The video Digital_Nation elaborates on the fact that people today are constantly centered around technology. The video featured students at prominent schools talking about how they are always on their smart phones and laptops, doing multiple things at once. It made me take a look around and see how true that really is. I cannot think of an instance since I have been in college when I walked into a room and no one had some form of technology in front of them. This is just the way it is now. Many students bring their laptops to lectures and while “listening,” they also check their Facebook, email, and whatever else their lives are based around. I believe those students are hurting themselves by not giving their lectures their full attention.

People everywhere are so into digital communication that texting while driving is as normal as listening to the radio while driving. Digital_Nation showed a study being done about how those who text while driving might as well be driving blindfolded. That discovery was a disturbing one. Since that day, I have not sent or read text messages while driving.

Although this digital age is taking us to great places, it is also becoming a dangerous distraction in our lives.

Let’s face it, children today watch more TV than children of any other generation. They are exposed to a plethora of media everyday, and television is by far the most prominent. Companies selling products that relate to children recognize that fact; they understand that television media is the best method for advertising their products to a young audience. Advertising via television has become extremely competitive. Think of the last commercial that you remember seeing. Chances are, that commercial had an element, or several elements, that were different from other commercials. It stuck out in some way. This is a method that companies use to make their product known. Companies targeting a young audience use that method often, along with other effective methods. They must think of ways to imprint their product into the busy minds of youngsters. Catchy jingles or phrases, pop-culture figures, and intriguing images are frequently used.

The Kellogg Company is amongst those who use these methods as a way of advertising. In order to advertise their Frosted Mini Wheats cereal, they personify the Frosted Mini Wheats pieces. In one commercial, the cereal pieces dressed up in order to help a young boy prepare for his history quiz. The cereal pieces dressed as Christopher Columbus, Lewis and Clark, and Magellan, and gave the child hints as to who they were impersonating. The child guessed (correctly) each of the history figures that the cereal pieces symbolized. The image of human-like, talking frosted wheat pieces are sure to stick in the minds of children. The fact that the cereal was helping the boy with his history lesson, and that the boy got his questions right, also probably helped children keep the cereal in mind. A woman’s voice on the commercial explained that Frosted Mini Wheats cereal will “help keep your kid full and focused.” This spoken part of the advertisement was directed toward parents. The company did its job: children will remember the Frosted Mini Wheats cereal figures, and parents know that the cereal will “help keep them full and focused.” When the children affected by the commercial are at the grocery store with their parents, and they walk into the hard-to-choose-from cereal aisle and come across Frosted Mini Wheats, the child will remember the personified cereal figures in the commercial. The parent will remember that the cereal will keep their kid “full and focused” and may think about the boy doing well in studying for his history quiz. Choosing which cereal they will go home with just got easier.

I strongly believe that this technique, along with others that collaborate with this technique, work very well. When I was younger, it was these methods that drew me into certain products. When I think of commercials that worked effectively when I was younger, in fact, cereal commercials are the only ones that come to mind. Most cereal companies that target young people use these methods.

While I believe this particular commercial is effective for those youngsters who see it, it does not directly apply to me. I actually am a user of this Kellogg’s brand product, but this particular commercial would not directly affect me. I think this has to do with age, and I am sure that if I had seen this commercial when I was younger, it would have stuck in my mind.

A broader reason for an assignment to analyze an advertisement like the above is to learn to be more critical of the product being advertised, and learn not to have the immediate “I want that” response that companies hope for. Another reason to learn to analyze media is to learn exactly how to advertise or persuade effectively. The only way to be able to effectively involved in any type of media, one has to learn the anatomy of media. Lastly, advertisements are arguments. If one knows how to advertise, one knows how to argue. Arguments are what keep this world interesting. Understanding how to hold a steady argument in any media is a huge part of society, and in order to live in today’s society, one must learn to dissect an argument for safety, assemble one to make a living, and understand one to oppose it.