On Wednesday August 21 I tracked my media usage, both what I produced and what I consumed. As it was my day off and I am in my first week of fall classes my media habits were a bit different than they are most days. I will address where I deviated from my typical routine later in this post.
My Media Diet Log
7:45 A.M.I woke up and checked my Facebook for notifications then caught up on my Instagram feed and stories on my phone. While I check the feed throughout the day, I only check stories once when I wake up and once before bed. After I was done checking social media I checked my email and remembered I needed to re-enroll for health insurance through work so I did that on my phone’s Internet browser. This all took around 20 minutes.
8:15 A.M. I left my house to head to an appointment and listened to a local radio station along the way. I typically listen to a pop station. When I got out of appointment around 9:00 I listened to the radio again on my way home.
9:15 A.M. Because it was my day off, my husband and I watched an episode of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” on Amazon Prime while we ate breakfast when I got home.
11:00 A.M. We headed to a local coffee shop. While there I read the assigned reading for this class and then watched the lecture videos. I also posted my introductory discussion post for my class. My husband let me snap a few candid pictures of him on my phone.
1:00 P.M. We headed home for round two of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” while my husband ate lunch. Typically, we would not watch two episodes within a few hours of each other but we were at the season finale and were on the edge of our seats.
2:00 P.M. My friend and I met for lunch. I caught a short snippet of an NPR segment on gun control, but not enough to understand the particular conversation they were having. I trust NPR’s work, but I know that they still occasionally make mistakes.
6:00 P.M. I began work on my French class using the website for the textbook we are using and posting an introductory discussion post for the class.
8:00 P.M. I made myself some dinner and turned on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver videos on YouTube. I like to watch Last Week Tonight to get a general understanding of an issue, but I often will further research the issue. His segments are relatively short for the complexity of issues he addresses so I find it best to further research. I caught up on the local news on the KIMT (my local news) website. They are good for local news, but their resources are limited and there are many inexperienced reporters on staff. I also read the Daily Briefing on The New York Times which I like to use when I do not have much time to read the news. Their work is mostly credible and I like that the Daily Briefing gives the most relevant news quickly.
Some Reflections on My Media Diet
Perhaps the biggest thing I noticed was that I take in more media than I put out. I occasionally post a picture to Instagram, rarely post a Facebook status, and daily write for school and for personal enjoyment, but not as much as I access media. I also noticed most of my media usage was Internet based. I do not have cable, so my only interaction with broadcast media is typically if my radio is on in the car. On a typical day I read the news on my phone more frequently than on this particular day because I’ll check the news on my breaks at work. I also will usually also watch a variety of YouTube videos, both for entertainment and to learn new skills. My husband and I also tend to look at memes on Reddit before bed.
