The Media Game: Are you playing or being played?

Do we control the media that we use or does the media control us?

Have you ever paid attention to your media usage? Like, really paid attention to it? Think of an average day in your life, and the ways you engage in the media. Watch a movie on Netflix. Scroll through TikTok. Shop for a new pair of Nikes online. FaceTime a friend. Read a blog post, like this one. 

Then think about everything else that you do in a day. What do you eat? Who do you spend your time with? Do you pursue hobbies or interests? What do you do at work or school?

Every single day we make choices about how to spend our time. Some are significant and others we make without a second thought.

But here’s the thing. Every choice we make of how we spend our time, despite how insignificant it may seem, matters. What, and who, give our time to makes us who we are.

So how much of it are you giving to the media? And more importantly, how is it affecting you?

Essentially, media is a game, and we, along with media companies, media employees, and advertisers, are players. Consumers play for entertainment and information. Media companies play to earn money. Employees play to show their skills and talents. Advertisers play to persuade you to do or buy something. We are all moving parts of an epic media machine.

So how does one win?

Attention.

The more of it one has, the more successful one is.

Think about it this way.

For the other players in this game, your time is their money.

We don't think about this often, but nearly every media experience is personally catered to the user. Media companies, advertisers, and media employees (who are essentially their own media company) use several tactics to get you to keep watching, keep scrolling, keep wasting your time.

Filtering gives you content that is specific to your likes and interests, and leaves out content that would be less appealing to you.

Ad clutter pops up everywhere- especially those related to your search history or sites recently visited.

Information and images shared without context, clickbait, and cherry picked content holds your attentions and leads you to keep searching.

I'm sure you can think of examples of this happening in your life, and the list continues.

Now before you assume that I'm trying to convince you to throw away your electronic devices, go off the grid, and start a small farming community in the Midwest, I'm not. The media can be fantastic. I use and benefit from it every day. And frankly, we cannot avoid it in the world we live in. (Unless you're serious about starting that farming community in the Midwest. Be my guest.)

I'm saying that we need to be smart about what we consume.

Media can be a tool that we use to make our lives better. We have the power to tell it what it will do for us instead of letting it control our life.

How do you really want to spend your time? Who do you want to give your attention to?

The strategy that consumers can use to play the media game is media literacy. Being aware of how we use media, and being able to analyze and decode it. Ask yourself these questions:

• Why am I using this media?

• How does it make me feel?

• Is my usage beneficial to me or to the other players in the game?

It is possible to play, and even win the media game. It's simple, even. It's all about being intentional, about using media in a way that makes a positive difference in YOUR life.

You got this!