Media Mindfulness

I found something kinda creepy about this ad. Here we have a pluralistic panel of various demographics with each person donning a t-shirt inscribed with “me,” presumably as a way of appreciating the uniqueness of our highly individualized society. The ad copy states:

“Find your target with Boston Globe Media. From a narrow target segment to the full sweep of the Boston market, Boston Globe Media can deliver your audience.”

Then it offers a rollover tool to “learn more about our audience” (emphasis mine). So, despite the faux celebration of the hypermediated “me,” the “me” really is not an empowered individual but a nameless data pattern in a market segment defined by the Boston Globe. What the company wants to do is sell its audience; there is nothing “me” about it when your identity is bought and sold by corporations.