My Media Usage

My Shocking Media Usage



Never in my life, would I have ever thought that I would be so enveloped in using technology. Obviously, I have not really been utilizing it for important things lately- like research. Instead, I have been obsessing over my Instagram feed, taking selfies and uploading those, hashtagging my little life away and reading some rather ridiculous statuses on Facebook. 

It wasn't until I had to complete an assignment for my Ed Tech Class, that I had to record how often I use media in a day. In my particular case, media consists of my phone. I can do everything on it, from socializing to streaming Netflix. Still, I felt that since I have a family to take care of, schoolwork to complete and a full time job, that I would not be a heavy media user. Boy was I wrong! 

In one day, I checked my Instagram alone 25 times. That in itself is ridiculous! I estimate that I spend five minutes every time I check it so looking back, I waste 2 hours of my precious day liking everyone else's selfies. That's Instagram alone without including Facebook which is another 1.5 hours of my day. Here I am thinking of how I could have used 3.5 hours of my day playing with my child, completing a homework assignment or even just enjoying the warm weather. 

As I type this blog, I feel the urge to check Instagram yet again and see if anyone else has liked my latest picture. The more likes the more beautiful my pictures are, right? Right. The time I spend on this kind of media is passive because I don't feel that I am learning anything from it if all I am doing is scrolling down the feeds liking pictures or statuses. 

Though I do admit I must check into a Media Anonymous group, I have to give credit to technology for helping me teach my students better by giving me ideas on how to present new information to them. It has also aided us all, in my classroom, to transmit our knowledge through different apps that make it easier and more entertaining for everyone to attain the information. 

I may not be the next Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg, but I feel that I use media for the most basic things- to keep in contact with family and friends, to search for the latest fashions and to research topics to be able to complete school projects. Hence, when compared to today's children and teens, I feel that I am right there with them too as they use media for similar things. As far as adults are concerned, I think that most mid-aged adults use media in some way- many use Facebook to reconnect with high school or college friends. It has been my experience that the older generations, are anti media since they feel it is nothing but a waste of time and neurons. 

I can see both the good and bad side of media and technology, but the good is currently in the lead. I feel that if we can be more disciplined when using media, limiting ourselves to only 30 minutes a day of maybe just social media, our lives can be better spent doing more active things. Not all media usage is passive, of course, but it is up to us to be more disciplined and choose to use it actively and learn from it.

This week, I am going to challenge myself to limit my usage of media by half. I will record how my daily routine has changed, whether I am happier or not, and if I missed out on anything important. 

Will you do this too? Will you challenge yourself to shorten the time you spend watching "funny" youtube videos and instead find something that can be more edifying? I dare you!