Media Diet

Diet refers simply to the totality of what one consumes. However it also has connotations of consciously curating that consumption. I aspire to moderation in all things for both food and media. It can be difficult.

By media I refer to a whole host of content and methods of delivery. Most of them are now electronic in nature even if they emulate older forms. Much of my discussion will refer to things delivered online. One thing I try to do is keep distinct kinds of content separate. Such an act may be artifical but deliberate schemas are among the greatest of human tools. Information, news, analysis, opinion, advertising and entertainment should all be distinct things. Such distinction is harder to come by these days but still can be found if one is selective.

For facts my key source is Wikipedia. Yes it can be edited by anyone but it also has a large body of informed contributors who help keep each other honest. Sometimes looking back on an issue following weeks is better than hoping to make sense of it in a minute-by-minute news feed. Besides which, trivia is a joy all its own, and this is a great launching pad to a whole world of facts.

For news and views I'm a Guardian Australia reader. This is hardly surprising for someone of my ideology but I find that it has the integrity to rise above its own editorial position. I also find that its comments sections (themselves moderated) attract a variety of opinion-holders who by-and-large still understand the value of respectful debate. Its critics of music and movies tend to pretentiousness but I can always skip that.

There is always room for some course correction. Any news source will tend to focus on crisis. To compensate for that I subscribe to Future Crunch for positive news from a progressive bent.

Sometimes I want more wide-ranging debate so dip into a few heterodox sites (but never so much that I fall into a 'rabbit hole'). At other times I want to listen to a kind of discussion that is defined by an abundance of respect and calm consideration. For that the Minefield podcast on ABC is an excellent example.

The ABC and SBS still provide free entertainment and I go there for things like murder mysteries (which are somehow relaxing viewing - a topic unto itself as to why that may be so). But since the last lockdown I have succumbed to the draw of subscriber streaming services (particularly for a regular dose of fantasy and science fiction). It started with accessing Netflix while house-sitting but I have since been jumping (one service at a time) from Disney to Paramount to Prime and back. And it is all too easy to watch episode after episode of whatever has been designed to draw you in and back for more. In the long run I will try to curb this tendency.

Luckily life has returned to normal and I'm once more out-and-about. While on public transport or killing time between shifts, I still carry a novel to read, rather than try to interact with the tiny interface of a smartphone. I had to get lint removed from the orifices of my device recently and, while awaiting service at the Apple Store, I very delibrately sat there reading a novel, which amused me at any rate.