After further analyzing my use of media it really shocked me. I haven’t really ever thought of myself as having an addiction to media but after analyzing and putting the information I recorded into a bar graph has me questioning if I’m addicted or not. Like I said in my last post, I’ve never really thought of reading a textbook, taking some notes off a PowerPoint, and doing examples in class as a form of media. I’ve just always thought of media as technology based actions that we take on every day.

After further analyzing my weekday media usage, I realized that during the week on the days I have class I used media the most. Thursday is one of my busiest days and I chose that day because it was the busiest just to see how it would go. I have 3 classes that day and use some form of media in all 3 which has me constantly using media all day. Media forms I used, ranged from checking my email, using eLC to look at grades and so on, reading out of a textbook, taking notes in class, watching videos in class, and checking up on social media. I used lots of media on that day and every day but didn’t realize how much I used till doing this assignment.

After further analyzing my weekend media usage, I realized that when I’m busy with things that don’t involve school work that I don’t use media much. On that Saturday, I went to the football game in Kentucky with my family, so I was just hanging with them. I tried not to be on my phone much because I wanted to spend time with my family. Media I did use included, watching football games on the t.v. and just checking up on my social media every now and then. When I’m bust or with my family I tend to stay off my phone to take in what’s going on around me.

This assignment made me realize I use more media than I think I do. Before this assignment, I just thought using media meant, using social media sites on your phone, watching Netflix, listening to music, just watching tv, or using your computer for email or something. I use more media when I’m doing school work than I do any other time.  I’m constantly using media in my day to day life and not even realizing it.

After my post last week about my media use, I became even more interested in how exactly I use media throughout the day. I have always known which form of media I use most often, my phone, and even more specific, which apps I use most. Since I already knew these things, I did not want to graph which media I spend the most time on, but instead how often I use media throughout the day. My media log gave me a visual of which forms of media I use for how long and for how often I use media, but it still was hard to compare the different times to each other. After graphing my weekend day and weekday, I really realized the differences between the two and how media use really varies depending on the day. On the weekday, I realized that when I am not in class, I am usually using some form of media for an extended period of time. I also realized that from 8-10 PM I don’t use a lot of media, but from 10 PM on is when I use the most media by over 40 min. My graph for my weekend day looked very different that the weekday graph. On the weekend, I use media a lot more than during the week, clearly because of how much more free time I have. On the weekend, I use the majority of my media after 6 PM, but less media at 10 PM on. Since I logged on a Sunday, the Patriots were playing so that explains why I logged so many minutes while they were playing! Overall, graphing the different days really made me realize how much media I use throughout the day, and also how much media I use at very specific times during the day.

This week I logged my media usage again on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, as usual, I was using media in both of my classes of the day, using my laptop to take notes referring to the slideshows presented on the projector. Walking to these classes I was, of course, using my phone to listen to music to keep myself preoccupied. After classes I had breakfast while watching an episode on Netflix and working on assignments that were due next week. For the rest of the day I was back in my dorm doing laundry, but I was still using media to work on a PowerPoint and Excel spreadsheet while waiting for my laundry. After my laundry was finished I was able to wind down and watch another episode on Netflix.  I even took a nap before dinner so I didn’t use media for about 2 hours.

I noticed that my media usage on this weekday was significantly less than my media usage last Thursday where I was constantly using media. I think the circumstances of having so many tests to prepare for last week impacts the media usage because this time I did not need to be studying as much for something. I had assignments to work on Friday but they did not take long because I was working it in parts whereas studying for a test is long and treacherous.

Saturday was gameday so the circumstances for the weekend were skewed again since my typical weekend doesn’t consist of attending home games. My media usage this Saturday compared to last was significantly less again because I didn’t have to study for a test. Instead I could enjoy a football game in person. During the tailgates and football game I was using my phone occasionally as one naturally tends to do, but the service was terrible so I actually wasn’t using my phone that much. I socialized with my friends and watched the dawgs win. For the rest of the night I watched Netflix and hung out with a friend.

Logging my media usage again this week just confirmed my discovery last week– that I actually use media way more on the weekdays than on the weekends. Though I do have to do schoolwork on the weekends, I still find the time to put it away and enjoy the real life company of my friends and other events happening around me. The weekdays I found are solely dedicated to mostly schoolwork which requires media, and the weekends are more for face-to-face contact and leisurely use of media.

After logging my media last week, I noticed that I use media a lot more than I really thought I did, so I thought that this week I would try and use media less.  This started off going pretty well for about a day until I suddenly got really sick on Sunday. There is not much to do when you are sick expect watch TV, scroll through social media, and listen to music, which all require constant media usage. I found myself constantly being glued to either my phone, the TV, or both at the same time because there didn’t seem like there was anything else for me to do. The media sort of served as my sole entertainment and distraction for this week that I was sick. I did not count how long I was on media, but if I had, it most likely would have been 10.5 out of the 12 hours that I was awake each day. After a while my eyes would start to hurt probably from staring at screens for too long, but that didn’t stop me from checking my social medias or watching a new movie.

