Reflective use of media

The good Jesuit, Fr. James Reuter, used to say that media is one of the greatest phenomena of our times. In saying that, he hit it right on target. The technological progress of communications media is really a phenomenon. In fact, with MTV, virtual reality, Internet, and the whole world of cyberspace, we have a media explosion!

Our sister, the late Sr. Lucina (a media person in her own right!) used the term “media babies” to describe today’s young people. According to her, media have bombarded today’s youth even when they were still in their mother’s womb, up to the day they were born and grew up.

That observation tells a lot about the young generation today. Nowadays, young people tap their feet and swing their bodies on the slightest sound of music. They study their lessons in front of television, or with their walkman on. They spend lots of time in their computers surfing through the Internet, oblivious of what is happening in their immediate environment.

In his article, Christian Discernment in a Mass-Mediated Culture (The Way, 1986), James McDonnell explains how our use of media becomes routinely and habitual. This can be attributed to non-stop bombardment of media images and sounds that our senses encounter everyday. He says that “throughout the day, at home, office or factory, in the car or on the train, we turn to radio, newspaper, magazine, television, paperback or stereo ‘walkman’ to pass the time, provide topics of conversation, or keep us ‘up-to-date’. At night, television provides the essential accompaniment to our family or community life as we plan our evening around the program schedules.”

Indeed, media have contributed a lot in our way of thinking and a change in lifestyle. Somehow in a family where both parents work, television has become a surrogate parent to children. From it the kids learn and absorb consumerist values that media uphold. Also, to a certain extent, television has turned into a family altar, in front of which the entire family gathers, while eating their meals, to watch the prime time shows.

Marshal Mcluhan, who coined the famous phrase “the medium is the message” also, said, “the medium is the massage.” These words of Mcluhan aptly describe the effects of media in our senses, our values and lifestyle if we use it indiscriminately and unreflectively.

Thus, the importance of being reflective and discriminating in our use of media cannot be underestimated. From time to time it is necessary to step back and analyze what messages the media is giving us and let us sift through those messages.