Media Dairy

Hello world! This is the first installment in my official blog, “Ian’s Thoughts.” For my introductory post, I will be detailing my media use through the use of a “media diary.”

This “media diary” will track and take inventory of what specific media I, a 21-year-old college male, am consuming in a 24-hour period.

Before going into specific’s, I believe it is necessary to state that I am employed at a large entertainment conglomerate. In this role I consume a vast amount of media, possibly more than what is healthy for me.

Due to this fact, my media diary will be heavily skewed in certain directions. But they pay me, so what can you do about it?

As most people probably do, I woke up and immediately checked my phone. Quickly scrolling through and responding to any notifications I may have received. A little doom-scrolling never hurt anybody.

After I have sufficiently woken up, I put on my headphones and listen to music as I walk my dog. I occasionally scroll some more on whatever random social media site I see first while my dog does her business.

I then continue to listen to music while I shower and get ready, then head to work. The simple background noise helps power me through what would otherwise be a drowsy morning.

After arriving to work, I do my eight hours of paid television and streaming work. My role requires that I am almost constantly consuming a wide variety of televised or streamed media. On my breaks I will probably scroll and catch-up on whatever I may have missed on social media.

Once my timecard has been punched and I am allowed to return to my home, I plug my headphones in and zone out to a podcast while walking my dog.

While I cook then eat my dinner, I put a basketball game on the television and continue to listen to the podcast/music that was playing during my walk.

While I unwind for the night, I watch a movie, play with my dog and chat with my roommates. Before bed, I will then put on a Youtube video and watch whatever the algorithm deems suitable.

Overall, this is a pretty normal day for me media consumption-wise. It is probably on the higher end when considering both my out of work, and during work habits.

I do not have much to say reflection-wise when it comes to how I consume media. I feel that I have a decent grasps on my reality, and due to this I was not shocked by what/how much media I consume. I suppose it is helpful that Apple sends out a weekly phone usage notification that helps put into perspective how often I am on my phone.

In my opinion, the more credible sites I use tend to fall on the more “traditional” side of the media spectrum. I still trust companies like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and various other local news entities.

Entertainment-wise I think that’s a harder concept to ponder on. How can one fully trust a multi-million or billion dollar conglomerate? I do not think I fully can.