Thinking and Writing About Digital Media

While initially I would like to think that I don’t buy in to a lot of popular culture and spend a lot of my time on it, in reflecting on my day to day life, media and popular culture dominate most of what I do/consume/subscribe to/etc. From my phone to my laptop and even my television, in someway or another I am almost always online or plugged in in one way or another. Even gospel study has become a media based thing in my life. It would seem like there is no getting away, just embracing and learning from it.

I am an avid Netflix connoisseur, something that takes up a lot more of my time than I would care to admit. I am someone who likes to have a show like Parks and Recreation running in the background even if I am just cooking, cleaning, or even just sitting around doing nothing. If it is not Netflix, chances are I am streaming something from Spotify or some other media platform. Media and streaming is something woven into the fabric of my life. 

News in the year 2017 has become a very social thing as well, with the latest information being available at our finger tips. I, personally, have multiple news apps on my phone that alert me when major news breaks. Between that, and other social media posts, there is always something keeping me connected to the outside world.

Personal guidelines are a difficult thing when it comes to media and the modern world. It can become so easy to hide ourselves in our own little media hole where in we only see the things that we like and enjoy, and avoid contention or discussion simply by unfollowing/blocking someone. I, personally, try and remember the importance of seeing all sides before making any decisions on who to friend or not, and that uncomfortable is not always a bad word. I think as a Latter Day Saint, there is a whole other layer that is added on top of this, however. We are taught to be selective in our media in a way as to not “corrupt us” in one sense, but to allow us to be able to feel the spirit in another. I think we as Latter Day Saints must also remember that we have to be willing to see and acknowledge what is going on in the world around us, without letting it consume us, a balance I am still struggling to find. We can not heed the command to “be in the world not of the world” if we are not allowing ourselves to actually be in the world.

I think teaching balance in a secondary setting is one of the most important things that we can teach our students. Showing them how to access credible sources, to see every side of an argument, to give them access to every benefit of the modern world, these are some of the greatest things we can give our students.