Jul 27
I came across that question in the current issue of Monocle – and it got me pondering. While we’re very conscious of what we put in our bodies, what about the stuff we upload into our minds? Sure, we count calories but how many of us actually measure the content?
Wired recently posted a neat illustration that divides one’s media intake by type and by time spent. While this methodology recalls the food pyramid we’re taught at a young age, it does beg the question: is this breakdown actually healthy? While we can debate about whether 3.5 hours of entertainment is optimal, I think we need to examine the types of media we consume. To use the food analogy, it’s not only the number of servings of each food group that matters, but also where you’re getting your vitamins, carbs and proteins.
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Mar 05
So here’s the scene: I’m sitting in a cafe in Kuala Lumpur’s airport last summer, waiting for my flight to Bangkok, and I’m reading William Powers’ essay Hamlet’s Blackberry: Why Paper is Eternal which dives into the numerous reasons why paper continues to have a firm grip on how we experience information. Of course, I’m flipping through this 75-page PDF on my laptop. Go figure.
Fast forward to a couple of days ago, I’m scanning the CBC mobile site on my iPod Touch when this headline pops out: “Print industry to worsen before any improvements: experts.” The train of thought that Powers had started in his piece continues here: while the tangible nature of paper is what allows us to focus solely on the information presented to us, it is fast becoming a less viable medium for newspapers, whose struggles are only more exacerbated with the overall economic downturn we’re experiencing. The death knells are tolling louder.
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