Is this a language thing or a culture thing?

[yvannairie]

Is it really accurate to say most people "consume" media instead of engaging with it?

(I've been confused about it for a while b/c the people who don't use their critical thinking skills while watching/reading/playing things have always been in the minority for me, and even they have usually been uncritical of things they haven't fully engaged with -- so, the same as me, I don't do the neck deep character dives into everything either.)

(It has that same suspicious sound as someone saying "sheeple" tbh)

Comments

[hellofriendsiminthedark]

I'm talking about the entire population of society--I feel like "consumption" gets used a lot within fannish discourse as a way to signal a relation to passive or lowkey or non-immersive enjoyment (or simply... consumption which isn't even necessarily enjoyed) of media. Which is related to how "critical" mens lots of different things, and in this case, "critical" alludes both to thinking about the social context of the media content as well as enjoying it for its intellectualism or commentary or realism or anything beyond "simple" entertainment.

[yvannairie]

That makes sense.