Media Diet

Sunday Jan 31:

-       CWTV One Tree Hill (1hr)

-       Facebook (30min)

-       YouTube (1hr)

-       Gmail (20min)

-       Phone Call (1hr)

Monday Feb 1:

-       Youtube (20min)

-       Gmail (20min)

-       Text (20min)

Tuesday Feb 2:

-       Gmail (20min)

-       Facebook (25min)

-       Youtube (30min)

-       Text (15min)

Wednesday Feb 3:

-       Gmail (15min)

-       Youtube (25min)

-       Text (20min)

Thursday Feb 4:

-       Gmail (25min)

-       Facebook (25min)

-       Youtube (35min)

-       Text (20min)

-       Phone Call (45min)

Friday Feb 5:

-       Hulu Glee (1hr)

-       StarAdvertiser.com (30min)

-       Youtube (40min)

-       Gmail (35min)

-       Text (20min)

Saturday Feb 6:

-       Gmail (25min)

-       Facebook (25min)

-       Youtube (40min)

-       Text (10min)

-       Phone Call (50min)

For this assignment, I recorded my media diet over a seven-day period from Sunday to Saturday.  I wanted to get a good idea of how my media consumption would play out during the course of the week, comparing my weekend usage to my weekday usage.  I noticed, and expected, that my weekend consumption is a lot greater than my weekday consumption.  During the weekends I try to catch up on certain shows I enjoy watching regularly.  If I have too much homework during the week while my show is on, I wait until the end of the week or the weekend and watch it in order to stay current with the episodes.  I do not watch very many TV shows religiously because I know it will be too difficult for me to keep up with all of them, so I choose just one or two that I particularly enjoy and do my best to keep up with them.  I also noticed that I spend more time on Facebook and Youtube during the weekends.  Although the time indications don’t necessarily mean that I spend time on that particular website for an entire sitting, the total time spent watching videos or checking Facebook is more on the weekends than on the weekdays.  During the weekdays I try to stay focused on my homework and my studies.  Since I have more activities during the week such as community council, orchestra, chemistry lab, and various other commitments, I don't have the extra time to freely surf the Internet or watch all of the programs I would like to.  Sometimes, if I need a study break or stress reliever I will watch a quick Youtube video, but I try to finish all of my school related assignments before engrossing myself in the ever so enticing media world. 

Based upon the record of my seven-day media diet however, I do not feel that I over engage myself with media activity.  Although I do spend a fair share of my time on the computer, much of my time is spent doing academic related things.  Many of my teachers I feel, make use of the conveniences of online communication – most of my assignments are found online, some quizzes are taken online, many discussion forums for written work is conducted online, etc.  Through observing and talking to others, I think that my media consumption is rather minimal compared to that of my peers.  Many of my guy friends talk about various online games and playing against each other sometimes until 2 or 3 in the morning.  There are also those certain individuals who constantly show up on my news feed on Facebook, indicative of their extended time on the computer.  Although I do not know for sure, it seems as though in comparison to other people around my age, my media diet is relatively “healthy”.  I think that this shows that I am not very dependent upon media and its forms of entertainment (not to say that I don’t enjoy watching shows or looking at websites from time to time).  Many people seem to be too reliant on the many functions of media, not realizing how much they really are consuming.  I think our society as a whole has become a little too contingent on technology, and its continuing development is giving us even more reasons to continue depending upon its functions.  I personally enjoy the idea of reading the newspaper or a magazine in the morning while sitting at a cafe with a friend catching up on each other’s lives.  These days this kind of situation comes with a virtual package.  People get up and read the New York Times (or any other news website) online and then sign on to ichat or Facebook to catch up with their friends.  As I stated previously in my other blog entry regarding Technology and Social Interaction, we are slowly losing touch with the deeper meanings behind face-to-face interactions and this is because of the progressing usage of media in our society today. 

I don’t think that I need to change anything in terms of my media diet because I feel that I have a good sense of my priorities.  I am very conscious of the amounts of media I consume on a day-to-day basis and try to make sure that my media intake is not overdone.  Although being in college has allowed my media consumption to grow – through which I keep in touch with my friends – I do not think that I have become too absorbed in the “hype” of social media and technology that has arisen within the past decade.  I hope to stay current with the newest and developing means of technology and media, but I do not want to succumb to a particular “over-indulgence”, even with what it has to offer.