All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied…Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind. | Ecclesiastes 6:7,9
Once you acknowledge that media is not neutral, but actually takes from you, then you are ready to start investigating your own relationship with it. Every time we go to media, we go to get something. While we should recognize media’s draw and inability to meet this demand, it still begins with the need.
Each person who turns to technology as an answer to their problems has a specific problem in mind. We have something that we are looking for that we believe media can give us. Some people send out a text in order to be reminded that they are not alone. Other’s pursue likes to fend off insecurity. People build an image online to hide from the disappointment of real life. When people don’t belong, they seek out online communities that will accept them. At times, people consume simply because they are bored.
This is just a handful of the needs that people seek answers to when they turn to media. The reason why it is important to identify the need behind your engagement, is because you can not evaluate your relationship without knowing if it meets the needs that you are pursuing. Our needs are like appetites that seek nourishment. If we believe that we will be filled, we will continue to consume, even as we are not satisfied. As we saw in the last post, media preys on our inability to control our desires.
If we can identify need, then we can ask the question: is this satisfying? We can look at the time and energy that we are giving to media and deduce: is this providing what I need? There are things that media is excellent at giving us: ideas for dinner, an escape for a moment of entertainment, and a means to connect to old friends. There are things that it is terrible at as well.
The issue when it come to media is: does this do for me what I need it to, or would something else be better? If I use technology to give me more time, but feel like I am always busy, it isn’t working. If I use it for a stress relief and find that I am stressed, it is failing me. If I keep going to my phone to escape, but reality keeps dragging me down, I have chosen the wrong way to deal with it.
In order to get to the root of your need, take stock of when you flick on the tv, open the laptop, or grab your phone. What is it that you are looking for? What is the need that you hope is met?