Here's My Practice SAT Essay

The media does not determine what's important and worth value in our culture; at the same time, they do. What I mean is this is a false question because technology has changed the face of the media. Increasingly, we are our own media. We have places to publish and broadcast our own original work, opinions, and news. In addition, we have the tools to critique what we all the "mainstream" media. We are able to hold them much more accountable than ever before.

Recently, The New Yorker published an essay about Google's current project of creating the world's loargest digital library. The implication is that anyone with internet access has the ability to access any information they deem valuable. Access changes everything. And the ability to publish freely makes the amount of and diversity of media content grow exponentially. People have a choice. They can decide what's worth valuing and consuming. The question becomes who does and doesn't have access.

Currently, my class is reading The Poisonwood Bible in which a family goes to the Congo in the 1960's on a Baptist mission. They realize that Congo is diametrically opposed to the world they live in, and what works in America doesn't work there. In a very general sense, they (admittedly, in their own way and with a religious bias) are trying to help. One problem is that Congo is only covered during the 1960's by major news broadcasting organizations. Now, with the advent of what we'll call hyperlocal media, more information is available, awareness is global, and there are resources to try to help in appropriate ways that make sense within Congolese culture, or at least there are ongoing attempts. Moreover, with a people-controlled virtual spotlight, leaders are hopefully held more accountable as are Americans.

What we are beginning to realize is that the technologies available now are redefining terms, like media, that we've grown accustomed to. Logically, once our literacy changes, the way we communicate, negotiate, and live will change. It's not a question of us or them defining culture. We are them. The lines have disappeared. It's time to examine what we value. And who has access.