Is the world more savage these days? Does it seem as if clear-headed people are launching acerbic attacks more often, particularly on social media?
These days it’s just too convenient to impulsively post a tweet, or worse, retweet, with little forethought. The post on social media allows the writer to weigh in without actually interact with the subject of a critical post. It’s a drive-by insult.
Toxic social media posts might be amusing, but are they contributing to the common good? The ancient monks said “speak only if you can improve on the silence”
Americans believe the media has become too arrogant, cynical, scandal-minded and destructive. The press has a mind numbing habit of flattening all news stories into one story; who has more political power, who’s winning and losing,. Health care reform, budget battles, welfare, whatever- they are analyzed not in terms of what they mean for the nation, but what they will mean for Democrats and Republicans, the celebrities, and so on.
We are increasingly aware, in other words, that we unthinkingly refer to as “the media” literally is the stuff, the matter, the environment in which we live.
While our bodies live on nutritious food, clean water and fresh air, our minds are nourished (or not) by both the quantity and the quality of the information and images that we expose them to. Information and imagery provide, that is, our brain’s sole food and the only air it has to breathe.
Truth and falsity are essential to the quality of our information environment, but they are not the only relevant variables. In the courtroom, the question of whether information, accurate or not, may be prejudicial to juror’s judgment helps to determine the degree of possible “pollution of the pool”
The power of images as role models for behavior establishes a further set of criteria for ovulating media ecology by raising such questions as, does this picture advocate or endorse helpful or harmful behavior? In a currently controversial example, in the 90s, the Postal Service issued a stamp commemorating blues legend Robert Johnson; the stamp replicated an old photo of Johnson in which the cigarette between his lips was airbrushed out. The “information” in the original photo may be more “truthful,” but the alternation furnishes further evidence that the idea of media ecology- “down with toxic imagery!” Is starting to stick!
I remember in 2006, I was in California for a polo match , I met this rich guy at the hotel I was staying at, as he was friends with the mutual person I came to watch for polo.
The person told me he has Paris Hilton on speed dial and proceeded to call her. She answered and she said “I am with my family, I can’t talk right now, can you call me later?”
Was he trying to impress me by showing who his Hollywood friends were? Well, it didn’t work.
Another time, several years prior to polo in California, a man showed me in his room a box of “Hello Magazines” and he told me he had tipped off the media where his famous friend were at. He was in the background with that famous friend on the magazine cover. I was appalled that this guy, who claims he is friends with that celebrity, was using him for fame!
Why did he tell me that? Because he wanted to have sex with me and thought that would impress me- well, just like Shania Twain sang ,“That don’t impress me much”. And no we didn’t have sex, actually after that evening, from what I recall, he froze me out and spread lies abut me - so damn childish!
Then we have Prince Harry, I vow never to talk about him on my website. However, I have to say it - he should have kept everything private instead of using the media to get his point across, not realizing who he was hurting in his tantrum. Harry is a good person, and his mates always had his back. Harry knows that media eats up the gossip because gossip means ratings and ratings means more money for him and media!
Is there a way to remove the toxic waste dumps of our digital and print media? Media literacy means knowing how to avoid media litter. Even the amid the dross of the overplayed story of sex, violence and celebrities, a kernel of goodness can be found: media environmentalism is born!
