---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Collectively, we are in thrall to media…"
description: "\"Collectively, we are in thrall to media - because they deliver to us many of the psychic goods we crave, and we know no other way to live.\" — Todd Gitlin"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e0/todd-gitlin-16525_crave_collectively-we-are-in-thrall-to-media-b_1504545.jpg"
---

#  Collectively, we are in thrall to media - because they…

![“Collectively, we are in thrall to media - because they deliver to us many of the psychic goods we crave, and we know no other way to live.” quote by Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e0/todd-gitlin-16525_crave_collectively-we-are-in-thrall-to-media-b_1504545.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e0/todd-gitlin-16525_crave_collectively-we-are-in-thrall-to-media-b_1504545.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e0/todd-gitlin-16525_crave_collectively-we-are-in-thrall-to-media-b_1504545.jpg)

> “Collectively, we are in thrall to media - because they deliver to us many of the psychic goods we crave, and we know no other way to live.”

[Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Media dominates our lives, shaping desires and providing essential emotional experiences we cannot otherwise obtain.

**In simple terms:** Media supplies needed emotional goods.

Key Takeaway

Critically assess media’s influence on your needs.

Themes

media psychology culture

Mood

critical analytical

Type

sociological reflective

When to use this quote

- advertising
- social media usage
- news consumption

Key Concepts

sociology consumer behavior

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you find fulfillment beyond media?
- What alternatives satisfy your psychic needs?

A Different Perspective

The view may overstate media’s necessity.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/)

## Related quotes

> [I have invested the best part of my adult political life in helping to try to build up this movement and I am far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/i-have-invested-the-best-part-of-my-adult-political-life-in-helping/)

[Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/)

> [Personally I crave not for 'independence', which I do not understand, but I long for freedom from the English yoke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/personally-i-crave-not-for-independence-which-i-do-not-understand-but/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [The person we crave most to be with are the one who destroy us quickest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemantsmarty/the-person-we-crave-most-to-be-with-are-the-one-who-destroy-us/)

Hemantsmarty

> [Human nature is full of riddles; . . . one of those riddles is: how is it that people who have been crushed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/human-nature-is-full-of-riddles-one-of-those-riddles-is-how-is-it/)

[Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/)

> [Actually, if I don't eat healthy food I don't feel good. For me, I crave healthy food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cavallari/actually-if-i-don-t-eat-healthy-food-i-don-t-feel-good-for-me-i-crave/)

[Kristin Cavallari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cavallari/)

> [“Why are we doomed to crave most that which we cannot have?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-are-we-doomed-to-crave-most-that-which-we-cannot-have/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“A spark of every fire we seek is already within us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/a-spark-of-every-fire-we-seek-is-already-within-us/)

[Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/)

> [“I never met a pig I didn't like. All pigs are intelligent, emotional, and sensitive souls. They all love company. They all crave contact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sy-montgomery/i-never-met-a-pig-i-didn-t-like-all-pigs-are-intelligent-emotional/)

[Sy Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sy-montgomery/)

> [There are times when born hollandaise heads, as well as nouveaux turbot freaks and recherche escargotphiles alike crave the saignet abundance of a New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gael-greene/there-are-times-when-born-hollandaise-heads-as-well-as-nouveaux/)

[Gael Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gael-greene/)

> [I don’t know, I don’t know that I’m missing anything. I just think too much sometimes. Sometimes I’m even happy because I’m so engaged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-buckley/i-don-t-know-i-don-t-know-that-i-m-missing-anything-i-just-think-too/)

[Jeff Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-buckley/)

> [Regardless of what I do, whether I write a book or whether I act or whether I host, I'll always do stand-up comedy because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howie-mandel/regardless-of-what-i-do-whether-i-write-a-book-or-whether-i-act-or/)

[Howie Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howie-mandel/)

> [“i crave goddamn difficult”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/i-crave-goddamn-difficult/)

[Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/)

> [Don't crave fame, do what you do and just apply. I don't think many of them here today are that interested in fashion. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-wilson/don-t-crave-fame-do-what-you-do-and-just-apply-i-don-t-think-many-of/)

[Louise Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-wilson/)

> [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/)

[Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/)

> [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/)

[Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/)

## More by Todd Gitlin

> [The genius of the economic machine is in its ability to convert these indulgences into profitability. It converts desire into attention, a grip on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/the-genius-of-the-economic-machine-is-in-its-ability-to-convert-these/)

[Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/)

> [All I will say is that there are particular features of the American constitutional system that renders a third party futile - at best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/all-i-will-say-is-that-there-are-particular-features-of-the-american/)

[Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/)

> [Human inertia makes the everyday environment, the furniture, as it were, appear to be a given.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/human-inertia-makes-the-everyday-environment-the-furniture-as-it-were/)

[Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/)

> [I first came to think about media and politics in the late 1960s, having observed some distortions up close, but since then I wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/i-first-came-to-think-about-media-and-politics-in-the-late-1960s/)

[Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/)

> [I don't for the life of me understand how anybody could contemplate the results of the 2000 election in the US and say that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/i-don-t-for-the-life-of-me-understand-how-anybody-could-contemplate/)

[Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/)

> [Right now, we have no possibility of politics because we have a one-party state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/right-now-we-have-no-possibility-of-politics-because-we-have-a-one/)

[Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/)

