Personal Media Use and Production Diary

Personal Media Use and Production Diary

Figure 1. Media Use and Production Log

What: Skype

When: Almost Everyday (an average of 28 minutes per day).

Why: Due to my parents living overseas, I use Skype to converse with them since it is much cheaper than calling. Also, about 95% of my high school friends live spread out all over the world so it is a good medium for keeping in contact (again, cheaper than texting/calling internationally). Many international students would likely reflect this behaviour.

Compared to the JOUR1111 survey results: About ¼ (111 of 436) of the JOUR1111 responded to using Skype when online, that is not a huge percentage but is still important. It shows that a lot of domestic students are also using Skype whilst online since this figure (111 people) is higher than the amount of international students in the course (27 people). Could this mean Skype has replaced older sources of chat/messenger programs? I spend a lot of time on Skype per day and it has completely replaced any other forms of chat sites that I used to use in the past. In terms of my relationship to Journalism and Communication, this shows that Skype is one of my main mediums that I use to communicate (refer to figure 2).

What: Facebook

When: Far too much (an average of 69.5 minutes per day).   

Why: It is strange to think that just a few months ago, when I lived in China (and Facebook was blocked) I had deactivated my account to focus on grade 12 and then only used it sporadically when I reactivated it. That was because I needed a VPN to access it and that was troublesome. A lot of the time I spend on Facebook I attribute to the fact that I live in college. We have a page on Facebook and it is the easiest way to keep up to date with the events and general happenings at college.

I also believe that keeping up with my friends overseas is much easier with Facebook because I can see their status updates and all their pictures. It’s a great way to keep in contact. Rather than having to write an email and find their email address and send it, I can write on many peoples’ “walls” in a matter of minutes. Typing in their name and writing on their wall a simple “hey, how’s it going” is very quick. I believe that when sending emails, you’re expected to write more than a few words but on Facebook (and this may be attributed to having many young users) just a few of words is acceptable.

Finally, another reason that dictates my Facebook usage is my Iphone. With my plan, I have unlimited Facebook usage. It is so easy to just click on when I’m walking around town or on a bus/train and bored. It is a main contributor to how much I use Facebook.

Compared to the JOUR1111 survey results: It would appear that many of the JOUR1111 students spend most of their online internet usage on Facebook. Whilst we may have a few different reasons for this, I believe we are similar in terms of using it to keep in contact with friends. I certainly use Facebook extensively to communicate with people across the world, it is one of my primary forms of media that I use for communication purposes (refer to figure 2). This shows a trend that Facebook has become a main source of communication amongst people all over the world, which is significant to Journalism and Communication students.

Figure 2. Primary Forms of Media Used for Communication Purposes

What: Personal Blog

When: Sporadically (an average of 13.5 minutes per day).

Why:  I love having a blog. I love reading blogs and developing my own. It is important to note that my personal blog is one of my only sources of media production (refer to figure 3). I don’t spend too much time on it because, put simply, I don’t have much time but I really enjoy it. It is a medium that I use to express my feelings and thoughts primarily through photos and images.

Figure 3. Media Usage vs. Media Production Comparison

Compared to the JOUR1111 survey results: All my close friends in high school had a Tumblr blog but I notice that the majority of JOUR1111 students didn’t have a blog prior to starting the course. This could be attributed to the fact that the majority of JOUR1111 students are domestic and perhaps having a personal blog is more common to international students but the survey doesn’t show this information.  I spend approximately an hour per post on my blog for class because I find it very enjoyable and after having my own personal blog, I am interested in posting things relating to class that I find on the Internet or in newspapers.

What: iPhone

When: Regularly throughout the day (an average of 39 minutes per day).

Why:  I use my iPhone to make calls, text, surf Facebook and to play games such as “Draw Something”.

