An Advocacy Video About Digital Addiction

Introduction

A few weeks ago, my friend was talking about how she needed a better advocacy video. This advocacy video could be on any chosen topic and it was for the school's pageant. Since I wanted to help, had some ideas, and the fact that I'm taking media studies as an A level, I decided to step in and help her. We did a full production project, rushed, within a day. This video was called "Unplugged" and it focused on digital addiction, something almost every student our age can relate to. I ended up recording 90% of the footage, helping to shape the script, and collaborating on the overall concept. This blog post is a reflection on that process and how it connects to this blog and media studies.

Pre-production

Before we shot anything, we sat down together and thought of a basic concept and what we need to do to appeal to our audience. Our target audience is the judges but also students in highschool ages 13-18.

I discussed some key media concepts to get her a better understanding of how to make the script and record. For audience, we're speaking to students who might feel attacked if we're too harsh. The tone had to be relatable and not judgmental. For representation, we had to think of how to represent phone addiction visually without stereotyping. For media language; every shot, edit, and sound choice communicates something.

I had a basic script idea, but me and my friend worked on it together to make it more visual. Instead of writing text that says stuff like "people are addicted to their phones," I wanted to show that visually through scenes that illustrated the problem.

The script was structured in three parts: 

The problem: What digital addiction looks like in everyday life

The consequences: What we miss when we're always looking down

The solution: Small steps toward balance, which is the "unplugged" message

Production

This is where I took over. I ended up recording approximately 90% of the footage for the project. An iPhone 14 Plus was used for this. My media studies lessons on camera work became immediately useful.

Camera techniques I applied:

Close ups: Used for showing emotions, screens, and scrolling. It works because it shows the isolating nature of phone use.

Long shots: Showing social situations where the phone is isolating the main subject, like in a classroom and cafeteria. It emphasizes disconnection even when surrounded by people.

Over the shoulder: POV shots of main subject on phone. Puts audience in main subject's position.

Directing

Since I was behind the camera, I also ended up directing my friend and the other students we recruited. Mostly, I let them use natural behavior/acting. It makes it more realistic.

Media Studies Concepts

Representation

We had to think carefully about how we represented young people. So many news and stories portray teenagers as helpless addicts controlled by their phones. We wanted to show the problem honestly but also show agency, the ability to choose differently. The final shot of the video is the main subject not picking up their phone and putting it on Do not Disturb mode. That was intentional.

Audience Theory

We applied Uses and Gratifications theory without even realising it.

Gratification                                    How our video provided it

Personal Identity:                             Students seeing themselves on screen through the scrolling and the isolation

Personal Relationships:                   The "solution" section showed real connection between people

Diversion:                                         The video was engaging enough to hold attention

Surveillance:                                    Information about digital addiction and its effects

Narrative Theory

We structured the video using Todorov's narrative theory.

Stage                            Our Video

Equilibrium                    Student addicted to phone, using it normally everyday

Disruption                       Showing negative effects

Recognition                    A moment where main subject realises what they're missing

Attempt to repair          Putting phone down, engaging with real life

New equilibrium          Balance, using phones in a healthy manner, not being controlled by them

Media Language

Every shot, every edit, every sound is part of media language. I had to think about:

Denotation: What's literally in the shot (student on a phone)

Connotation: What it means (isolation, addiction, disconnection)

Semiotics: How signs create meaning (phone screen glow meaning modern addiction)

Connection

These things from the experience of making this video can directly connect to my magazine project.

Lesson from Video                                 Application to Magazine

Every choice communicates                          Fonts, colours, and layouts send all messages

Know your audience                                      Design decisions should be made with the reader in mind

Show                                                              Images should do as much as words

Consistency                                                   Video had a consistent visual language; my magazine needs a                                                                                     consistent house style

Planning                                                          Pre-production saved us; I'll plan my magazine thoroughly

Conclusion

Helping my friend create "Unplugged" was one of the most valuable experiences I've had in Media Studies so far. It took the theories from discussions and made them real. I had to think about audience, representation, media language, and ideology because they actually mattered to the effectiveness of the video. I'm proud of what we created, and I'm grateful for the experience. When I start my magazine project, I'll carry these lessons with me. Media isn't just something you study. It's something you do.