While this may have been an unusual week, I still think that I use media way more than I should. One thing that I learned from trying to use media less is that I am addicted to media. The more I tried to stop, the more I wanted to check snapchat to see if anyone had updated their story in the past twenty seconds or watch yet another episode on Netflix. Even while writing this blog post, I noticed myself reaching for my phone and scrolling through Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat to see if anything new was happening. Even though I knew that there would be nothing new to see, I kept checking out of instinct.

I inputted my media usage observed last week into bar graphs and included a trend line to note any patterns in my usage. As I had noted in my previous blog post, my media throughout the week gradually increases as the day goes on. I tend to take a break from school after I’m finished with classes, either watching Netflix or checking my Twitter updates. On the weekend, with more free time on my hands, I tend to use media more consistently, as illustrated by the trend line. My average total numbers of hours of media usage on the weekends exceeds that of the amount on a weekday.

This past week, I also tried to modify my media usage. I started off strong, attempting to avoid any sort of unnecessary form of media (usually a social media platform) while doing my homework. Even though I tried to “avoid” media, I still ended up having to use different forms of media to complete my homework assignments, including eLC, WebAssign, etc. As a result, I ended up getting work done more efficiently, but this only lasted for a day or two, as a result of the election. The election results made staying away from an excessive intake of media almost impossible. I was always either watching the news, checking Twitter, or watching Snapchat stories of the election results. I found it interesting at how active certain social media platforms become and how users come together as a result of these nationwide matters.

Apologies for yet another late posting, my weekends are always very chaotic with work.

I chose to record my media usage on Thursday and Saturday. The results were nothing out of the ordinary. I didn’t expect them to be much different. I don’t have classes on Thursday, so you would think I would be spending most of my free time focusing on media, but that wasn’t the case really. I checked social media when I woke up around 11 for about thirty minutes. I didn’t have any school work to do so I wasn’t having to read any media at all throughout the entire day. I spend the majority of my time with friends so the only time I really am using media is when I am posting a snapchat story. I posted three on Thursday and they were all related to what I was doing with my friends at the time. We did listen to the radio to and from dinner, but other than that I didn’t use media again until I got back into my dorm. That is when I got on my phone and checked all of the basics (twitter, instagram, facebook, and snapchat) for nearly 2 hours. So while that is a little absurd, I’d like to say my lack of media throughout the day made up for it.

Saturday I worked a double shift at Red Lobster so I had zero time to actually use media in any sense. I checked my social media for a few minutes before work and then I checked them again after work for about an hour. While I was at work I didn’t check my phone once. I went nearly ten hours without checking it. That’s how my weekends usually go unless there is a football game or concert. I am just too busy to put time towards that.

Throughout both of these days there was one media that I failed to log, but know that I used VERY frequently. That was recorded music. I listen to music at all times of the day no matter where I am – even at work. I’ve learned the lyrics to nearly every song that comes on at Red Lobster now because of how often I’m there. Music is a media that plays a very large role in my life.

I logged my social media use on Thursday and on Saturday last week, and was honestly not that surprised by the results. I know that I use media  a lot, definitely too much. What I noticed on Thursday in my 75 minute classes, is that I could hardly focus for more than 15 minutes without checking my phone. I also noticed when I was trying to study that I had to take numerous “phone breaks”. I often think about how much better I would be doing in my classes if I didn’t constantly check my phone. Even after class on Thursday the first thing I do is get on my phone. For me is something idle to do as I’m walking around campus by myself, or sitting in my dorm room. I had a social on Thursday night, and even then I was on my phone snapchatting with my friends.

Saturday I had a different schedule, but still used my media a lot. I went to breakfast with my friends and on a long walk, so I didn’t use my phone as much as I usually would during that time. I also spent a lot of time on Netflix, and online shopping. I was not surprised by how much I saw myself on my phone or using other medias, but it still concerns me to see it written down on paper. I definitely think that in this generation the go to thing to do in your down time or any time is to get on your phone and check your media, even if you’ve already checking it 5 times in the last 5 minutes. It’s turned into a bad habit for most, including for me.

I logged my media usage on Thursday and Saturday and I wasn’t really surprised because I know that I use media that much. The only thing that threw me off was seeing on paper exactly what I was doing with my phone. On Thursday I had 2 classes that were 75 minutes long so I didn’t spend a lot of time on my phone. I noticed that on Thursday I spent a lot of time on my phone when I was on the bus or when I was eating alone. Sometimes, I would get distracted if I was not focusing on getting my homework done. On Saturday, I had a lot more free time so I ended up spending more time on my phone. I had friends visit so that helped in making me get off my phone. I usually spend more time on my phone on the weekends because I have a lot more time on my hands.

At the end of these days after analyzing these two days I realized that I should reduce the amount of leisure time I spend on my phone. Although I knew that I spend a lot of time on my phone, after looking at it on the paper, written down, I realized that I spend a lot more time than I’d like. However, I think that I don’t spend mindless time on Instagram. I’ve recently started working on only being on social media when I actually have to respond to people.