Compared to the JOUR1111 survey results: It surprised me that 22.7% of JOUR1111 students don’t have a smart phone since it appears that everybody has an internet-enabled smart phone lately. This is a very new phenomenon. When I visited Australia just two years ago, my best friend had one of the earlier models of smartphones and it was very unusual, but now it is very common. I believe this has majorly affected the way people communicate. The touch screen of the iPhone and the conversational chat style in which text messages are presented means that I text much more now than I did before. I look online at maps for everything on my phone whilst on the move rather than searching for directions before leaving the house, and I am on Facebook a lot more. Any media source that doesn’t have an application for smart phone usage is now considered ‘behind the times’. It’s important for us, as journalism and communication students, to be conscious of the way people are accessing and using media. My relationship to communication has definitely changed since having a smartphone, I text much more often, I use applications to text overseas for free (if there is an internet connection available) and I use Facebook much more often. I have become much more dependent on my phone than I have ever been before.

What: TV (and Playstation)

When: Rarely throughout the week - mainly at mealtimes (an average of 7.5 minutes per day).

Why: My access to TV is limited due to the fact that I don’t own one. This would be different to students that live at home. I live at a residential college on campus and I don’t have a TV in my room. The TV in the cafeteria is on at mealtimes and I mainly just gaze over in the morning to see some of the headlines and at dinner times to shout at the people on “Deal or No Deal”, but apart from the odd Barclays English Premier League soccer match here and there I don’t make a habit of watching TV. I also play Fifa on Playstation from time to time as a breather from University work but, again, that’s quite rare.

Compared to the JOUR1111 survey results: Most JOUR1111 students watch 1 to 2 hours of TV a day so there is a large difference between myself and my classmates. In relation to Journalism and Communication studies, this would be pertinent knowledge for news companies to evaluate how to best reach their audiences. For example: students that live in colleges probably get most of our news from online sources or print media whereas students that live at home may be more accessible via TV broadcasting. In terms of my relationship to Journalism and Communication, TV does not play a big role.

What: Radio

When: Periodically (an average of 14.5 minutes per day).

Why: I listen to the radio when I get sick of my own music and I listen to it on my computer predominantly.

Compared to the JOUR1111 survey results: 358 JOUR1111 students responded to listening to the radio in the car. This differs to my own answer - online streaming at home. People that listen to the radio online can tune in at more varied times throughout the day but due to work hours there are more definite patterns for people who listen to the radio in the car. The most popular times would presumably be during peak hour (the time when most people are in the car, and for longer periods of time). This is an important trend for journalists and radio presenters to consider because they should put the most popular segments during this time period to attract the most listeners. Whilst it may not affect listeners who tune in online, you will most likely reach a large number of people who listen to the radio while driving (which, according to the JOUR1111 survey, is the majority).

What: Twitter

When: Very rarely (an average of 3.7 minutes per day).

Why: The only reason I use Twitter is for class work. I skim through the tweets from sources like CNN and The Courier Mail and perhaps ‘re-tweet’ things but I don’t have enough time to invest in exploring the full capabilities of twitter.  

Compared to the JOUR1111 survey results: The majority of the class, including myself, did not have a twitter account prior to starting JOUR1111. Although I think it’s a great social medium and I completely understand the hype surrounding twitter, I would probably use it more if I had downloaded the iPhone twitter application. In future, I would like to further explore the varied ways people use twitter and how I can use Twitter more effectively.

What: Music

When: I listen to music quite often on my iPhone whilst walking to class or on my computer at home (an average of 50 minutes per day).

Why: I like having something to listen to whilst walking and I also listen to music whenever I need a break from University assignments.

Compared to the JOUR1111 survey results: The majority of JOUR1111 students (385) responded that they listen to music mostly on their smartphone but listening on the computer came in a close second (320 students), so this accurately reflects my behaviour as well.

What: General Computer Use

When: ALL THE TIME (an average of 165 minutes per day)!

