Your task for this assignment is to record your media consumption for 5-7 days straight. Take note of how many hours you spend reading, watching television, using the Internet, or engaging with any other forms of media. While you do not have to give an exhaustive account of every TV show you watch or website you visit, do note what types of books, TV, websites, etc. that you consume. You can also describe which particular shows you watch or sites you visit daily/on a regular basis. After listing your media diet for each day of the week (length of time, types of media), you should provide a brief analysis. Questions you might address in your analysis include: What does your media diet say about you? How do you think it might compare to the media diets of other people your age? What might your media diet suggest about American society more broadly? Are there changes you'd like to make regarding your media consumption? How might your social location influence your media intake?
Saturday (Jan 8, 2011)
· TV
o Random TV shows (40 minutes)
o Football ( 2 hours)
· Internet
o Check email (5 minutes)
o Local newspaper (10 minutes)
o CNN (10 minutes)
o Online homework (1 hour)
o Online reading for classes ( 2 hours)
· Video Games
o Played the Wii with my little brother (2 hours)
· Phone
o Text (20 minutes)
Sunday (Jan 9)
· TV
o Political Talk Show (20 minutes)
o Random TV shows (20 minutes)
o Simpsons (30 minutes)
o Family Guy (30 minutes)
· Internet
o Online homework (1 hour)
o Online reading (2 hours)
o Check email ( 5 minutes)
o Local newspaper (10 minutes)
o CNN (10 minutes)
Monday (Jan 10)
· TV
o Morning News (30 minutes)
o Evening News (30 minutes)
o The Simpsons (30 minutes)
· Internet
o CNN (20 minutes)
o Local newspaper (15 minutes)
o Check email (5 minutes)
o Online Homework (2 hours)
o Ebay (10 minutes)
· Books
o The Company (1 hour and a half)
o Economics Text ( 1 hour and a half)
· Phone
o Listen to music ( 1 hour)
o Calls (30 minutes)
o Text ( 10 minutes)
Tuesday (Jan 11)
· TV
o Morning News (30 minutes)
o Evening News (30 minutes)
· Internet
o CNN (20 minutes)
o Local newspaper (20 minutes)
o Check email (5 minutes)
o Online Banking (5 minutes)
o Online Readings for Econ (2 hours)
· Computer Software
o Microsoft Word (1 hour)
o Stata Data Analysis Software (2 hours)
· Books
o The Company (1 hour and a half)
o Economics Text ( 1 hour)
· Phone
o Listen to music ( 1 hour)
o Calls (20 minutes)
o Text ( 10 minutes)
Wednesday (Jan 12)
· TV
o Morning News (30 minutes)
o Evening News (30 minutes)
o The Simpsons (30 minutes)
· Internet
o CNN (30 minutes)
o Local newspaper (20 minutes)
o Check email (5 minutes)
o Online homework (1 hour )
· Books
o Economics Text ( 30 minutes)
· Phone
o Listen to music ( 1 hour)
o Calls (20 minutes)
o Text ( 15 minutes)
Thursday (Jan 13)
· TV
o Morning News (30 minutes)
o Evening News (30 minutes)
· Internet
o CNN (30 minutes)
o Local newspaper (20 minutes)
o Check email (5 minutes)
o Online Readings for Econ (3 hours)
· Computer Software
o Microsoft Word (30 minutes)
o Microsoft Excel ( 1hour)
o Stata Data Analysis Software (2 hours)
· Books
o Economics Text ( 30 minutes)
· Phone
o Listen to music ( 1 hour)
o Calls (20 minutes)
o Text ( 5 minutes)
Friday (Jan 14)
· TV
o Morning News (30 minutes)
o Evening News (30 minutes)
· Internet
o CNN (20 minutes)
o Local newspaper (20 minutes)
o Check email (5 minutes)
o Research Journal Articles for Econ (2 hours)
o Online homework Econ (1 hour)
o Hulu TV Shows (2 hours)
· Computer Software
o Microsoft Word (1 hour)
· Phone
o Listen to music ( 1 hour)
o Calls (40 minutes)
o Text ( 10 minutes)
Keeping track of my media consumption for the past week has been a very revealing experience. I had never taken the time to reflect on just how much of a role technology plays in my daily life and was very surprised to learn that most of my waking hours involved some type of interaction with media, whether for school or leisure. In fact, my dependence on technology is so strong that one time when the lights went out at my house, leaving me deprived of the Internet or TV, I could find nothing better to do than to lie down and hope that the power would come back soon. Bad right?
