Media Diet

1. Your Media Diet

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?

 I recorded my media consumption for 6 days over the last week. I had a good idea of how much time I devoted to various activities, but the numbers I laid out still surprised me.

Please keep in mind that some of these activities intersect. I may be reading while online, or reading online, for example.

 Monday, January 10 -12 hours online, 2 hours reading social psychology journal articles. In general, I worked on homework using facilities like Angel, caught up on current events in the news, and looked into technology websites like Gizmodo and Kotaku. I chatted with friends on AIM and Facebook, and then played Starcraft 2 intermittently throughout the day. I checked email several times on Groupwise and Gmail.
Tuesday, January 11 - 13 hours online, 3 hours reading social psychology journal articles. Again, I used Angel, looked at news websites (BBC, CNN), technology websites, checked email, and played video games while chatting on Facebook and AIM.
Wednesday, January 12 - 11 hours online, 1 hour reading social psychology journal articles. All of the aforementioned activities online.
Thursday, January 13 - 10 hours online. All of the aforementioned activities online. I played Xbox for 2 hours as well.
Friday, January 14 - 8 hours online. All of the aforementioned activities online.
Saturday, January 15 - 9 hours online. All of the aforementioned activities online

Almost all hours of the day not spent out with friends or in class are in front of a computer screen in some capacity, where I continue talking to friends while completing school-related work. My roommates have a similar pattern of use, with most hours of the day either in class or online. I expect that is rather common among individuals my age -- or at the very least, a substantive number of hours.

In one way, I regard my pattern of Internet use as above average. That said, I don't think it's uncommon for Americans between the ages of 15-25 to spend almost half of the day online in some capacity. It's exceedingly difficult to not be connected, whether on your computer, phone, iPod, or a tablet, because the operation of most  communication mediums are increasingly contingent on connection. For example, most classes use Angel or ERes to facilitate class assignments or discussions. Even if someone had no interest in the Internet, they would probably be channeled in. That said, all of the previous media outlets are now online as well. For some, individual interests have not shifted, but the medium has. For example, my roommate watches hundreds of television shows and movies, but seldom on television-- almost always on his computer. While lying in bed with snacks.

With the current trajectory of Internet use, in particular, I see other mediums being downplayed in the future, or integrating the Internet. For example, Internet will be fully integrated into television in many capacities. The question I'd pose is whether this much connection is a good thing. I see this as a problem of evolution. That is, while our technology evolves every minute, we biologically evolve at a much slower pace. As such, people aren't built to sit around playing video games, watching television, reading, or surfing the web for an excess of hours per day.

The technology we use isn't inherently geared to force people to sit for hours. We can certainly make use of the Internet wherever we like. It's an issue of distributing that knowledge to individuals so that they will take care of themselves while consuming.

That said, I should probably take my own advice and get up from this chair for the first time in a while. I could use a bit of exercise myself.