Hello. Hi. My name is Natalia.
Culture, media and everyday life. Now available to the public.
"Contemporary culture IS media culture".
It just is apparently, no arguments allowed unless you want to fail this subject. I was originally a little sceptical about the idea that everyday life has essentially been consumed by the media; the suggestion seemed a mere exaggeration.
But then, as I approached this little contraption, reality hit me, or rather… dried my hands.
As I placed my hands under the sensor, the television screen whirred into life and over the noise of the dryer; a woman was asking me if I showed any symptoms of depression. Meanwhile, a message scrolled along the bottom telling me to visit their website for more information on how to advertise on hand-dryers – so I did.
It turns out that we can thank Convenience Advertising, a Melbourne-based company, for this ingenious innovation. According to their website, they have been active since 1984 – I don’t recall watching television on public hand-dryers during the 90s, so I was surprised to discover this has been around since the mid-80s.
Nonetheless, it seems that the media has indeed permeated the most intimate aspects of our lives. Even now as I type this I’m simultaneously watching Freaks and Geeks - this is either more evidence towards the notion that a mediatized society is inescapable or that I watch too much television. It’s most likely the latter.
