Media Usage Diary

Since the invention of the Internet in the 1990’s, Generation Y has been the first generation to be born into a world where technology dominates, a world where technological advancements have taken over and where technology aids us to complete even the simplest of tasks. I’m not saying this is a bad thing (don’t get me wrong, I love my iPhone) but these notions have only really become apparent to me after completing my very first JOUR1111 assignment: a media usage diary.

So, over the past 10 days, I have kept a record of all of my media usage, including which type of media I was using and for how long. The following table is a summary of all of my findings, and furthermore, my observations about my usages and how they compare to the rest of my cohort. I broke down my media use into eleven categories: books, online news, iPhone applications, music, Internet browsing, YouTube, SMS, TV, E-Mail, magazines and Facebook.



Note: All the numbers are in minutes.

The information broken down:

Like 44.2% of my cohort, I have an iPhone, and I use it constantly, as it provides access to hundreds of useful applications and resources, even when you’re on the go. Unlike a computer, an iPhone, or Smartphone gives the consumer the ability to access information wherever they are. By completing the media usage diary, I realised I use my iPhone more than I thought…

Everything can be found on an iPhone, from Facebook, the Internet and various social networking sites, to simpler things such as games or even health tips, which you can download special iPhone applications for. Such a vast amount of information can be obtained via an iPhone, and I found that I use my iPhone subconsciously, and of course, every day. Whether it be only a few minutes, or a long period of time, my iPhone is definitely something that comes in handy for me for any task.

I found that my iPhone and Internet usage were interchangeable, and often I would be using both of these types of media at the same time. Because the Internet is so accessible via an iPhone, I actually found I would use it as often or more often than using my computer. The Internet has so many purposes: blogging, social networking, reading online 'newspapers,' researching or just general browsing.

One of my main observations that I hadn't really picked up on before was the fact that most of my communication is done either on Facebook, or via SMS. Like 94.7% of JOUR1111, I have one Facebook account, and althought I don't sit on Facebook for hours and hours pressing refresh on my news feed, I still use it as one of my main forms of communication every day. With all of my family and friends back in Sydney, I think it's a great way to keep them up to date with what I'm doing, through status updates and photo sharing.

What I also noticed from Facebook is that you can obtain a significant amount of online news through the site, not just with people posting updates about what's happening in the world, but also nowadays big newspapers are putting their articles as links on Facebook. Newspapers such as the Guardian are available to read via Facebook, and you are also able to see what your friends have been reading on your news feed. Like many people, especially aspiring journalists, I enjoy keeping up to date with what’s happening in the world. I read online news every day, and found that 43.1% of my cohort read online news too. I found this number quite surprising, as in a journalism/communications course I would have expected that at least more than half use the Internet to read online news.

With all the resources available with Smartphones, Tablets and iPads, who needs to read a book, right? You can get thousands of books online as e-books, and can download them all onto one device and read from there. Well, I must admit, I am still a sucker for a good old fashioned book. I read every night before bed, and I honestly don’t think there is anything more satisfying than turning the pages of an actual book. I think it will take a lot of convincing for me to be converted to the e-book!

My observations for how often I listen to music were really fascinating. I absolutely love music, I think it comes in handy for so many things, but I didn’t realise how often I listen to music. Right now, as I type this, I am listening to music. I listen to music whilst walking to uni, whilst running and whilst on the bus. Once again, my music is found on my iPhone and iPod… Maybe Apple really is taking over the world…

So after reading through all of my observations and results, I leave it at this. Smartphones are the future. Almost every single category my media usage was split up into, could be obtained via an iPhone or Smartphone, which had never really occurred to me until this exercise. It's amazing how much skips your mind until you have to study it! I thoroughly enjoyed doing this exercise, and I definitely have learnt a lot more about communication, technology and just how often we rely on media in every day life.