Media Diary Blog

Friday 1/7/2011

11:00 AM- 12:00 AM

• Went on Facebook
• Checked e-mails
• Watched TV
• Watched Degrassi DVD
• Texted Friends
• Listened to music on internet
• Call mom  on cell phone
• Surfed Internet
• Read news on internet
• Played games online
• Watched live prank call show online

Saturday 1/8/2011

10:00 AM- 11:00 PM

• Went on Facebook
• Watched TV
• Watched movie on Netflix
• Texted Friends
• Skype friends
• Listened to music on internet
• Call friends
• Surfed Internet
• Played games online
• Played video games on PS2
• Used Google maps
• Listened to iPod on train
• Watched YouTube Videos

Sunday 1/9/2011

11:00 AM- 12:00 AM

• Went on Facebook
• Texted friends
• Watched TV
• Listened to music on internet
• Read article online for class

Monday 1/10/2011

12:00 PM-6:00 PM

• Texted Friends
• Watched TV
• Listened to Jango
• Watch videos on YouTube

This log really made me see how central media is to my life. I use media at least once every hour in one way shape or form, from being on my laptop to surfing on my mobile phone. I am really unsure how I would function especially on the weekends without it. I use media for entertainment purposes much of the time. But along with that I feel it can also be seen as personal interaction because I use my cell phone to communicate as well as internet through IMs and Facebook. Media is a big thing for me because it calms me down and puts me in a relaxed state of mind. I watch TV a lot and I also listen to music a lot because these are two things that relax me.

Media Schedule

Friday

10:30am:Woke up checked my phone for text messages, checked email and facebook for important messages and friend requests

10:45am: Looked on espn.com for the latest sports news, while watching espn on television

11:30am: received a text message from the coaches about practice and lifting schedule for the day

12-4pm: Watched television and played on computer and phone

7:45pm: returned a text message sent by a friend

Saturday

7:30am: Woke up, checked phone for text messages, and checked email

11am: Checked phone again for text messages, responded to one from mother

11:15am-4pm: watched various sporting events on television, while checking phone for text messages

4-5:30pm: listened to music on mp3 player and youtube while watching television

5:30-7pm: texted friends while watching television

Sunday

11am: Woke up and checked email and phone for important messages

12-5pm: Did homework for various classes on the computer and checked blackboard, email. Turned off phone so I wouldn’t get distracted. The only time I turn off my phone is when I need to get work done

5:05pm: Checked phone and replied to 3 text messages

5:10-11pm: Watched television and chatted with people on facebook

Reflection: Most of the time I use the Internet to check my email or to check facebook. I also use the Internet to read about important news stories and I always check my phone just in case I get a text or call from friends, family or coaches. I also always check my email just in case I get an important message from school. I use the Internet and technology to help stay in touch with the world and what’s going on. If I didn’t have technology then I would be lost. I depend on technology everyday.

Media Journal

These are my interactions with media from Friday through Monday:

Friday: Watched SportsCenter in the dining Hall for 30 minutes in the morning. Used my laptop to get research on a project for 3D approaches during studio hours. I talked to my friend from my high school on the phone for 45 minutes. Talked to my dad on the phone for 25 minutes. Went to Jazzman’s to get lunch and texted 4 different people about tonight’s plans. I talked on the phone with my mom at 11:00pm for a half hour.

Saturday: Woke up and played XM radio on my laptop while cleaning my room. Skied in Breckenridge, and used a “Go Pro Hero” video camera that straps you your ski helmet. Used cell phone multiple times while calling other people to meet up at Breck. Watched CNN while eating in one of the chalet’s.

Sunday: Made a video using iMovie of the footage taken while skiing in Breckenridge the previous day. Went to Church in the Evans Chapel and went on facebook on my phone on the way. Finished up homework and Played Call of Duty for 45 minutes before getting ready to go to bed.

Monday: Used iPod when I went to the gym to workout. Used my laptop to record part of the journal entries. Typed part of my English paper for an hour and a half, using Microsoft Word and Blackboard.

