#consuming media

[croik]

I know a lot of people are pushing back against the term "consuming media" and I totally get it. It feels like gobbling something up without thought or appreciation. But these days we experience stories in a lot of different forms, between books, movies, tv, audio, etc. And sometimes I want to talk about trends across mediums. And they come with their own verbs (read/watched/listened to). Is there a better word that "consume" that encompasses that variety easily?

Like if wanna say "I consume mostly horror media", that's because I watch a lot of horror movies and the audio dramas I follow are all horror or horror adjacent. Is there a better way to say that, which also doesn't sound pretentious? ^^;;

Just language thoughts

[airlocksandaviaries]

All of this "do you have a hobby outside of consuming media" "who are you when you're not consuming media" "all you do is consume media" shit is making me lose my precious faith in humanity.

Like REALLY?? CONSUMING MEDIA??? Is that what we're calling watching shows and reading books and looking at art and listening to podcasts???? consuming media??? CONSUMING MEDIA??? That's all it is to you???? It's almost as bad as using the term 'content creator' instead of ARTIST.

You've taken an essential, beautiful, soul-healing part of the human experience and had the AUDACITY to not only strip it of its life and form and substance, but also attach SHAME and GUILT to it as well???? Please stop my heart can't take this.

I mean, of course it's important to have physical hobbies and creative outlets as well as relaxing ones. This is a very good and healthy thing! But how about we promote how much fun our creative and physical hobbies are instead of SHAMING PEOPLE for the crimes of "watching too many videos" or 'reading too many stories."

Yes, even online videos and stories. Be it fanfic or novel, cult classic film or comedy YouTuber, online digital art or Mary Cassatt, art is fucking art. That's that. And we shouldn't be shaming people for experiencing it. And for the love of humanity, we definitely shouldn't be taking a something as magical as experiencing art and calling it something as soulless as fucking. consuming media.

[horrorfevers]

"I'm __'s #1 fan!!! Nobody loves him more than me!! __ fans dni please!"

You know I really dgaf

I am aware of how much I talk about this. It is not worth focusing on. However, it seems to be a growing trend where people have regressed to an elementary school mentality.

While I understand that being neurodivergent is hell and you can never like something normally, nobodys gonna just sit down and stop liking a character because you like them.

My head hurts from just typing that. Do you know how embarrassing it is to tell people that? The world that?

I am neurodivergent myself, and I know and understand the dread that consumes you when indulging in certain media in general, so I get it to some extent. But you all are treating it like a boundary is being crossed. At the end of the day (cliché, I know), it is just a fictional character.

[forgottenbones]

We Don't Talk About Dan Schneider

[its-no-biggie]

you know what, im making this its own post. "consuming media" is actually an excellent phrase for several reasons

a) unobtrusive catch-all term for many activities, including but not limited to: reading books, watching movies, listening to podcasts, watching tv shows, listening to music, and reading comics. there are many ways to take in (i.e consume) different forms of art (i.e media), and having an inclusive and concise term to refer to that is useful. ive seen posts suggesting replacing "consumed" with "enjoyed" or "experienced" or "engaged with", and these are all fine and good phrases to use but none of them mean only "to take [sth] in" the way that reading/watching/consuming does. each one conveys additional meaning, which is good if thats your intention but distracting if it isnt

b) this is maybe where i risk losing people, but personally i do not associate the verb "to consume" with the noun "consumer" - at least in the usage people are talking about when drawing this comparison. a consumer is an economic entity: one who *buys* goods and services. you can be a consumer (buying books) without consuming anything (reading them). of course, there are people whose consumption of art is purely in the economic sense - people who post shopping hauls of books theyll never read, or people who pay exorbitant prices for luxury items purely because of how expensive they are. but personally ive never seen these kinds of activities described as "consuming media" - theres valid criticism to be made here about consumerism and art, but its being misdirected at people using a word that *sounds like* consumer in a completely different context. [like honestly - a lot of people who consume media arent even consumers at all 🏴‍☠️]

and c) beyond the most basic definition (to take [sth] in) and the unfortunate economic association (consumer), the verb "to consume" has EXCELLENT connotations. to consume is to devour. it is to take a piece of art and ingest it so thoroughly that it can never be separated from you. to wring out every last drop of meaning from the text, even knowing you will never be able to understand it in its entirety. to change and to be changed. theres a reason people talk about art with phrases like "i want to eat this" "i wish i could inject this into my veins" "this lives in my head rent free" - we are always searching for ways to say "i love this so much that it has become a part of me". isnt that beautiful? take my hand. lets consume media together

[wolf-tail]

"Hey, you should check out [media], It subverts a lot of clichés of the genre."

Me:

[ezekiel13]

“Consuming media” is a beautiful phrase and I will fight you over this

Consuming. Making a part of you. To consume something is to absorb it within yourself. Consuming is an intimate act. When you consume something it becomes one with you.

[ponderous-tomes]

I have just finished [media]. my personality will be [media] for a week and then I will never mention it again.

[phoenix-in-the-water]

The urges to just throw myself completely into analysis of Good Omens is strong.

The urge to project on the characters because I want to see myself in a piece of media I enjoy is also very strong.

In conclusion, I am not functioning in a way I feel should ever be perceived by people I know (I'm looking at the two people who can perceive me outside of tumblr). But also if I don't start talking endlessly about it I think I will explode.

[cijheil]

ur honor is it gay 2 parallel the prologue wit ur sworn enemy ?

[asmrgaret]

hate the word "consuming" media instead of reading, watching, listening, experiencing... i didn't eat it, it's not gone

[mikoriin]

man....sometimes i wish i could quit my job and go back to freelancing but i literally cannot make enough off of freelancing to make ends meet. i pay rent, buy my own groceries, and pay my bills. plus my medicine. like i do Not get commissions and stuff when i charge what i actually think my art is worth...so im stuck working at my very taxing job that exhausts me to the point of not being able to partake in my passions because i am just so fucking. tired.

[amateuraspect]

all I do is consume, and it consumes me

[lesbianautisticravenclaw]

(Coming from someone who has done this in the past)

If you haven’t seen or read a tv show, movie, or book don’t talk shit about it. If you’re not interested just say you’re not interested. It makes people who may actually enjoy it not want to watch/read it.

[author-mandi-bean]

When a Writer Falls for His Own TRAP

Shyamalan left me rolling my eyes. It was like he was cheating to win, inventing scenarios that were essentially implausible so the audience would be "surprised." I would argue that's when a writer falls for his own trap.

I want to start this post with a disclaimer: I LOVE M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN. I’ve been a fan since the beginning: The Sixth Sense, Signs, The Village. I’ll argue that Unbreakable, Split, and Glass comprise one of the best trilogies of all time. I even have love for the universally panned Lady in the Water; I think it’s a masterclass in metafiction. And The Happening? There are sequences from that film…

[ilikethecolorredsstuff]

Nothing feels better than whatching/reading something that is completed cuz the episode/chapter will end in a cliffhanger, oh no!! Whatever shall i do 😨*proceeds to click next and u guessed it there's a next*

Sometimes this makes the cliffhangers look goofy but hey im not complaining.