#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.

[lettertoholly]

i feel like my life is a race against time to consume every piece literature, film and art i can. yet while also trying to desperately craft my own works, trying to leave a mark on the world of where i was in time.

[forgottenbones]

We Don't Talk About Dan Schneider

[pieisnotreal]

"consuming media"

Do you mean you watched a show?

If so was it a TV show? A movie? A 3 part miniseries? Was it live action or animated?

Did you read a book? Was it long or short? Was it maybe a comic book or a graphic novel? Was it a Great Piece of Literature? Or "just" a fun popcorn book? How much time did it take you to finish it?

Maybe you looked at some still visual art? What was the medium? What was it trying to say? Where there people in it? Was it conceptual?

Maybe it was that you LISTENED to music something that doesn't even utilize the same SENSE as the other three. Was it a band? A singlular artist? We're there vocals?

These are all things that fall under "consuming media" but they all require different ways of interaction, your brain processes them differently, they express themselves differently.

When you shorten it to simply "consuming media" you're creating a shortcut in your brain that tells you it's all the same. That watching a movie is the same as reading a book is the same as viewing art. And it makes it easier for advertisers to convince you that stories and self expression are less important than having an easy to market end product.

[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.