Media is complex

I love media when it makes me feel good – when I get back home, put on Netflix and watch a film or a TV show, or spend hours scrolling through funny Tiktoks or imagining my most aesthetic life on Pinterest. Media helped the boredom during quarantine, media can mean nostalgia and comfort in dark times, the ability to connect with family and friends on the other side of the world, keeping up to date with everything going on. It means feeling slightly (just slightly safer) when I’m walking alone because I have my phone with me, it means feeling less alone when I am alone, less bored when I have nothing to do, not getting lost in Amsterdam because googlemaps. But then there’s the bad stuff. So much media exposure all the time means my attention span is very short, and I have less appreciation for the moment if I’m always with my phone. Maybe I should read a book sometimes too but there’s always media instead. Sometimes media helps me feel good about myself and sometimes much, much worse. But that’s life, it’s not black and white, and as long as you keep your limits, I think media can be fun.