Hi Everyone!
I spent my day yesterday monitoring my media use for 24 hours. I started when I woke up and finished as I was going to bed. I’ve kept track of my usage by time of day listed below.
9:07am Woke up and immediately checked my email, Instagram feed and Facebook feed. My sister and I Snapchat rather than text, so I sent her a Snapchat around this time.
One thing I noticed was the amount of Sponsored Posts on both Instagram and Facebook, I didn’t see a lot of posts this early from my close friends. A few friends on Facebook were sharing stories about the Amazon Rainforest fires. And I saw a video about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her position, but I didn’t pay much attention to it.
9:30am Turned on Netflix as I had a very lazy start to my morning, watched an episode of Parks & Rec while scrolling through Instagram again. During this time I used an app to pay my credit card bill.
10:00am Log onto My ASU to begin working on classes for the day. I receive a few email notifications on my laptop for various sales.
10:30-11:00am I continue working on my classes, and I read a chapter of my textbook for computer literacy. I check my personal email again during this time.
11:00am I sent a few more Snapchats back and forth with my sister.
12:00pm I make myself lunch and scroll through my Facebook while I eat. I see a sponsored post from The Home Depot, nothing else too out of the ordinary. Lots of posts that friends shared or status updates.
12:30pm I began work on my photography class, and watched some videos that the professor posted. They led to external sites where a few ads popped up as I was watching, one for Samsung and one for Android not too long after.
12:45pm More Snapchat
1:04pm Checks Facebook again while watching another video for class. At this point I became aware as I was opening Instagram and stopped myself, I realized how quickly I reach for social media when I get slightly bored.
2pm Turned on TV and started watching SpongeBob. I saw an article on Facebook saying that in 45 years we have killed more than 60% of wildlife. I clicked on it and saw it was from 2016 from a site called Condé Nast Traveler, which I have never heard of.
Commercials on TV we directed at children, not surprisingly, so lots of Nerf guns and Lego sets.
2:30pm I took the syllabus quiz
3:00pm I got ready for work and checked Instagram every 10 minutes or so.
4:00pm I arrive at work and send a few Snapchats, text and scroll on Facebook and Instagram one last time since my phone has to be locked away.
8:00pm Got off work early, check phone and head to friend’s house. Here I wasn’t on my phone as much as usual since I was with a bunch of people, but I still checked every now and again.
11:00pm Once I am ready for bed I check Facebook one last time and see more news on the Amazon and ads for apartments.
Since my days change so frequently, it is difficult to set routines and limit media exposure. I think this post highlights a semi-average looking day for me. I didn’t visit too many news sites or stumble upon them in my day-to-day experience so my rankings list may be small.
Facebook 3/10
Snapchat Not really applicable
Instagram 5/10
Condé Nast Traveler 4/10
Email 6/10
TV 6/10
This assignment really was challenging because a lot of the time I spend on social media, it is because I am bored and mindlessly scrolling. I hope this helps me be more aware of the time I spend online and be more conscious about my media consumption.
