My Media Diet

Sunday-This is usually my lazy stay in bed and do nothing day. Because of this I will usually end up staying in my room either watching tv or surfing the net. I usually have espn playing on the tv to watch any sports footage that I have missed during the week, and while on my computer surfing the net the site that you will find me most regularly on is facebook.com. I will also have fratmusic.fm, or hulu.com on also to either listen to music or to watch a television show that I did not have the time to watch during the weekday. This weekend was actually a very hectic and busy Sunday so I actually did not spend much time at my house so I did not do any of this but was out doing errands. But usually I spend many hours (3-4?) switching between my tv and my laptop when I am not taking a nap.

Monday-Mondays are one of my more busy days because I have class untill 6, but when I get home one of the first thing I find myself doing is going onto my laptop to check if anyone has sent me a message on facebook. Other things I will use my laptop for on Mondays will be to do homework. This is because most of my classes have online reading and online homework so I will find myself on the internet usually for a good 3 hours.

Tuesday-Is pretty much the same as Monday but instead of class I will be at work. While at work I will also be on the computer doing homework, and this is also when you will find me on fratmusic.fm listing to music. Other then that I usually not use any other type of technology during the day but you will find me outside being active.

Wednesday-Is completely the same as Monday. Except for this week because I had a midterm so I was on the internet much longer (5 hours) doing practice exams and going over power points.

Thursday-My Thursday are a little bit more relaxed so after classes I usually find myself surfing the internet. (usually about and hour) Besides Sundays, Thursday will also be the day you would most likely find me watching television. I didnt grow up watching much T.V. but if there is a movie or something that I find interesting and I have nothing else to do ill sit down and watch it. (usually for about 2 hours)

Friday- What can I say, its a Friday, I dont have much class and no homework so the only time you will find my on my laptop is if I am checking my facebook or email. (30 mins?) Besides this Im usually outside doing something =)



I already know that the biggest form of media that I consume would have to be the internet and facebook in particular. I would not be surprised if this is true with many more people. I believe that this just shows a shift in how people communicate with each other in this society. If I had the choice to change any of my media consumption I would actually choose not to change much. I do not find it a bad thing that facebook is the biggest form of media that I consume. If might be because I am in college and with this certain age group I find it easiest to get in touch with people using facebook. Additionally what I actually did not include in my 5-6 day media diet was the use of my phone or ipod. While at the gym or walking anywhere I will be listing to my ipod, and of course I am always using my phone to call and txt people all day. I do not find this to be awkward from other peoples media consumption at all and am pretty sure that Im just another regular user media/technology.

Social Networking and Privacy

     Well to be perfectly honest with myself I would have to say that I am completely addicted to facebook. I was very reluctant at first to start using it at first but once I started I just could not stop. I currently check my facebook on a daily basis, and definitely multiple times a day. I actually find this to be a bad habit and a huge distraction especially when I am trying to study or do homework because I will always convince myself to "take a break," and go on to facebook to talk to a friend or just to rummage around (aka facebook stalking people). I have no connected my laptop, ipod, and phone all onto facebook so I find myself constantly using facebook. Besides facebook what I probably spend the most time doing is texting. I find texting to be very convenient because it is to the point and I can plan out what I say before I send it. Instead of  actually calling someone I have found myself deciding to txt people instead because it is just easier. I do not mind talking on the phone but sometimes people do not talk clearly and things can be misinterpreted and even though with txting thigns can also be misinterpreted, it does not happen as much.

     

     I used to think that the cultural movement towards social networking, constant access, and the loss of privacy was a bad thing and that people should just meet up face to face to talk to each other but slowly I am finding it to be more of  a positive then a negative. With peoples busy daily lives, they may not have time to call, or visit there friends so a quick txt or message on facebook could mean a lot. Also these social networks are a great way to find old friends that you have not seen or talked to in years. On the privacy issue I am still a little concerned but I believe that once someone joins a site such as facebook they should know the risk. At the same time I believe that peoples actions speak for themselves and that if your going to go out and do something stupid and someone happens to take a picture of you then its not like they photoshoped a picture of you. People that know me know how I am like and what I do in my social life so they are not surprised and it does not affect me when people post pictures of me which could be deemed as inappropriate. There is also the arguement that future employers or school institutes which monitor peoples facebook accounts. With this I believe that it is unfortunate that employers and school institutes care about there image so much as to not hire people who are open about there social life. I believe that employers and school instructors were all kids at some point and know what it is like to be one. They have all partied and most probably still do. I believe that to discriminate because one person decides to hide there social life instead of sharing it is just wrong. People should be hired or accepted into a school based on there work ethic and merit alone. I do understand the problem with pictures offensive pictures but pictures of people drinking at a party or people out at clubs are bars in there own free time should not be something that could be used against them. I myself have posted pictures of me at college parties and truthfully I am not to concerned because I know teachers on this campus knows what happens socially around santa clara, and because I live off campus I have even had a run in with a police officer at my house and he said, "I understand whats happens here, I used to be a college student here, but could you turn down the music." I also believe that if I ever do something that is to rude or offensive that I should be responsible for my action and I should be accountable for what I do. This I believe should be the same fore everyone else. The only privacy issue I think that should be changed is the facebook location tool. For safety reasons i believe it is not always a good thing for people to always know where you are.