Reflection on the Media Readings

For my fourth reading I read: "The Message:Mushrooms, Music, Movies, and Magazines" by Elder Spencer J. Condie of the Second Quorum of the Seventy. It compared the media to mushrooms- just as there are there are some mushroom that are edible and delicious, there is music and movies that are uplifting and "virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy". On the other hand there are mushrooms that are deadly poisonous and the most poisonous are the one that do not show symptoms right at the beginning. There are mushrooms that look like safe mushroom, but are poisonous. It is the same with dangerous media- the most deadly are the ones that slowly poison us a little at a time.

The most important thing I learned from these articles is that you really have to watch what you listen to or view. And it is vital that you take safety precautions in your own home when you have a family. I also learned that no matter how many safety precautions we take, our children are still going to be exposed to the internet, so we must teach them how to avoid the evils of the media when they are directing themselves.

From reading these articles, I have realized that I do not want to have television in my home. Movies are fine because as a family we can decide what movies are appropriate and which are not, but most t.v. shows are full of poison. In my home I want to keep the computer out in the open for everyone to see. I want to put parental control on the computer so that my children will be protected from pop-ups and dangerous websites. I also want to teach my children all of the wonderful things that are available through the media.

From the things I have learned I can influence others to recognize the evils of the internet and different safe precautions they can take to protect themselves and the people they love.