We live pretty much media-free here in this little house, my boy and I. We have no TV, we rarely listen to the radio, we buy newspapers during the cooler months to get the fire going, and that's about it. That is it.
Of course we have the internet and I have my phone, so obviously there is a source of media there. But that source is of my choosing, and I choose very wisely. I don't go to any online news sites. If something happens, I hear about it generally through other bloggers or social media sites. I'm choosy about what I follow. And the only advertising I'm ever subjected to is that which I see on blogs. And on the blogs I read, I'm ok with that, as I know the blogger is selective about who they work with.
And do you know what? It's blissful. It really, truly is blissful. We are not bombarded with the over-the-top, hyped out beast that is everyday media. We are not subject to hearing the negative, emotive rubbish our politicians throw about. We don't sit through news bulletins that seem to thrive on drama and negativity. And we are not subject to the manipulation of information by the few, to control the many. We just don't bother with it. I don't bother with it. In my world, it might as well not exist. And it's blissful, it really truly is.
To be honest, we wouldn't have time to watch TV even if we had one. We wouldn't make time. My little boy is growing up without a television to stare mindlessly into. He is instead growing up with a laptop to - stare mindlessly into? I don't know what effect the technology we have today is going to have on our little ones. I sometimes let him watch Xavier Rudd's music channel on You Tube, and he's watched some Clinton Anderson horse training DVD's with me. And that is all.
Short but sweet today. It's really very simple. We don't do mainstream media.