Term Paper 1

As someone living in a time period full of different media, it is easy for me to spend hours on different platforms without even realizing it. My average phone screen time last week was 6 hours and 39 minutes per day. This time on my phone always includes accessing many different apps/media, and it is now a routine I have kept daily.

When I first wake up in the morning, I turn off my alarm, and there my phone is in my hands. As a habit, I go to Snapchat to respond to my friends and my boyfriend. They usually just send a picture, but I am still interested in "seeing" them each morning and throughout the day.

I do not spend much time scrolling on social media early in the morning because I have to rush to class. I drive to class, so if I am not running late, I will turn on music via Spotify. I have carefully crafted my playlists on Spotify, so when I click on the app, I typically do not have to do a lot of scrolling to find something I want to hear. Sometimes, I do not even have to physically click Spotify for the app to connect and play music in my car. 

I am a music lover, but I do feel like there has been an absence of listening to it on Spotify while in college. Nonetheless, I still use the app every day, especially on days I drive out of town or if a friend recommends a song to me. I usually use Spotify over two hours a week.

Once I get to class, I may access Blackboard or use Google to search what the cafeteria is having for lunch. I may even go to Snapchat or iMessage to talk to my friends and family again. Snapchat is one of my main forms of communication, or at least with pictures. I enjoy talking to people this way and seeing what they post of themselves on their story. It also keeps a lot of my pictures. Today, I enjoyed looking through my pictures and seeing my "One Year Ago" memory. I generally always send the memories to my friends. This is my most commonly used app; last week I spent 11 hours and 28 minutes using it.

After class, I will check Snapchat again and head to my next class, or, depending on the day, go back to my dorm for a break. In this break, I will do what I call "bouncing from different platforms." I usually take this time to go on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. 

I have a short attention span, so TikTok is my favorite app to access in any free time I have. I enjoy the seemingly endless supply of brief, funny videos. If there is something I am not interested in, I will swipe and discover a new video within a second to keep myself interested. 

This does pose problems when I need be productive. I will always rather be on social media than do schoolwork, so I attempt to limit myself on all platforms but TikTok especially. I have a time limit set on my phone for this app, but I usually just choose to ignore it. Watching videos like this is a good distraction from any stress I have. However, in turn, it makes me more stressed because I procrastinate my schoolwork or other things I need to get done. 

  

When classes are over for the day, I will spend a good amount of time on TikTok. There are media platforms I use for educational purposes after class, though, such as Blackboard. I use Blackboard on my laptop to do my homework with occasional social media breaks. I also check my emails or GroupMe for announcements. I like to see what events are coming up or what people in my dorm have to say. 

During my homework or studying, I often need to go on Safari for information or if a class requires research for an assignment. I sometimes even use Quizlet to study for my quizzes. This lasts throughout the night, and the process is repeated each day. I probably use educational media on my laptop and phone for three or four hours a day including time in class.

Another form of social media I use is an app called Be Real. Every day at a different time each day, anyone with the app gets a notification to post a picture of whatever they are doing in a span of two minutes. I quickly post for all my friends to see, and then I can look at what they post. It is a fun app and another way to be connected with my friends' lives, even though my friends on Be Real are generally the same friends I talk to on Snapchat each day.

There are certain media elements that may not fit into my daily schedule, but they are things I have used before or do use occasionally. Recently, I have been interested in online shopping. Apps like Instagram or Facebook have sellers that promote their brand, and I enjoy browsing their websites. Facebook Marketplace, for example, is something I used today. 

My friends have similar media use habits. When I wake up most mornings, I look over and see my roommate on her phone, accessing some type of media. She will use Snapchat to talk to me during the day and will often reference something she saw on Instagram. She also uses Blackboard for homework in all of her classes. She does not have TikTok, but I am guilty of sending her videos, so she does use this type of media occasionally.

Another example of an occasional media use for me is watching television. I rarely watch television on weekdays or on my own, but weekends and Film Appreciation class have become my exceptions. My boyfriend and I enjoy watching movies together when we hang out, but when I am alone, I feel like I do not have time to watch anything (which is funny because if I took away hours of TikTok, I would have that time I desire). However, I watch more alone now than I used to because I am assigned a movie each week for class. This is a type of media I would enjoy utilizing more. 

Before going to sleep, I check my phone again. It feels like an endless cycle of either being busy with work or being busy on the internet. This schedule does not change much on weekends because I still have schoolwork to do and media to use. 

Media has its positives and negatives, as does most things. However, I do feel that the positives are more beneficial than the negatives. It is true that too much media usage, such as social media, can create problems with self-image or addiction. I should limit myself so I can enjoy other things, but I do not see harm in communicating with those I love, watching videos to make me laugh, or seeing how people I have not spoken to in a while are doing. 

I think my personal media usage will increase as more platforms are created. However, new types of media could also simply replace apps I commonly use today, causing no change in usage. Therefore, I am interested to see what will be created in the future and how my friends and I will be affected by new media platforms.