Last week, around Wednesday, I misplaced my phone. It was really frustrating because I knew the vicinity of where it was: my dorm room. I kept searching but for some reason I still could not find it! I ended up not finding my phone until 36 hours later. Through this time, my memory was refreshed on the reliance I have on my cell phone. Contrary to the way a lot of teens may respond to this situation, I actually experienced somewhat of a freeing feeling not having to respond to texts and make phone calls. I found that though facebook and emails I could still contact the people I needed to contact and I could function. However, the main issue was being able to get a hold of someone when I was out and about on campus. The cell phone is definitely essential for me to have throughout my day in order to stay on top of things. Over this period of time that I spent recording my use of media in a journal, I realized again that I use my cell phone throughout the day. I found that besides being in class (which is what the majority of this time was) was the time where I would be using a form (or multiple forms) of media without even realizing it. I’ve always known Facebook was a huge part of my life and definitely was up 90% of the time that I have my laptop open. I seem to only watch the news on television when it is presented to me. I never found myself turning on the TV in my dorm room and going to a weather channel or a popular news channel. I never looked at one newspaper. All of the time spent staying up on the news (especially sports) was either on TV or on the internet such as espn.com or nba.com. It was eye opening to actually pay attention to my use of media, because it really is a huge part of my life.

Media Diary

Friday:  Woke up around 12, ate breakfast while watching sportscenter.  I hung out in my dorm with friends for a while mostly either listening to music, playing video games or watching television.  When I wasn’t hanging out with friends I was either listening to music or surfing the web on my computer.  When I hung out with friends in the evening we listened to music but for the most part we weren’t connected to any form of media and were just talking.  When everyone left back to their rooms I watched a little tv and then went to bed.

 

Saturday:  I woke up around 11 and checked my computer for any new sports news.  Then I watched a little bit of the football playoff games playing.  After the football games I mostly just listened to music or played video games.  I went to a late lunch in the cafeteria and then came up to my room and read both without being exposed to any media.  Afterwards I used my phone to text and call friends and then met up with friends and left campus on the light rail to do errands.  When I got back I hung out with friends while listening to music and then went to bed.

 

Sunday:  I woke up around 11 again and then got breakfast.  I watched football with friends for most of the day, during halftime of the games I played video games with them.  Then I did homework while having a conversation over texting.  After I got dinner I listened to music with friends, did some homework and then went to bed.

 

Monday:  I woke up from the alarm on my phone and then went downstairs to eat breakfast.  I went to my first class at 10 then went back to my room.  I surfed the web on my computer while listening to music, then watched some tv before getting lunch.  When I got back I did a little bit of homework and then played video games with friends before my next class at 4.  I was really bored in my class because it is a huge lecture so while I was taking notes I routinely zoned out so I started playing poker on my phone.  When I got back I did homework on my computer with friends and then worked out.  I played video games with friends before going to bed.

Media Diary

I cannot say that I clearly devoted more time to either personal interactions or to entertainment. I feel that my time was divided rather equally among the two. One thing of particular note, although I was aware of this already, is that I typically experienced both at the same time.

Perhaps one of the better examples is Friday night. 8-12 that night I was simultaneously playing World of Warcraft, listening to Japanese music and on my Ventrilo server at the same time. The music was clearly entertainment, but I was using Ventrilo for personal interaction with those I was playing World of Warcraft with, which is a combination of both entertainment and personal interactions.

In regard to what type of media I came in contact with, music on my computer was the type that took up the most time, personal interactions through Ventrilo were likely a close second, and reading media both online (NYTimes.com) and offline (textbooks) was third. Texting was infrequent at most with less than two a day, and were only in response to recived messages. Email was irregular but concentrated in the evenings. Print media, e.g., textbooks, was typically in the evenings, 6 pm or after.

Entertainment media, aside from WoW, was primarily foreign and mostly Japanese. When not media on my computer, the rest primarily came from ニコニコ動画, a Japanese video website like youtube, except that comments are shows on top of the video, as opposed to below it.

Something else perhaps differing from my peers, I did not use my phone as a primary vehicle in my interactions with other people, I instead used it as a means to arrange personal meetings with them. For example, I called my friends only to tell them I’d pick them up for our dinner plans on Saturday night, rather than do any sustained interaction through texting or calling.

Perhaps one final point of interest is that I did not watch any garbage TV over the weekend, not something I assume many of my peers did.

Weekend media journal

This was a fairly interesting experience for me. Media is an important part of my life. I am a musician, therefore I listen to many artists to see “how they’re doing it. Starting on friday I noticed that I really dont use my phone as much as most people. And as people these days prefer to text, I still prefer to call people. I have friends that always say “shoot me a text” or something like that and I always end up calling them. In a way, with texting, I feel like we have backtracked to something similar to the telegraph. I spent lots of time over the weekend skiing with my girlfriend and my friends already knew I had plans. So I really didn’t use my phone much; mostly to see what time it was.

