Our society’s trust in the media is near its all-time low. Sixty-six percent of Americans say they have little to no confidence that outlets like newspapers, TV, and radio are reporting the news “fully, accurately, and fairly.” Without trust in the sources we’ve traditionally gotten our information from, people are turning to alternatives: places like social media and podcasts.
With so many places to go for information (many of which haven’t been vetted much), it can be hard to know who to trust. Many people look for “just the facts,” but that’s nearly impossible to find. When you hear the news from a TV anchor or podcaster, they have to choose which details to include or exclude in order to give their audiences a digestible summary. Some make a good-faith effort to present the facts fairly, while others won’t. In a similar way, in movies, TV shows, music, and so on, what we’re getting is an artist’s portrayal of the world, not an objective picture of the world itself.
This brings us to arguably the key principle for all media literacy and discernment: all media is a construction, not just a “reflection of reality.” Just like any storyteller, an author has to choose what makes it into their narrative. But it’s up to us to evaluate the stories we’re hearing and determine whether or not they match reality.
We’ll discuss additional principles for media literacy as they become relevant in future modules, including being able to distinguish between fact and opinion, how story selection can reveal bias, and whether the media we consume empowers action or puts us in the position of a spectator. But another broad principle we can apply to every piece of media we come across is to always ask these five questions:
- What is good about this?
- What is bad about it?
- What is missing from this?
- What is confused about this?
- What does the Bible say about this?
If this vetting process sounds overwhelming, remember that you don’t have to (and shouldn’t!) do it alone. Lean on your brothers and sisters in Christ to point out your blind spots, show you a different perspective, and discover God’s truth.
If we aren’t intentional about how we consume media, media will consume us. So believers need to constantly revisit our media intake to evaluate why we are consuming the media we’re consuming and what effect it’s having on us. The apostle Paul tells us to dwell upon things that are “true,” “honorable,” “just,” “pure,” “lovely,” “commendable,” “excellent,” and “praiseworthy” (Philippians 4:8). If it’s not enriching our lives and drawing us nearer to God, it’s probably not worth our time.