Media Diet

Monday - Computer: 4 Hours (Study OMIS, Read e-Textbook, Email, Facebook, Lacrosse Practice Plan)

                     Television: 2 Hours (Basketball Game, Sportscenter)

Tuesday – Computer: 4 Hours (OMIS Class. Econ HW online, Lacrosse Practice Plan, Email, Facebook)

                    Television: 3 Hours (Basketball Game, Movie)

Wednesday – Computer: 3 Hours (Abroad Application, Facebook, Email)

                          Television: 2 Hours (Sportscenter, State of The Union)

                          Read: 1 Hour (Textbook)

Thursday – Computer: 2 Hours (Online HW, Email, Pandora, Lacrosse Practice Plan)

                     Television: 2 Hours (Sports, Video Games)

Friday – Computer: 3 Hours (Pandora, Email, Lacrosse Practice Plan, e-Textbook)

                Television: 3 Hours (Video Games, Basketball Game)

** Cell Phone was used constantly throughout the week mainly for text messages and some phone calls.

My media diet gives an accurate summary of what a normal school week consists of for me. My consumption of media remained relatively consistent throughout the week. A typical day consisted of a few hours on the computer followed by some time spent in front of the television. I found that most of the time that I spend on the internet is used productively. Like many of my peers I use Facebook on a regular basis, however, I rarely visit the site for more than five minutes a day. I would login, check any notifications, respond accordingly then log out. I use the social network site to keep in touch with friends at schools around the country but for nothing else. Although I do not use social network sites as frequently as my peers, I am constantly using my cell phone. Text messages and phone calls are my way of staying connected to the people around me. As a result the majority of my internet time is spent doing homework, reading or conducting research of some kind pertaining to school. I rarely use it as a source of entertainment other than Pandora. I believe this is why my television consumption may be higher than some students. Time spent sitting on the couch watching a sports game or a movie is relaxing. It takes my mind off of school and practice giving me a chance to take a break.  This also reflects the type of individual I am. I prefer watching sports compared to surfing the web or watching television series.

                I believe that my media diet is consistent with individuals who have personalities similar to mine. People who enjoy watching sports are more apt to watching sports related programs for entertainment than browsing the internet. I also believe that individuals like me are more likely to use cell phones and face to face interactions over social network sites such as Facebook. In reality though a text message is really no different than a Facebook message. The same message is delivered through a different medium. In this way the media diet of U.S. teens is extremely consistent. We all rely on technology to keep us entertained and connected to the world around us.

                In a broader sense my media diet shows just how dependent our society has become on technology, especially the internet. As you can see I used the internet everyday for at least two to four hours. This time was spent doing little more than school work. Without the internet daily life would not function properly as we have grown to understand it. This is not a bad thing. The improvements in technology have made life simpler and more efficient so I do not expect to see a change in the media diets of Americans.  As far as my personal media consumption, I now realize that I should be using the internet for more than school work and espn.com. I would like to see a change in my media consumption that would lead me to being a more informed individual. Visiting news sites and reading articles about things other than sports would lead me to become a better rounded individual.