I've been thinking about the actual amount of media I've been consuming recently and it occurred to me just how much I switch between different types without much thought. I think this is a sign of the times.
First let me point out that I no longer have a television. My internet access has also been limited, so outside of the occasional download, television is really not an integral part of my media consumption. Though that will likely change with the addition of unlimited broadband in my life, when I do watch a television program it's usually online and I may revert to catching up with the shows I can through my computer.
My music listening has also decreased. I can't use my Rhapsody account here (so I had to cancel it), and prefer not to stream music over a limited internet connection, but that may also change with the addition of unlimited internet access.
I didn't realize just how many books I had started reading at once until I went through them in my head yesterday. The current count is three. Before I started school that was my average, but I read them slowly in print form. My three books are all in different formats and accessed in different situations. I'm reading one book on my iPhone through the Kindle application. I don't mind reading on the small screen, I'm currently on my second book with the Kindle app. I tend to read the Kindle book while I'm having a quick lunch or coffee on the go, or have more than a few minutes of a wait to spare.
I've always been a huge fan of audio books, and I'm pleased that my Audible account still works in the UK. I find audio books are good when I'm on the train or the bus, it also makes the trip go by faster (or too short if you're listening to a good book).
I've even started to read novels in paperback form again. I found a local coffee shop that had a large stack of BookCrossing books and picked a few free ones out of there. I have a theory that not having continuous access to the internet is really what has increased my paperback reading, but given that I'm already enjoying two other books I don't feel that guilty about that.
I subscribe to a number of podcasts, both audio and video. It was always really difficult to keep on top of podcasts before, but I find that it's enjoyable to catch up on them while I'm walking around the city. It can be up to a 20 minute walk one way, depending on my destination, and that's enough time to get in one or two podcasts.
One of the few times I like to watch television is when I'm cooking dinner (and eating dinner too I guess). I think it's something I've kept from when I was younger (the only times we ever really watched television in our home was during those times). For that reason I've set up some video podcasts to run while I'm cooking, though sometimes I listen to podcasts or audio books then too.
The amazing thing is that even without a constant connection to the internet and no television I still have access to an incredible amount of media. I haven't even got into how I may occasionally grab a print magazine or newspaper (yes, there's still something nice about reading print magazine, though never been a fan of messing with newspapers). I've even gone to a few movies at the theatre.
I see this all as a good thing. Book publishing is on a huge increase, not a decrease. The amount of new information created every year is increased by terabytes. How we consume media has to change in order to keep up with that increase and the demand.
