The Power and Responsibility of Mass Communication Professionals

How will you use your communication powers?

I feel strongly that the ability to communicate effectively is the solution to a vast majority of life's problems. I love finding the words to make a sentence sound just right or critiquing media on its visual appeal and how well it is addressing its intended audience. Mostly I love when my communication skills can be applied to important social issues. I have learned that working in communications comes with the powerful possibility of projecting a message which can make a change.

Every day we are besieged with messages. The creators of these messages have done extensive research on our demographic. They have placed their message in exactly the right way at exactly the right time and place. Meanwhile, here we are, innocent bystanders going about our days while subconsciously absorbing this information. We don't have the time to critically think about each message that presents intself to our unsuspecting eyes. The result is a conglomerate of messages merging together to create a very influential vision of who we should be in our society. This projection of who we should be is sometimes damaging to us as consumers.

I realize how insignificant it may seem for one small Fargo resident to squab about the effects of popular culture messages. And I realize that I can't change the world. So maybe it seems credulous to say but I do think that I can make a change. I think this because a degree in communications of any sort inherently comes with many options. We don't get pegged into one type of career or field to devote ourselves to. We have the ability to take our learned communication skills and promote anything that is important to us.

Maybe you'd be the one to find an effective way to stop the bombardment of unrealistically perfected photos of women. Your work would contribute to creating an environment where girls can grow up loving their differences. Maybe you want to devote your career to the Rape and Abuse Crisis Center of Fargo, raising awareness and resources for victims of sex trafficking. Or maybe you'll work for the AdCouncil and contribute to their long list of iconic campaigns including "Women in War Jobs" during World War II and the first AIDS prevention campaign.

Any way you look at it, a successful business will always have a strong strategic communication team to back them. A company or organization will not be successful without the ability to properly craft, position and present their brand. With the power and tools to reach mass amounts of people, my question to you is this. What kinds of messages are we, as communicators, going to put out into the world? I would not fail to mention that "with great power comes great responsibility." Use your power wisely.

Amy Hilgers is a senior studying strategic communication at North Dakota State University with minors in spanish and journalism. She serves as vice president of NDSU PRSSA and interns at the advertising agency, H2M.

#Communication #WhatToDoWithYourDegree