The Media Audit
“You are what you eat,” people often say. What we consume changes us—and that’s not just true for the food we eat, it’s true of the media we consume. If we want to engage in our political world with faithfulness, we need to examine how the media we’re consuming is shaping us. A media audit can help us do that.
Consider spending some time in prayer and in community, discerning how the media you’re consuming is shaping you. Create an outline of a regular day in your life, noting at what points in the day you regularly consume media, what form it comes in (written, audio, video, social media), and how you feel before and after you consume it. Consider what habits you need to break, and what new habits of consumption could help you engage more healthily. Ask some questions about the specific media choices you’re making: What is this media asking me to love or hate? Who does it help me see as my neighbor, and who does it tempt me to view with fear or condescension? What story about the world is presented here, and does it align with the story told in Scripture?
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Prayer of the Week:
Grant me, O Lord, to know that which ought to be known, to love that which ought to be loved, to praise that which pleases you, to esteem that which is precious to you, to blame that which is evil in your eyes. Give me wisdom and discernment to differentiate what is good from what only appears good, and above all to be always seeking after your will and your good pleasure.
Amen
—Tomas A Kempis 1379-1471