My Life As A Consumer of Information

The first major aspect of my life as an information consumer stems from a habit I’ve developed since I was 3 years old: reading. I have always loved reading in all forms, be they books, newspapers, internet articles, or learning materials. I even enjoy reading the nutritional information on milk cartons if I don’t have anything better to do.

So you can imagine how much information I get from all that reading. My hobby has played a huge role in shaping my dreams, ideals, and political views. Besides, I believe it has made me fairly comfortable using the English language, and I’ve come to understand that your grasp on language does affect the way you view the world. Since I only speak English and Malay, I probably relate to Western culture and thinking more than to my own parents, who do speak our own language (Mandarin). Sad to say.

Secondly, the Internet plays a large role in my life. When I was a kid, I found things out by asking Mum, Dad, or Teacher, “Why? How?” or by watching TV programmes. After awhile it became quite a tiring process to constantly demand for answers, NOW, from older people. And of course, there’s only so many things Elmo can teach you before you get sick of creepy furry muppets.

Then the Internet came along. Suddenly everything I wanted to know could be found prettily packaged in a tiny search bar. Google has not failed me to this day. To be honest, a lot of things I know about this world comes from Wikipedia.

Apart from Google, social media shapes me as a consumer of information. The key word is “sharing” – sharing information with other users. In more ways than just exchanging opinions, too. Online discussion forums and blogs allow me to share my views on many issues with people from all over the world. Social networking sites let my friends and me share what’s going in our lives quickly and easily.

The way I see social media, it gives a voice to everyone, myself included. It’s one of the defining characteristics of modern man – everybody wants to speak out, everybody wants to be heard. While I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities this presents us, I do sometimes wonder if there are too many voices screaming for attention nowadays. Not many people seem to realize the power of listening. Seeing this has made me a bit more aware of it. So I strive to achieve a balance between speaking and listening, not just on the Internet, but in daily life.

Finally, religion is a major factor in my life. I am a Christian and in all things I do, I try to keep a Godly perspective of things. However, one of my major struggles as a Christian consumerist is reconciling what the world teaches me with what my faith tells me. There lies an internal struggle wherever I try to retain my values and beliefs while keeping an open mind.

Take for example, the LGBT lifestyle. While my religion tells me this is wrong, I have many friends who engage in this lifestyle and are very good people. Consequently I find it hard to believe that such amazing people are, well, wrong.

Another example would be the issue of abortion. Naturally and morally, I am reviled by the idea of murdering an unborn baby. However, according to Freakonomics authors Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, legalized abortion actually results in a significant drop in crime rate and better overall quality of life. So how does that add up?

These are just two of many issues I struggle with as I digest information that clashes with my beliefs. Among other are communism, capital punishment, recreational drugs, and feminism. Nevertheless, I am certain that a rational, Christian worldview is out there somewhere and I must search for it. Meanwhile I view information from a Christian perspective as best I can.

Obviously there’s a lot more to information consumerism than just those 3 major aspects, but a 500-word constraint doesn’t make many allowances. And so, that is my (general) story of life as an information consumer.