One thing I learnt during this exercise is that there are vending machines everywhere in building 80. Ok, maybe a little bit of an exaggeration, but in all seriousness at least I know i’m never going to be hungry if/when I get lost in building 80. Alright, so where was I…

In our second lectorial we were assigned the task of documenting all the mediated interactions/communications that we encountered during our hour trip to an assigned area of Melbourne. Our group got assigned building 80, if you haven’t realised already. As much as this was an interesting experience, it wasn’t exactly riveting. Despite finding a lot of various media related interactions such as: (i’m going to list all of this, bear with me)

• Security Cameras
• Lights
• Vending machine + the advertising that came with all the items inside (e.g. Pepsi, Smiths Chips)
• Photocopier
• Adidas Jacket (Sorry to the guy I was staring at… I’m not a creep!)
• Waste bins
• White board (communicating information between students)
• Projector screens
• Elevators
• Toilet logos
• Cafe sounds
• Tablets/phones
• Maps + Fire escape
• Film/TV shows on phones e.t.c (e.g. Family Guy)

Everything kind of, repeated themselves each level we went onto. Don’t get me wrong, there were was a lot of information, but I felt we could only go so far before we started documenting media interactions that were absurd and abstract.

In spite of that, an interesting thing that I took away from this experience was the way we take for granted the many interactions with media we come across each day. I’m sure if I went out and explored the suburban streets of Melbourne I would be even more overwhelmed. However, despite the vast amount of media I could interact with outside of building 80, I think that there are categories that our interactions on a daily basis could fall into. For example, you could break up the media in terms of your physical senses, such as what you see, hear, smell e.t.c. On the other hand I think you could divide the media into more defined groups such as Advertising, Film/TV or personal interactions (e.g. Talking to friends)

For me, it is interesting that majority of society seems to soak up all these media interactions without much thought or consideration. Until we focus onto a specific thing, such as the various media around us, we never realise how much we have missed, forgotten or taking for granted. Its like skimming over a book, it may feel like you have gotten the main idea or have taken in majority of the information, however when you read back carefully there is always information you may have missed. Once you gather all the details, you are able to see the bigger picture and overall, enhance your understanding of the novel. Just like reading, sometimes we need to slow down, relax and just take in the world for all its got to offer instead of rushing through it.

Like the famous Oscar Wilde once said,

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”