Monkey See, Monkey Do

Have you ever noticed how, when you binge watch a TV series or spend hours reading a book, that it changes how you think?

Scientific studies have apparently found that reading certain types of books increases our sense of empathy.

I've spent hours imagining how I would react if I were living in the situations encountered by various fictional characters. I mean, I've hardly watched any zombie movies, but I've already tried to guess how long I would last in a zombie apocalypse if I had to barricade myself in my apartment (at least a month, I think--maybe longer if I could manage to start a garden from the seeds in my fresh produce).

And Hollywood knows this. It's kind of obvious when you look at family-based sitcoms. I mean, they were not subtle at all in the 90s when every kid in the TV family happened to have problems that were all related every episode, no matter their age, that all resolved at the end with a single moral lesson. It's also interesting to see how the moral messages have changed over time. Where TV teenagers in the 90s were told, You're not old enough to have sex, TV teenagers now are being told, I don't think you're old enough, but if you're doing it anyhow, please use a condom.

It's also not limited to fiction. The news and documentaries you watch, the games you play, the memes you consume--they all affect how you think and what you think about.

I don't think this is news to anyone. But have you ever taken the time to think about whether you like the way the media you consume changes you? And, more importantly, do you really want to wait until you have changed enough that you notice it and it starts to bother you before doing something about it?

These are some questions that I've been thinking about lately.

It's surprising how hard it is to act on these questions, though. If I'm into a series enough that it's noticeably changing me and my thought patterns, I'm usually enjoying it, and I'm maybe even a little bit addicted.

And there's so much peer pressure to watch certain things, to know about certain pop culture icons.

Once, I heard some friends talking about a TV show. I asked about it, and one of them said that they could not, in good conscience, recommend it to me. I'm guessing they said that because of the crass content of the show. I looked it up later. Netflix gives it a 93% match for me, based on my viewing history. Perhaps my friends will be surprised at some of the things I have watched and enjoyed. But perhaps their conscience also has a point.

Here are some ways that certain shows or books changes the way I think in ways I don't like:

• Making me feel lonely and jealous of other relationships
• Changing how I think about sex--both what I think and how often I think about it

As hard as it is, sometimes I just have to quit a certain show. Surprisingly, though, after a few weeks without it, I usually hardly miss it (although Orange is the New Black was particularly hard to quit... in fact, I just got theme song stuck back in my head again just from thinking about it).

Inevitably, if what you think about changes, how you act will also change. For example, if I think about ice cream all day, I am much more likely to eat some ice cream.

And so, I leave you with the cliché verse to quote when Christians talk about making choices about what to consume in the media:

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (Philippians 4:8)