Need a topic for my 'something about media' paper. Help?

[TerryMartins]

Okay so my professor said:

"Pick ANY topic related to media and society. Five pages. Go."

That's it. That's the whole prompt. No direction. No guardrails. Just... gestures vaguely at everything.

I've been staring at a blank doc for three days. My brain is doing that thing where it cycles through 50 ideas in 30 seconds and retains zero.

The Graveyard of Rejected Ideas (so far):

• TikTok brain rot (too obvious, everyone writes this)
• Is Netflix killing cinema? (yawn, 2015 called)
• News algorithms and echo chambers (important but boring)
• Why everyone hates newspaper comments sections (fun but 5 pages??)
• The psychology of skipping ads (actually interesting but how do I RESEARCH that??)
• Is "influencer" a real job? (my mom would ask this, not me)
• Podcasting and intimacy (I like this one but is it ACADEMIC enough??)

The One That Stuck for 10 Minutes:

What if I write about the sound design of news intros? Like, why do all news shows have that dramatic music? Does it affect how we trust the information? Is there a difference between CNN's music and Fox's music??

I spent an hour researching. Found three academic articles. Got excited.

Then I realized I'd have to actually watch news intros. For hours. With headphones. In the library.

I'm not that committed.

Current State:

• Sitting in campus coffee shop
• On my third espresso
• Writing this instead of my paper
• Desperately hoping someone here throws me a lifeline

Throw me a topic. Any topic. I'll write about the sociology of LinkedIn if you convince me.

Save me from myself.