Media Meditation #6 (Time Magazine- The Computer Society Feb. 1978)

Several weeks ago, my roommate Drew came home from work with an armful of magazines, all dating in the 1970s. We all had a great time looking through all the magazines and seeing the old ads and articles that seemed almost prehistoric to us in modern society. One of these magazines was a 1978 February issue of TIME Magazine, titled "The Computer Society." This issue debuted when technology was on the rise at an alarming rate. Even though this magazine is just over 30 years old, references to our four tool sets are still evident.

One example of how this magazine affects our Triune Brain is the use of color and monochrome to exercise the Limbic Brain. Throughout the entire magazine a set pattern is used where ads are displayed in colors while articles are printed in black and white. This is most likely to draw the readers eye to the advertisements, and by the end of the magazine make them want to buy something they have seen in the magazine. The Neocortex is also affected because unlike magazines of today that are made up primarily of pictures with few written articles, this magazine has lengthy articles with few pictures. The advertisements on the other hand are the opposite, with little text and mostly pictures to convey their messages.

There are also many persuasive techniques that come into play in this magazine. The most evident of these is repetition, with the majority of the advertisements being for either cigarettes, cars, liquer, or technological devices. These few different types of ads are repeated heavily throughout the magazine, often coming up one after another in a set order. There is also a strong technological shift present in this magazine. the main topic of discussion for the articles is various technological advances which we view as peanuts in todays age of technology.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine