Reflection

Though I haven't really changed my media consumption, I am more aware of what is being sold to me, whether it be a product, an idea, or an experience. Now I just watch commercials and list the needs they attempted to appeal to or the techniques they use. Occasionally I will pin the high concept they try to sell. When watching TV, I note the different concepts from Merchants of Cool and Miss Representation, such as the mook and midriff, or the portrayal of women.
I think it is important to have media literacy because otherwise, people would just accept whatever media explicitly tells them. When there is no push back against media, people lack any real personality, as they would just be what media tells them to be. A culture that completely accepts advertising is not a culture at all. Having media literacy would prevent this, as then people would be able to discern between their own needs and wants instead of what media tells them their needs and wants are. They would then be able to have a personality beyond media.
Being an educated consumer is also important because otherwise, people would just buy everything sold to them, no matter whether or not they actually need it and end up bankrupt.It would also cause people to become overly materialistic, as they would take what the advertisements say to be true, that all they need to do to be happy is to buy things. If people were educated consumers, they would avoid this. They would be able to see through the advertising and figure out if they actually need the product.