Media Literacy = Awareness of How Media Form Us
You’ve probably heard of the “awareness test” but if not, check it out here.
What’s the one form (or medium) of communication that has most shaped your thinking and relationships?
Maybe you text a lot on your phone? When was the last time you wrote a handwritten card or long form letter?
We live in a world of speed, distraction, performance, isolation (what Sherry Turkle calls being “alone together”), and echo chambers (often curated by algorithms built to curate more of our attention).
The economy is sometimes described as an “attention economy”. In the face of new technologies that bring new tools, new social norms, and new anxieties or concerns– the faster things move, the less time we feel we have for meaning.
How do we cultivate meaningful relationships? A lot depends on how we communicate with each other and our awareness of the forces and environments that shape the mediums and messages we are communicating. Media Ecology is the academic field of study of the environments that shape our perceptions, the messages, and technologies of communication.
I’m still working on developing this awareness just like working out and developing muscles – it takes time and discipline. Below are a list of some of the voices and resources I am paying attention to – I would love to hear about what you might add to this list. Who is helping you grow in your awareness and practice of meaningful communication?
Resources
Center for Humane Technology
One of the most important things to grapple with is our smartphones and the applications developers have made on our computers like email. I learned about this organization through their Netflix special that seems to be even more relevant now The Social Dilemma. The tips for resisting the dopamine addictive advertising by technology companies is ripe with opportunity for you. From managing the push notification settings to screen time tracking and limits – the software and hardware developers themselves from companies like Google help you take back control of your devices. I have turned my phone to grayscale and adopted a “no notification” model with my phone.
Anxious Generation & Free Range Kids
Jonathan Haidt has become a household name due to his incredible sociology research demonstrating just how significant social media and smart phones are correlated with spiking anxiety levels in teenagers. His plea for us to return to a play based childhood in contrast to what he calls the “phone based” childhood is a parenting philosophy my wife and I are taking very seriously with our elementary age kids. The Free Range Kids resources help take the great insights from the book and research and give practical tips for making it a reality. This is hard work and as Haidt points out, requires finding other parents and families to commit to this way of life together. It’s great schools and states are taking his work seriously. There is much of this research that could apply to adults as well.
Tech-wise Family1 & The Life We’re Looking For by Andy Crouch2
Long before I heard of Jonathan Haidt, Andy Crouch was a religious voice shaping my thinking about the “glowing rectangles” in my home. Trying to move the tv out of the center and create rhythms of rest. Crouch places our new technologies like Smartphones, the internet, and even AI in a much longer story, one of “magic” and the desire for devices to do things effortlessly – but Crouch points out we were designed for a healthy rhythm of work and rest. An embodied existence of heart, soul, mind, strength effort. Technology can be an extension but unreflective use often devolves and–in media literacy terminology–displaces our development. Instead of becoming who we are meant to be we are “de-formed” (like muscles that atrophy) through exposure and repeated use. The life we want–easy everywhere–actually ends up destroying us. Crouch with practical ideas and theological depth helps us think this through not just individually but more importantly as families and communities.
Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer
John Mark Comer’s teaching and resources are incredibly well done. His articulation of the concept of a “rule of life” brings an ancient spiritual tradition to life in our modern age.
