As part of my Introduction to Electronic Media class, I had to make a journal covering my media use. The assignment consisted of three parts: a log that tracked my media use over the course of a week, charts/tables depicting the log data, and a written analysis of the data. I decided to track my media use from 8/30/2010 - 9/5/2010. I had 6 different types of media categories: internet, car radio, TV, radio, DVD, and book. I also included the length of time I used the media and my reason for use in the log.
Putting the log's data into chart and table form definitely helped me grasp my results better. It also made the analysis much easier. I couldn't believe how much I used the media over one week, 37 hours and 11 minutes. Perhaps more unbelievable, this is much less than the average person! My primary choice of media was the internet. I use it for research, submitting/completing school assignments, and entertainment. This may be hard to believe, but I do not have a TV. This isn't a big issue for me, however, since just about every show I watch is available for free on either the show's website or Hulu. I also tend to read a lot, although this wasn't reflected in my data since I happened to do most of my required reading for that time frame prior to August 30th and I was too busy to find time to read for pleasure. I suspect the book category would have been a lot bigger in any other week. One surprising thing was the lack of a major increase in my media usage over the weekend. Although, I do like to spend a lot of time outside, so it is easily explained.
The main thing I learned from doing this assignment was how much media is truly ever-present in people's lives. Of course I've heard this before, but it really sinks in when you analyze your own life and come up with numbers. As great as technology is, I can't help but wonder how different the world and our lives might be without it.
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