How do I watch media?
These days, I mostly watch media on my computer. I download TV shows (usually as torrent files; sometimes through iTunes), and then watch them on my laptop or my mp3 player. I still rent DVDs of movies and TV shows, but not as frequently as I used to.
My media habits are strongly affected by my budget (somewhat meager), and also by my friends' habits. I love watching movies in the theater, but it's expensive, and I find it hard to agree, with friends or with dates, on a movie for which we're both willing to pay upwards of $9 to see.
I also listen to a lot of podcasts (current favorites: "The Best Show on WFMU" and "Gay Pimpin' with Jonny McGovern"). I like the fact that podcasts can serve as an accompaniment to any activity that doesn't require my active listening participation.
I consider myself a pretty active viewer/consumer of media. Mentally active, I mean--I don't, like, do jumping jacks while I watch "30 Rock." I often have strong opinions about media, and I'm usually unconvinced by dismissals of something being "just a movie," and therefore unworthy of scrutiny. In other words, I often get accused of "over-analyzing" stuff, like "post-p.c." (read: racist) Superbowl commercials.