Media Diary

For one of my Communications classes we had to keep a "media diary" where we logged every type of media we consumed or interacted with over a five day period.  I never realized how much media I use and how big of an influence it has on my life!  At almost any point in the day, no matter what I was doing, there was some type of media that I was consuming.  Here's a five second version of what I recorded in my media diary:

I woke up in the morning and checked my phone.  I had the tv on in the background while I was getting ready for the day.  I listened to the radio on my way to work.  I used my computer to do my job and complete tasks at work.  I went to class and watched my instructor teach using a powerpoint.  I went home and started homework, also on my computer.  I checked Facebook and Instagram on my phone.  I worked on a different homework assignment, this time reading a textbook.  I followed a recipe in a cookbook while making dinner.  I went to the gym with my headphones in.  My husband and I watched a movie before bed.  I checked Facebook and Instagram on my phone again, then used my phone to set my alarm for the next day.

Every part of my day involved media!  Honestly, I was kind of blown away at how much media usage I had recorded in a single day.  Constant media consumption is just a common part of our lives today, whether we realize it or not.  Yes, I probably use more media than the average person because I am a college student and work on the computer for my job.  But still, you just can't avoid media even if you try!

I highly recommend this exercise to anyone who is trying to use media less.  I know I've tried to be off my phone more, but when I actually started paying attention to how much I used all types of media it kind of scared me.  I'm glad that I'm more aware now of my daily media use.  I thought at the beginning of my assignment that keeping a media diary and writing a five page paper was going to be really hard, but I had so much to say that five pages wasn't enough!  Try it for yourself and you will probably be surprised at what you find. :)