By Jane Bauer

How much information can your brain hold?

I was listening to a talk by Dr. Charan Ranganath, a professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and Director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California, and he said “Memory is selective, so it is better to focus on quality over quantity.” He went on to describe how our brain discards information that is superfluous, much the way we empty our computer’s ‘recycle bin’.

When I was a growing up my mother consumed ‘news’ from 6pm-6:30pm while she cooked dinner, via the radio, courtesy of the CBC. She would shush anyone who needed to speak to her during this sacred half hour. Even then, I recognized that there is a dark kind of pleasure to hearing about crises in other parts of the world.

Gitnux.org reports that today average media consumption worldwide is 455 minutes per day. In 2021, U.S. adults spent 13 hours and 35 minutes per day consuming media. That is a lot! It is not just when you reach for your phone, there are screens everywhere vying for your attention.

I love using the word ‘consume’ when talking about media because it drives home the idea that it is something that really enters us, like food and sustenance. Yet, we treat it like something that glosses over us, disregarding its power and heft to shape us. While this issue looks at journalism, I invite you all to examine how media influences your life?

As Dr. Charan Ranganath suggests, focus on quality rather than quantity. Ask yourself “What do you really need to know?” One of the largest shifts with the rise of the internet’s presence in our lives is that not only are we consumers but we have become the product. Each time you search for something, make an online purchase or post, your habits are monitored and assessed so that companies can help you to ‘consume’ more efficiently.

When it comes to news consumption, what your internet browser shows you will be very different from what it shows someone who holds vastly different views from yours. While this may seem efficient, it actually creates a false sense that most of the world thinks just like you when the truth is that your reality is only showing you a slice of what is out there.

Be as selective about what you watch, read and listen to as you are about what you eat. Keep informed but also put your phone down and look at the world around you.

See you in July!