I grew up in a fairly conservative evangelical context where there were lots of “off-limits” movies and TV shows. Later in my life—as so often happens—I swung the pendulum to the other extreme, basically watching anything and everything for a while in my 20s. I now see that my college-age libertine approach to media (often for the sake of “art”) was anything but mature and quite naive.

The reality I’ve come to recognize is that we human beings are shaped by everything we consume. Food shapes our bodies; images, words, and ideas shape our souls. We are profoundly formed by what we watch—whether the news, YouTube videos, or something on Netflix. More than we realize. That’s why caution and discernment about what we watch is not prudish or old-fashioned, but simply wise. In the article below I share five questions that might be helpful as you ponder the wisdom of what to watch.