I believe that human beings heavily rely on their five senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—to experience the outside world. The ways we give life meaning are through our senses. For many people, sight is the primary means of exploration. Such as reading newspapers, watching TV, and seeing things.
Today, the media has the greatest influence on people’s lives and shapes our perceptions of the world on a minute-by-minute basis. I’ve never traveled to Europe before, not to mention Lesvos. Before I was accepted to the “Encounter” program, I had never heard of Lesvos. Lesvos is an island that served as the first point of entry for refugees fleeing their own countries in 2015, according to what I know about it. I expect Lesvos to be a stunning island with a fascinating history and beautiful scenery. These expectations are based on information I learned from several internet media sources.
According to this Guardian article that I found online, a local resident Malene in Lesvos told the reporter that she believes the media has transformed her home into a reality show.
The media of today, in my opinion, often presents what the viewer wants to see. In order to suit the demands of the political environment, they exaggerate and report things in different ways. They calculate what you want to view and keep putting it in front of your face, just like the algorithms on most media platforms. Same contents increase as you go along, but you read less of other contents in the process. It has evolved into a phenomena of one-sided viewpoint.
Hi Gabby, Thank you for this reflection and the article that you present! It reminds me also of how several of my colleagues asked me a couple of years ago; ‘How can you go to Lesvos now, isn’t that ignorant of the crisis?’. The best answer that I could come up with was that it wouldn’t help Lesvos much if we stayed away, nor help the refugees. I know a lot of the local population feels forgotten, so perhaps just listening to people’s experiences, or being interested about life in Lesvos is a good way to approach the place. Let’s find out!