Media is a mirror. Or is it?

Media is a mirror.  Or is it?

If media was a mirror there would be no use for it.  It would lack entertainment.  It would be sharing with us ideas we have already mastered.  A true mirror does not accentuate, exaggerate, or deceive.  It presents to you the entirety of the situation, sharing with you the brutal truths as well as the forgiving secrets.  The description of a mirror does not match that of medias.  

Media is dramatic.  It's job is to keep you intrigued. People are not enticed by the ordinary.  They crave excited exaggerations and drawn out lies.  Even the reality TV that invades our screens is far from the plain folk.  Keeping Up with the Kardashians for example, is nothing like the daily lives of anyone else in America.  If it was the same, nobody would watch it.  When we compare out lives to those on television we are filled with emotions such as jealousy, sadness, and suspense.  These emotions, although they can be negative, are addicting.  They fill your life with what you don't have.  By watching certain television shows you are given the illusion that these voids in your life are filled. You keep watching and watching to fill your life with what you crave--but nothing changes.  

Similar to television shows, advertisers do the same.  They create message systems that leave you wanting them--or what they stand for--in your life.  This message does not hold anything to it.  It is simply an illusion that keeps you coming back for more.  For example, the GoodWill meaning system gives you the impression that when you support their brand, you are becoming a better person.  You instantly will have a cleaning conscience and a cleaner state of mind.