand with this Altered Photograph Art Project!

If social media is making you feel upset and affecting your self-esteem, then it's high time you need to detach yourself and stay away from social media.