I noticed I checked my facebook at least twice a day, but not for more than 10 min at a time. I really look down upon folks who use facebook for more than an hour a day. I personally would rather spend my time with actual people, or calling them to plan something with them at a later date. I checked my email about twice a day as well as my checking account. On sunday afternoon I checked up on imdb.com to see the latest movie news. This is a site I visit fairly regularly. I watched new trailers to upcoming films and checked ratings of movies I had already seen to see what others thought.

I also check youtube and itunes for good music. I also record my music so I look for tips online so I can learn new tricks. Overall I think I use media less than most people my age in America, but I still enjoy it.

Media Diary

On the average day, I think it is safe to say that I use media about 90% of my day.  Actually, make that about 95% of my day.  Call it an addiction, but its the truth. I usually use it for both personal interaction and entertainment.  You name it and I use my phone for it! It has gotten so extreme that my friends have called me out on it and my boyfriend and I actually argue over it.  My phone is always on lap.  Always. I don’t even have any notification or ringer sounds turned on because a) I am always looking at it and b) it would probably get annoying.

With that said, this weekend was actually something out of the ordinary for me… I wasn’t allowed to have my phone with me.  I went snowboarding up in the mountains this weekend with my boyfriend, and while I obviously could have used my phone, he put a lot of effort into planning the weekend and asked only one thing of me- that I turn my phone off and keep it in the glove box.  As semi-controlling as that sounds, I am terrible with it, so fair enough!

So my media diary went something like this:

Friday:

5:00-6:30 a.m. -Used phone’s alarm to wake up.  Used my laptop to check the weather in the mountains, checked my Gmail, checked facebook, yelped (I love yelp!) a breakfast place, then used my phone again for Pandora while taking a shower and getting ready and also for GPS to the breakfast restaurant.

6:30-8:30 a.m – This was the car ride up to the mountains, which I did not drive so I pretty much used the phone for GPS to the condo and played Angry Birds for the 2 hours straight!!

We got to the condo around 8:30 and that was about the time I went dark! From around 8:30 Friday morning, till around 2:30 Sunday afternoon, my phone was off and being held captive by the car’s glove box.

Sunday

2:30-6:00 p.m-  The minute we got in the car I went for my phone.  I checked email, voicemails, checked up on Facebook, and got back to the plethora of text that I missed. After that, I used it again for yelping out a place to grab some food, and then the rest of the drive home continued my Angry Birds domination.

6:00-11:00 pm-  I used my laptop to check up with school work and then also used it to check movie times.  Texted a little bit, during the movie didn’t really use it and after the movie didn’t use it-too tired.

Monday

6:30am -Used the phones alarm to wake up for work.

7:30-4:30-  Used my phone a lot during work.  I nanny twin babies that sleep 80% of the day so I also bring my laptop and got all my homework done.  Surfed the web, kept Pandora on,  was on g-chat and facebook stalked people.

I had class from 6-8 then when I got home I texted some more, surfed the web, did a little online shopping and schoolwork. Around 10:00pm I used my laptop to watch some Netflix and went to bed!

 

Blog #2 – Weekend of January 7-10

I spent most of this weekend snowboarding at Keystone, so I had personal interactions with my friends that I went up with, but mostly the weekend was devoted to entertainment. I had personal interactions with a friend from DU on Friday, and I met his friend who goes to CU Boulder, since he was driving us. That night I spent more time at DU interacting with friend in Centennial Halls, since I live in JMAC. Saturday morning I was on my way back to Keystone with my two DU friends who are from Montana. It was a much busier day on the mountain, so I had much more interaction with strangers on the lift line and while hiking up to the bowls. That Saturday night I again interacted with friends in Halls, so looking at the weekend as a whole I guess I did have a combination of entertainment and personal interactions. Sunday was devoted to sleeping, and then traveling downtown on the light rail to buy a helmet. I interacted with people on the train, and in the stores I went to. Finally, Monday was devoted more to personal interactions during the school day, since the entertainment cannot come before school!