Why: I use my computer all the time (refer to figure 4). Instead of watching the news on TV, I read it online because I don’t have a TV. Instead of having a family dinner, I talk to my parents on Skype because they live overseas. I also use Skype and other chat sites to converse with my high school friends who live scattered around the world. I use my computer to go on Facebook, to listen to the radio, to research for University assessments, to go on my blog, etc. It is no secret that people nowadays spend an incredible amount of time on their computers. Journalists picked up on this a long time ago and that’s why I can always get the news by a few clicks of my mouse. This is a prime example of journalism evolving to keep up with the changes in peoples’ habits. No longer do people have to watch the news or buy a paper to get the headlines. Some claim that print media is dead and this is arguable but what is not debatable is the real need to stay ahead of the times by having a website where people can read the news, or having a twitter account to ‘tweet’ headlines, etc. The world is an ever-changing place and every communication company has the opportunity to sink or swim regarding effective online accessibility.

Figure 4. Graph Depicting General Computer Use Over 10 Days

Compared to the JOUR1111 survey results: In 10 days I spent an incredible 1650 minutes on my computer. That’s 2.75 hours per day! Most of this time involved using the internet. The survey revealed that most respondents (29.6% of JOUR1111 students) spent about 2-3 hours on the Internet each day, which is the category I fit into. This was followed by 3-4 hours with 23.4% of votes and finally 2-3 hours per day in a close third with 22.5%. This is an astonishing change from when I was young. I had no idea what a computer was until I was about 7 years old. I remember seeing my mum work on one for her Masters Degree when I was about 6 and I had no idea what that box on the desk was capable of. Now it’s an integral part of each day’s routine for many others and myself. I am glad I was alive during the times that computers became so popular. The younger generations don’t know what it’s like not to have the whole world at your fingertips. As a student studying Journalism and Communications, I feel at an advantage because I have witnessed such monumental changes in the way we interact via media and how people/industries successfully adjusted and adapted to these changes in media production and consumption.

What: Online News

When: At irregular intervals (an average of 12.3 minutes per day).

Why: I used to watch the news on TV a lot but after moving to college and not having a personal TV that has changed. I now get most of my news online but I don’t have as much time as I did to read through the articles. Now I tend to skim through but when I have time I like to get up to date with the happenings around the world.

Compared to the JOUR1111 survey results: Most students get their news from TV news channels but the numbers for online news sites and newspapers were quite similar, so there is no clear preferred news source. I think this is reflective of our age group. Most of the students were born into a time when our parents read the newspaper often, where we grew up watching the news at night on TV with our family and finally, nowadays, where we can get the news headlines for ourselves on the Internet. With all the changes that have taken place over the last few years in relation to news source developments, I’m not surprised there are still many varied ways in which the JOUR1111 students get their news.

Conclusion:

From my perspective, much of my media usage/production reflects that of an international student. I appear to use Skype much more than a domestic student. I also have a personal blog, which was quite common amongst my friends in high school in China but that appears to be quite uncommon here. I believe my age also affects my media usage especially in reference to how much I use my computer even for things that are available elsewhere such as the news and radio shows (refer to figure 5).

Figure 5. Percentage View of General Media Usage 

Evidently the amount of media usage and production varies greatly amongst different people and we all use different social mediums for various reasons.

Being able to analyse our own media usage and production is very important as Journalism and Communication Students. Why? It enables us to recognize patterns and trends amongst various forms of media. This could be helpful if we were aiming to spread information or a particular story. It is also critical to be aware of why people use certain forms of media and how because we can assess the impact and influence of various media types on a range of people. 

From this media use diary I have learnt a lot about my own media usage and production and I have been led to question why I spend so much time on certain forms of media and neglect others. I have also been able to recognize patterns and form conclusions on why I believe this to be the case. Looking at my production vs. usage, I am inspired to attempt to produce more media in the future rather than just being another user. In the future, I will aim to investigate mediums in which I can try to produce more media, more often. As a journalism and communication student, I think this is important for my personal growth and knowledge in the subject. I think this exercise has been beneficial because I hadn’t given much thought to my media usage and production before and I think I will pay more attention in the future which is advantageous for a Journalism and Communication student like myself.