To christen this new blog, I’m starting off with a post about media consumption. This Sunday I recorded my technology use for 24 hours. Disclaimer to my readers: this 24-hour period was a bit unusual. For the past two weekends, I’ve been participating in Panhellenic Recruitment and Sunday was the final round of activities —Bid Day— so I was disconnected for extended periods. Regardless, I believe the data is a fairly accurate (albeit imperfect) snapshot of my media habits. To make this easier to understand, I’ve divided my post into three categories: news, social and entertainment media habits.
News media consumption
If I’m being perfectly honest, I didn’t consume a lot of news on Sunday. I spent an hour listening to NPR’s Weekend Edition after breakfast but ended up tuning it out because I was returning work emails. When looking for daily news, I check news alerts, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and CNN. For long-form stories I listen to NPR, flip through the New Yorker or peruse outdoor magazine newsletters (Outside magazine is a favorite of mine).
But like I said, I consumed less news on Sunday than I normally do. Besides tuning out NPR, I didn’t check the LA Times or New Yorker newsletters in my inbox and didn’t visit any of my favorite online magazines.
Social media consumption
Like most young people, I have a lot of exposure to social media. But according to the handy-dandy Screen Time feature on my iPhone I spend only 50 minutes daily on social platforms. Don’t get me wrong, I have my fair share of hours-long, zombie-like scrolling sessions as much as the next Gen-Z or Millennial, but the numbers are pretty accurate. I mostly use Instagram to check posts from friends, public figures and organizations I find interesting. Beyond that, I don’t have a huge social media presence. I rarely share photos (last year I posted a grand total of 9), comment or share links.
I spent 2 hours on social media Sunday. Like most days, I checked Instagram in the morning but was unusually more active in the evening, sending and accepting friend requests to and from my sorority sisters.
Entertainment media habits
I spent the most time on entertainment platforms yesterday at about 4 hours. This seemed pretty accurate. On most nights, I listen to Spotify or watch something on one of the streaming services. Sunday, I spent 2 hours listening to 70s Rock Anthems on Spotify, was introduced to South Park by my sorority sisters and started Season 2 of You with my roommate.
Concluding Thoughts
All in all, I’m seriously lacking in news consumption. I have the access but need to make better use of it going forward. If I’m to become more informed as a student, aspiring journalist, American and global citizen I should actively incorporate the news into my daily life.
There are good and bad habits in life. Having a good relationship with the news is one worth pursuing.
Catherine Considers 