Media diet

 There's a lot of talk about misinformation today. There's also a lot of talk about and within social media networks. All this talk has made me think about my media diet and the media diet of others. How do our media diets affect who we are and what we do?

What makes up your media diet and why do you choose that media?

Media Menu

My media menu consists mainly of news and entertainment via social media channels, television, newspapers, and radio. I often rely on same news channels out of habit. 

Ease of access

Probably like most people, I have a pattern of media access that, in part, I've chosen due to ease of access. The time of the shows fits my schedule and the shows are easily accessible via the television or radio. 

Routine

As with many aspects of life, I have a media routine I rely on, but haven't given a lot of thought to that media routine. It's time to rethink that routine and then become more discerning about the media I watch and listen to. 

Question-driven media diet

I think that a good way to update your media diet is to do that via a question-driven process. These questions may help you to update that media diet?

  • Why do I access media?
  • Does the factual media I access reflect good research, honest information, unbiased reporting?
  • Who owns the media that I access most? What do those owners represent politically, socially, and economically?
  • How is the media I access rated? What kinds of rating systems exist to guide people with regard to media accuracy, media related healthy activity?
  • How does the media I access affect my days? 
  • How much time do I spend on media? Which media do I access the most?
Media exploration

Once you've analyzed your media diet, then it's time to explore new and different media and media routines. This exploration can be supported by discussions with friends and colleagues as well as reading about various media channels and shows and how that media affects people. 

I want to think more about my media diet in the days ahead. I think that this may be a good point of thought and discussion for all during this information age in which we live. I'd also like to see our political leaders work to provide better supports to help people choose and have access to healthy, truthful media sources. Adding warning labels to news shows that include mostly misinformation may be a good first step in this regard. Also making sure we have an active media oversight board that relays honest information about media and its affects on people may help the population to navigate the multiple media sources available today in healthy, positive ways.