Reading Blog #1

Something that stood out to me in this reading was the idea that we can be surrounded by images all the time but still not actually understand what we are seeing. Avgerinou describes our world as a "bain d' images", basically meaning that we are constantly surrounded by visual media that can influence our beliefs, attitudes, and even how we see ourselves. I feel like this idea has become even more true now because we have TikTok, Instagram, ads, memes and essentially unlimited content right in the palm of our hands.

Visual literacy helps us question what an image is trying to communicate and how it may influence us

One point I found interesting was that just because younger people grew up with technology doesn't mean we automatically have good visual literacy. We may know how to edit a video, make a post or understand a meme but thats different from actually questioning what the image is trying to communicate to us. The reading talks about how young people are creators and consumers but might not understand the codes, values, or consequences behind the messages they see.

Social Media is a modern example of the constant "image bath"

This made me think about how often I scroll without really thinking about what I'm looking at. I'm taking a class called Computation in Society and a lot of this article reminds me of what we are learning about in that class. We have access to so much online today and consume so much without realizing any meaning. Sometimes I see hundreds of different images in one day but only remember a few, if even that. At the same time those images can affect what I think is normal, attractive, popular or important. I think that's why visual literacy matters because it's not just about what the image shows but how we are able to stop and question why it was created, by who, and how it could be influencing my opinions.