When it comes to media usage, especially during the workweek, I am pretty boring. I barely have time to get ready in the mornings, and during the day I am bombarded with work or talking to my colleagues. I am also not on traditional social media such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. After work I only get a few hours of relaxation in before I am fighting to keep my eyes open, and the next thing I know it is the morning.
This last Friday was not much different. My media usage began once I got in the car for my commute to work. I like to listen to audiobooks during my drive because I get engaged in the story and forget about traffic. The audiobook I am currently listening to is Darknet by Matthew Mather, which is a techno thriller that so far is holding my interest. I prefer action and suspense for my driving audiobooks, so I tend to stick to thrillers, horror or science fiction. My favorites would be considered B Movies if they were made into films.
Once at work it is nose to the grindstone, so no media until lunch time. At that point I check my emails on my phone, and read a couple of articles on Queerty.com, which is a news and gossip site geared mostly toward gay men. The stories are usually about celebrities or politics, but the site has more in common with TMZ than CNN. I cannot say it is very reputable, but it is about all the news I can stand since it tends to make me depressed to hear about bleak topics such as war, murder and politics.
In the afternoon my workload eases up a bit, so I take that time to read some of the assigned articles for this class. First, I read “General Principles in Media Literacy” by Patricia Aufderheide on the California Newsreel website. Next, I read “Fake news. It’s complicated.” by Claire Wardle on the First Draft website. I will admit that I do not know very much about California Newsreel or First Draft, but if I had to hazard a guess I would say that they are more reputable news sites than Queerty.
For my leisure time, I like to watch YouTube videos, especially ones that show people doing things like cooking, making art, crafts, or something else I usually would not see on television. My current favorites are videos with people cooking Korean street food. While I am watching YouTube, my partner enjoys watching game shows and true crime shows. These are going in the background, and I occasionally look over so I would count that as “watching” too. Last night it was “America Says” on the Game Show Network, followed by “48 Hours: Hard Evidence” on OWN. I would count true crime shows as having elements of the news, and this one was one of the better ones, along with “20/20” and “Dateline.”
Once I get sleepy, it is time to put on an audiobook and I usually fall asleep while listening. My preference of books for this are classic Sherlock Holmes or anything with a calm voice to help me relax. Last night it was Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris. I got about 30 minutes of listening before falling asleep.