> [The mobilisation which Bush has been able to perform since 11 September 2001 has to be fought - at least by Americans - in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/the-mobilisation-which-bush-has-been-able-to-perform-since-11/)

[Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/)

> [Navigation is power of a limited sort - it enables us to manage the immensity of the media torrent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/navigation-is-power-of-a-limited-sort-it-enables-us-to-manage-the/)

[Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/)

> [My book is focused on the power of the American state, not least because the government of the United States governs so much that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/my-book-is-focused-on-the-power-of-the-american-state-not-least/)

[Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/)

> [Mills insisted that a sociologist's proper subject was the intersection of biography and history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/mills-insisted-that-a-sociologist-s-proper-subject-was-the/)

[Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/)

> [Sure, I've often been misrepresented - anyone frequently quoted has this experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/sure-i-ve-often-been-misrepresented-anyone-frequently-quoted-has-this/)

[Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/)

> [A century of convulsive change leaves huge demographic gouge marks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/a-century-of-convulsive-change-leaves-huge-demographic-gouge-marks/)

[Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/)

> [If the Bible is a creation myth, it is an amorphous confusing one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/if-the-bible-is-a-creation-myth-it-is-an-amorphous-confusing-one/)

[Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/)

> [So every day I'm mindful as I watch the Bush crowd extend their sway into policies of every imaginable variety, and over almost every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/so-every-day-i-m-mindful-as-i-watch-the-bush-crowd-extend-their-sway/)

[Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/)

> [Some versions of patriotism come close to the tribal, which we all want to surpass, and some don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/some-versions-of-patriotism-come-close-to-the-tribal-which-we-all/)

[Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/)

[Explore all 39 Todd Gitlin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/)

## More Crave quotes

> [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/)

[Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/)

> [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/)

[Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/)

> [Don't crave fame, do what you do and just apply. I don't think many of them here today are that interested in fashion. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-wilson/don-t-crave-fame-do-what-you-do-and-just-apply-i-don-t-think-many-of/)

[Louise Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-wilson/)

> [“i crave goddamn difficult”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/i-crave-goddamn-difficult/)

[Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/)

> [Regardless of what I do, whether I write a book or whether I act or whether I host, I'll always do stand-up comedy because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howie-mandel/regardless-of-what-i-do-whether-i-write-a-book-or-whether-i-act-or/)

[Howie Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howie-mandel/)

> [I don’t know, I don’t know that I’m missing anything. I just think too much sometimes. Sometimes I’m even happy because I’m so engaged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-buckley/i-don-t-know-i-don-t-know-that-i-m-missing-anything-i-just-think-too/)

[Jeff Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-buckley/)

> [There are times when born hollandaise heads, as well as nouveaux turbot freaks and recherche escargotphiles alike crave the saignet abundance of a New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gael-greene/there-are-times-when-born-hollandaise-heads-as-well-as-nouveaux/)

[Gael Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gael-greene/)

> [“I never met a pig I didn't like. All pigs are intelligent, emotional, and sensitive souls. They all love company. They all crave contact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sy-montgomery/i-never-met-a-pig-i-didn-t-like-all-pigs-are-intelligent-emotional/)

[Sy Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sy-montgomery/)

> [“A spark of every fire we seek is already within us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/a-spark-of-every-fire-we-seek-is-already-within-us/)

[Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/)

> [“Why are we doomed to crave most that which we cannot have?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-are-we-doomed-to-crave-most-that-which-we-cannot-have/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Actually, if I don't eat healthy food I don't feel good. For me, I crave healthy food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cavallari/actually-if-i-don-t-eat-healthy-food-i-don-t-feel-good-for-me-i-crave/)

[Kristin Cavallari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cavallari/)

> [Human nature is full of riddles; . . . one of those riddles is: how is it that people who have been crushed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/human-nature-is-full-of-riddles-one-of-those-riddles-is-how-is-it/)

[Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/)

> [The person we crave most to be with are the one who destroy us quickest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemantsmarty/the-person-we-crave-most-to-be-with-are-the-one-who-destroy-us/)

Hemantsmarty

> [Personally I crave not for 'independence', which I do not understand, but I long for freedom from the English yoke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/personally-i-crave-not-for-independence-which-i-do-not-understand-but/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [I crave a love so deep that the ocean would be jealous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie/i-crave-a-love-so-deep-that-the-ocean-would-be-jealous/)

[Maggie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie/)

Browse all 504 Crave quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Collectively, we are in thrall to media - because they deliver to us many of the psychic goods we crave, and we know no other way to live.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Todd Gitlin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/collectively-we-are-in-thrall-to-media-because-they-deliver-to-us/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Crave"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/collectively-we-are-in-thrall-to-media-because-they-deliver-to-us/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e0/todd-gitlin-16525_crave_collectively-we-are-in-thrall-to-media-b_1504545.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e0/todd-gitlin-16525_crave_collectively-we-are-in-thrall-to-media-b_1504545.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e0/todd-gitlin-16525_crave_collectively-we-are-in-thrall-to-media-b_1504545.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Collectively, we are in thrall to media - because they deliver to us many of the psychic goods we crave, and…” — Todd Gitlin",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Todd Gitlin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Collectively, we are in thrall to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/collectively-we-are-in-thrall-to-media-because-they-deliver-to-us/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/collectively-we-are-in-thrall-to-media-because-they-deliver-to-us/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