 

Media Diary

Friday 1/7/2011

9:00 AM- 12:00 PM

-Checked e-mails (school and personal)

-Read RSS feeds through Google Reader

-Went on Facebook

12:00 PM- 5:00 PM

-Watched Top Chef through Hulu

-Called Mom with cell phone

-Texted friends

-Listened to Pandora

5:00 PM- 12:00 AM

-Watched TV

-Texted friends

-Went on Facebook

Saturday 1/8/2011

9:00 AM- 12:00 PM

-Watched a movie

12:00 PM- 5:00 PM

-Texted friends

-Went on Facebook

-Used cell phone to Call Aunt

5:00 PM- 12:00 AM

-Cousin called for help

-Texted friends

Sunday 1/9/2011

9:00 AM- 12:00 PM

-Went on Facebook

-Read RSS feeds through Google Reader

12:00 PM- 5:00 PM

-Texted friends

-Watched TV

5:00 PM- 12:00 AM

-Listened to Pandora

-Online research for class

Monday 1/10/2011

9:00 AM- 12:00 PM

-Watched the news

12:00 PM-5:00 PM

-Texted Friends

-Watched TV

-Listened to Pandora

-Wrote blog response for another class

-Online research

5:00 PM- 12:00 AM

-Watched TV

-Checked this class’s blog

Overall, I use media everyday of my life.  I think in our time it would be difficult to go through the day without the use of media.  In terms of my usage, I think that I equally devote my media use between personal interactions and entertainment.  My personal interaction is when I use my cell phone to communicate with my friends and family.  From this communication I can make plans with them or help them when I cannot be there physically.  I use Google Reader to keep up with current events, which can be considered entertaining and personal for me since I am a journalist major.  For entertainment, I use Pandora and watch TV a lot.  I like to listen to music while I do my homework.  When I’m done with my homework, I like to watch TV because it is relaxing and it gives me a mental break.

 

Media Diary

Fri 1/7/11

11-11:50 -used computer in class to take notes and follow PowerPoint presentation. Also used computer to surf the web a little.

2-5- Played on Xbox live with my friends while we talked about break and how school had been going.

6-6:30- Listened to the radio as I drove to the movie theater. Ks 107.5/107.1

7-9:30- Went to a movie with my family and saw “How do you Know” it was a little slow for my liking but since I was with the family It didn’t really matter.

10-10:50- Surfed the web and checked my email, also talked on Facebook.

11-12- Watched Sports Center as I feel asleep.

. 11am-12 am -Throughout the day from beginning too end I was texting. It was just hard to keep a running media diary for this but I was texting a lot also made some phone calls as well.

 

Sat 1/8/11

12-2- Watched a movie with my girlfriend called “Case 39’ didn’t enjoy the movie at all I’m not really into scary movies not that I’m scared just don’t enjoy them.

2-6- Watched the NFL playoff games.

2-6- Surfed the web worked on my Media Diary checked my email.

7-8.  Talked to people on Facebook also played online games.

11-12- Watched Sports Center as I feel asleep.

. 11am-12 am -Throughout the day from beginning too end I was texting. It was just hard to keep a running media diary for this but I was texting a lot also made some phone calls as well.

 

Sun 1/9/11

12-6- Watched NFL Pregame show and the NFL playoff games.

7-9 Watched animation domination on Fox which is all the new cartoons such as family guy and the Simpsons.

9-10. Went online to look at new music also got on Facebook.

10-10:30 Finished my Media Diary for the weekend.

10:30-11:15- Skype with my girlfriend

11:15-11:30- watched the rest of Sports Center and went to bed.

11am-12 am -Throughout the day from beginning too end I was texting. It was just hard to keep a running media diary for this but I was texting a lot also made some phone calls as well.

 

Mon 1/10/11

11-11:50- Took notes on laptop also surfed the net.

12-2- Used laptop to download music and used Facebook

2-3 Texted also made some phone calls

6-7 Watched ESPN college game day

7-9 Took notes on my laptop for astronomy surfed the net and watched updates of the BCS National championship game.

9-10 Watched the BCS National Championship game.

10-11- Played Xbox live and skyped girlfriend .

 

Overall Reflection

My overall reflection is that I seem to rely a lot on technology and media not only to communicate with others but as a source for entertainment. What I mean by this is that I communicate with people generally through media such as texting, phone calls, skype and more. I feel that we as a society have grown apart from interpersonal communication or face to face communication and we rely a lot on technology and media. Now a days people tend to text or skype loved ones because as a society that’s the direction were heading. I also noticed that when it comes to class work I tend to use my computer to surf the web and look up information but I tend to abuse it and get lost surfing the web, weather I use it to look up new music or get on Facebook. Media has had a huge impact on my everyday life and with all the new technology that is now available to  use I think with out it many would be lost  including myself.