As I was writing down my use of media I noticed several things. First, I am a news junkie. I commute to school every day, so I always flip to the local station to get the weather forecast and hear the previous day’s highlights. While at school, I go to my local newspaper’s website to see the top stories and also check CNN for political and national news. When I get back home, I hit the news channel once again just to see what I missed during the commute. Learning that I do this on a daily basis makes me realize that I am a person that likes to be informed and up to date on current political issues and local events. It used to be worse when I had cable, since I would spend hours watching CNN and other news outlets listening to pundits battle it out over all sorts of issues. Good times.
Another thing I noticed is that this quarter, my use of media for educational purposes has increased. Most of my classes now require that I complete assignments online or have a course website where class readings are posted. As an Econ major, I also heavily rely on programs that help me analyze data, such as Excel and Stata. The increase in the use of technology in my classes seems like an interesting observation because it might indicate that professors are moving away from traditional resources like physical textbooks and are instead substituting into electronic resources.
Perhaps the most important part of this assignment was to notice the psychological effects technology has had on me. When I go online, the first thing I like to do is check is my email. It may seem strange, but I look forward to finding out what might be waiting in the box for me. Just like when I get a text message, wall post, comment, or reply, there is some level of satisfaction that I get by just opening and reading a message meant for me. This makes me a little glad that my phone can’t access the Internet, otherwise I’d be constantly checking for messages.
Another psychological effect that technology has had on me is that it might be making me a little more impatient. I notice that when I’m reading online, I like to skim through articles and am in a hurry to move on to the next one, clicking on link after link after link. All these links are a big distraction and a lot of time can be wasted this way.
When I think about my peers, I think that there are many similarities in our media consumption. Most people are in some sort of social networking group and probably also like to check if people send them messages. I would also guess that people my age like to text and use their phone as much as I do, especially if they have Internet access. For school work, many of us have to complete assignments or do readings online, as well as use the Microsoft Office software.
My media consumption might also reflect trends in American society in general. For example, many of us get our news from electronic sources, which is why the newspaper industry is in decline. Also, face to face interaction might be diminishing due to media such as Facebook, Skype, and our phones, which allow us to communicate with others without actually having to be in the same room.
Doing this exercise helped me learn a little more about myself and about how I use technology to interact with the world around me. It also revealed many ways in which I waste time that could be put to more productive uses. One way I would like to change my media consumption is to stop reading all the pointless stories on news sites, especially those on mama grizzlies.
You have an interesting point about constantly checking for messages if you had a phone with internet access. Not until recently did I get a phone with internet access, and before I did, I used to be very much like you- checking my email first thing and anxiously awaiting for someone to contact me. Once I started using my new phone, I was notified as soon as these things happened, and I stopped looking at my email first thing I got online. Instead, Id be able to check it as soon as I got an email and never waste time logging in to an empty inbox. So I can see how you might think you'd waste more time if you have a phone with internet, but I feel that it is just the opposite- it saves me time.
ReplyDeleteEven though you say that you are a news junkie, I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. First of all, as you mentioned it is great to be informed. I think most people, myself included, need to be more informed about what is going on in the world. Secondly, most people multitask while watching the news, or at least that is what it seems like to me. Correct me if I'm wrong. So I don't think you should be so harsh on yourself and consider that in any way wasted time.
ReplyDeleteMy educational usage of media has also gone up this quarter, but what I think is the most interesting aspect is the fact that I pay attention to my media usage a lot more, thanks to SOCI 149.
Great post!
Being a new junkie is not a bad thing... the question is do you get the different analysis of the news that makes it valuable? How is the news presented?
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great work and the thoughtful comments...