Mindfulness of the Mass Media

OK, I know this is crazy, but today I jumped over to my fourth book: Mindfulness and the Mass Media. I just got a hankering to write down some of the many mass media ideas that have been dancing around in my head. It seems that we are on the threshold of a whole new media world, and it is very exciting.

So what’s the next mass medium? Most books will simply say, “The Internet,” but the Internet is turning out to be more like the printing press: a platform from which many new media are arriving. Dividing them up and categorizing them is problematic because they are changing and evolving so quickly. Areas to look at include e-mail, Web sites, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Google, Wiki sites, intra-nets, targeted multi-media campaigns, and many more. Then there are cell phones and smart phones, which use both telephone networks and the Internet and do so in new and different ways.

How do these new media (and the old ones) affect us? How do we affect them? What is the most useful way to use them effectively for the happiness of ourselves and others? How can we avoid harm that can be caused by misuse of the mass media?

...and in the evening by friend Steve came over. We had a cup of tea and then went for a great motorcycle ride down to Nobska Light and on to Woods Hole where we had dinner at the Fishmonger's Café. The ride home in the evening was damp and misty but still fun. I love Nobska Light and have three pictures of it hanging in my room. Here is an aerial view.