There’s a new show out on a streaming service and I’ve started watching it. It’s part of a large franchise with a vocal fandom, and as usual, the fandom has opinions. These opinions are extreme, because that’s what social media and news sites amplify. Outrage sells. Hate sells. Abusive bot attacks drive up traffic and “engagement” so why should these companies stop them?

I too have opinions about this series, but they aren’t of the outrage kind. A few years ago I would have expressed them on Twitter, More recently I would have written about them in various group chats. These days I do neither.

I journal about them instead.

We have been trained to think that our opinions on the media we consume must be packaged attractively and shared as widely as possible. We have been told that it’s our responsibility to go on social media and let everyone know how we feel about a show, a movie, an album, a book, about every bit of culture we consume. We have been told that it’s for the benefit of our friends and for the benefit of the artists we like. It is not. It is for the benefit of a small group of shareholders.

I have no interest in feeding the outrage machine. Screaming into the bot filled void does nothing but make you hoarse, miserable, angry, and possibly part of a mob.

I also realized that I’m not interested in entering a debate or an echo chamber about this particular series. I just wanted to clarify for myself what worked in this series, what didn’t, and should I continue watching it or not.

So I journaled about it. No outrage. No drama. Just me and a blank page having a bit of a think about a streaming series. There’s no personal affront here, no mob cheering you on to hurl abuse on the series creators, no mob telling you what to think about certain casting choices, plot choices or the series creators.

My thoughts and conclusions about this series aren’t interesting, just as the name of the specific series is irrelevant. I recommend this process with every bit of media you feel the need to share your opinion about, BEFORE you share your opinion on it. It’s what I do with the books that I review. It’s what I do about podcasts, movies, series and shows. It allows for a guiltless, safe place to voice my opinions, to consider and rework them. It’s also far from the maddening crowd, which means I know that these are my own opinions and not the regurgitated opinions of others.

If you’re interested in the process, here are some questions you can use as prompts:

• Why did I start watching/reading/listening to this?
• Who would I recommend this to?
• Am I enjoying each episode/chapter? Am I looking forward to the next one?
• What is my favourite thing about this show/movie/etc? What is my least favourite?
• Bonus: How would I change the show/movie/etc to make it better? What would be gained and what would be lost with this change?

Do you journal about media? What prompts do you use?