This section contains several theories I have developed. They help explain how media characteristics affect decisions we make. In turn, these decisions affect our lives.

To the degree that people are products of their environment, we could also say they are products of their media environment. We consume media throughout our waking hours. Just like the food we eat and the air we breath, media can be life-giving or toxic.

Please read the following essays in sequence; they build on each other.

• Introduction – Swimming with Alligators
• Overview
• The Gates of Perception
• The Parallax Problem
• Source Credibility Vs. Message Credibility
• Media Proliferation & Selective Reception
• The Death of Compromise?
• How Mediums Shape Reality
• Sensory Smorgasbord
• Generations in Conflict
• Seeing is No Longer Believing
• The Fragmentation of Concentration
• Reality Stew
• How Filters Work
• Psychological Filters
• Conclusions