Keeping in Touch

As discussed in the first blog, keeping touch with friends and family members through media is what is most important to me. However, another large part of my media use is keeping up with worldly happenings, and maybe some not so important happenings. I get my information from the internet, being that I don’t have cable at my house. I thought this would restrict my flow of information but it really hasn’t. It’s really only forced me to look for information on my own, but its information that I choose to research.
The news that is important to me is that of local content and news from Paris and Tokyo. Not only does Tokyo have innovative technology, architecture, and a plasma screen in downtown Tokyo named the “Super Lisa”, but my only sister lives there! I had no desire to stay informed on Japanese news until I had a connection to it through my sister. Keeping in touch with Tokyo’s news and culture makes me feel a part of my sister’s life. Without the internet available to research their culture, I would have no understanding of the everyday life my sister’s experiences. That would be a very disturbing feeling; not knowing what kind of place my sister lives in. On the same note, I do feel guilty when I don’t keep in touch with my sister often. Like if I see pictures of her that have been online for a week or two that I haven’t seen, I feel really guilty for not seeing them the first day.
I also stay informed with Parisian news. I studied abroad in Paris and absolutely fell in love with the country and the city itself. I enjoy reading in French to stay up to date with local events and happenings. This makes me feel as if I’m still there living the Parisian life. I also like to read in French to keep my knowledge of the language. To get a really warm and fuzzy French feeling inside, I rent movies in French, normally a sappy love story set in Paris. I enjoy seeing the different neighborhoods of Paris, and listening to the language. The media connects me to Paris in ways that aren’t possible unless actually there. I can kind of understand when people say that they don’t use media often because they’re not thinking about the computer, or internet when sitting in front of it, they’re thinking about the images and text in which the media displays and what that means to them. You don’t have a direct connection with the media equipment itself, but what the tools can produce for you.