Full Circle Part 5/12: Building a Media Diet
“Brain rot” is Oxford’s word of the year. This word doesn’t just include short-form TikToks of your favorite creators - poorly researched and misinformed news can be just as bad. Consuming the right amounts of the right stuff is important, and that’s why today we want to talk about building a media diet.
In a period of rapid political, environmental, and social transformation, many grasp onto the news as a way to keep themselves grounded. Media consumption as a conversation is more prevalent than ever.
The sheer amount of information posted on the internet is overwhelming by any metric. Every minute, millions of pieces of content are scattered throughout the internet.
Our generation consumes all media, but specifically news, differently than other generations. Today’s social media has evolved beyond connecting with friends - most of the content we consume now is from strangers. News comes at us from a million places on top of the same traditional sources.
You probably remember TikTok in its early days. No big companies, no politicians, and no news being pushed your way, just content from other users. Today you can’t go on any social media without seeing content from an established company or traditional news outlet.
There’s something unique about the way students in college access information though. For four years, you’re surrounded by a mix of people who all have the same goal: to learn. We can’t help but feel like the right conversations around media aren’t being had!
Some of us have access to local media in college. UConn has The Daily Campus, and Wisconsin has The Badger Herald. Many students are able to read other larger news outlets, for free; we both get the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. If there is no shortage of access to media for college students, why do we resort to getting it from socials?
We grew up in the age of the algorithm, being told that “if you’re not paying for it, you’re the product”. According to the Pew Research Center, about half of people under the age of 30 use TikTok to get their news. The goal of free social media platforms is to keep you on the app by serving you content and ads you’ll enjoy. Why would you trust this same algorithm to consume unbiased news?
Recently, Mark Zuckerberg and Meta removed fact checkers from their platforms, now relying on users to police the platforms via X-style community notes. We’ll avoid the political bias behind this, but we urge you to consider these influences as you consume your news. Companies like X (fka Twitter) were founded on the idea of a virtual town square… that’s never felt like less of the case than today.
We mentioned earlier that the content we consume has shifted from our friends to influencers. Platforms like BeReal who have resisted this shift by throwing the idea of influencers out the window have simply failed. We never give thought to the fact that their job title is literally "influencer". They get paid to influence and sway you in a certain direction. We can’t help but feel that once you allow an algorithm from a company like Meta or X to control your media diet, you’re only getting half of the picture.
Beyond this, we’re all too familiar with the bias in almost all news. Picking up stories and perspectives from writers across the spectrum is necessary to form your own informed opinion.
But let’s be real: it’s a crazy time, and news is stressful. Media overload is a real thing, and you should not spend your day nose-down worrying about what sometimes feels like the end of the world.
We discussed whether or not everyone actually needs to read the news. We’re business majors, but does someone studying engineering or biology, for example, really need to know about world news? We’d argue yes, and we want to help you manage it.
First, it’s worth taking a small step back to discuss how much media you’re actually consuming. Here’s a short list:
At some point you likely started skimming that - it probably became obvious which forms of media are better or worse for you. Although none of them are always bad, a balanced media diet is inherent to the job of a student.
Like any diet, it’s ok to have a cheat meal, but the core of your intake should be healthy. And, like any diet, there’s different categories of things you consume.
The highest level consists of media where your brain is constantly firing. This includes things like academic journals, non-fiction books, industry reports, and more. Because this category requires the highest level of mental engagement, it makes sense that “eating” this form of content alone would be difficult and require lots of brain power. Nonetheless, it’s important to get your necessary serving.
The next category still requires cognitive engagement, but at a lower level. Things like documentaries, podcasts, well-researched blogs and others round out this list. A level of learning value still takes place, but it might not require as much brain power as the above.
YouTube, Video Games, LinkedIn, and news outlets are some examples of media that when used correctly may have loads of value, or loads of distractions. How well you keep yourself accountable when using these platforms is completely on you.
Many of us tend to resort to things like TV shows, movies, and live streams, which likely don’t require you to engage very much. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule.
The bottom of the barrel is what GenZ and Gen Alpha have dubbed “Brain Rot.” Shallow forms of media like socials, short-from video content, text, and email make up this category.
We hope this enables you to reflect on the forms of content you are currently consuming, and attempt to remove and rebalance in a way that benefits you. While we all love a little bit of brain-rot, it’s necessary to balance it with media that challenges and nourishes your brain.
We’re not perfect either, but we’re thinking about it:
Jon: I’ve been on TikTok since it was called Musical.ly, and I was beyond addicted. I scrolled all day and didn’t bother reading the news. Towards the end of 2024 I was studying in Ireland and decided I’d had enough. I deleted all my social media. This left me with a problem, all of the flow of information I had was cut off, and I was left feeling out of the loop. First step I took was to redeem my FREE New York Times and Wall Street Journal subscriptions, and just start getting newsletters to my inbox. Over time I’ve realized that I’m not as out of the loop as I thought I was. Any news that’s worth reading will still be front and center in the morning.
Sam: My relationship with media has shifted dramatically since my freshman year as different apps and email lists have made their way in and out. I believe the key here is to try what works for you, and know when you’re consuming too much of one form of content. More importantly you need to have the discipline to shift to other, more fruitful forms. There’s a reason they call it a “diet.” On my first finance professor's advice, I started getting the Wall Street Journal's daily PDF delivered to my inbox. I skim their "What's News" bullets each morning for the day's key headlines. If I find something that really interests me, I reference the entire article, but more often than not I close after getting the fast facts.
Media is an ever-changing piece of life that requires your constant attention and adaptation. If you’re interested in more, check out the links below, otherwise we’ll see you next week for Professional Development.