Good Morning class!
Today is Saturday, January 18, 2020 and I am excited to be writing this first blog post for you all!
Yesterday, Friday, January 17, I tracked all my media usage for 24-hours in order to discuss the news content I interacted with. I am 22 years old and very passionate about the entertainment industry, therefore, I interacted with very little news content throughout the 24-hours.
The apps that received the most usage throughout the 24-hours were Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Netflix, and my Alarms. I consistently check these social media sites throughout the day. Aimlessly browsing Instagram make-up and food videos has become quite a talent of mine. In doing so, I came across some news related content.
In the mornings, my alarm goes off at 9 am to give me a heads up, and at 9:30 am to actually wake me up and tell me its time to start my day. Of course, being the Millennial that I am, the first thing I do when starting my day is check my phone and all the social media I have slept through.
As previously mentioned, I am interested in make-up videos and have discovered and followed many influencers in the industry over the years. It seems that I have accumulated an attachment to Australia through following many Australian influencers and keeping up with their posts and stories daily throughout the years. Two women that I have consistently followed and interacted with are @SkyeWheatly and @SarahsDay. Because of the time difference, I often wake up to massively long Instagram stories from both of these influencers, as I did yesterday.
Both Skye and Sarah discussed the Australian wildfires that have been enca
psulating the entire nation. The devastating amount of people and animals that have lost their homes, and some their lives, can finally take a deep breath. A huge rainstorm has stopped majority of the fires in Australia. Although the rain does not have the ability to rebuild any of the lost items and houses, it did cease the continuing devastation. @SarahsDay linked some websites that were accepting donations including Salvation Army.
As my day continued, I browsed many platforms of social media and spoke to a lot of my friends through iMessages and Snapchat. However, news media continued to dwindle from my feed until about 5:30 pm. E! News’ Instagram posts celebrity and entertainment news and yesterday their content was very breakup heavy. Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler, two well known actors, ended their relationship after nine years together and E! News had the inside scoop as to why.
I’ve been following Hudgens since her High School Musical days back in 2006, and have therefore been invested in her and Butler’s relationship for the entirety of these past nine years. I read E! News’ article about their breakup and concluded that majority of what they published was hearsay, as most of their content typically is.
Ultimately, I have concluded that I need to introduce more substantial news into my everyday social media browsing cycle. Although I was aware of the Australian fires through social media outlets, I never considered Googling and reading up on the details of the nation’s losses. As for E! News, I already consider it a gossip column as opposed to a credible news outlet, so reading about the Hudgens/Butler break up hardly counts. I would rank E! News’ credibility at a 3. I know that the gossip news they produce often is happening, but the details they provide are not trustworthy and are often times wrong.
Looking back at my notes of my hourly media use has helped put things into perspective. Although I would like to step into the entertainment ind
ustry, it does not have to be the only news source I follow. It is important to be well rounded, and knowing and understanding what is happening in our nation and throughout the world is a new priority of mine. Hello CNN?
Until next time,
Gabriela Grant.
