The
following tables are ten day records (dated the 10th – 19th
of March) of media consumed and produced by myself. The data in both tables and
charts has been recorded and represented in minutes for convenience. This data
will be analysed and compared to the class’s media survey.
Media Consumed (minutes)
|
Day 1
|
Day 2
|
Day 3
|
Day 4
|
Day 5
|
Day 6
|
Day 7
|
Day 8
|
Day 9
|
Day 10
|
Total
|
Internet:
YouTube
Facebook
Research
Browsing
Blogs
Twitter
|
60
60
30
90
20
20
|
0
0
0
0
0
0
|
0
25
50
20
0
10
|
0
10
0
30
0
0
|
20
5
30
165
0
0
|
0
30
30
115
20
15
|
0
0
0
0
0
0
|
60
0
5
10
0
0
|
0
0
0
10
0
0
|
0
5
10
80
0
10
|
140
135
155
520
40
55
|
Phone:
SMS
Facebook
Calls
|
7
40
0
|
0
0
0
|
8
10
4
|
13
10
2
|
1
0
1
|
2
0
2
|
7
20
2
|
0
0
0
|
0
0
0
|
18
10
1
|
56
90
12
|
Radio
|
20
|
0
|
140
|
267
|
225
|
0
|
0
|
20
|
0
|
190
|
862
|
TV
|
180
|
20
|
0
|
120
|
80
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
20
|
80
|
500
|
Newspaper
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
10
|
0
|
10
|
20
|
Total
(per day)
|
527
|
20
|
267
|
452
|
527
|
214
|
29
|
105
|
30
|
414
|
|
Total
|
2585
|
||||||||||
Media
Produced (minutes)
|
Day
1
|
Day
2
|
Day
3
|
Day
4
|
Day
5
|
Day
6
|
Day
7
|
Day
8
|
Day
9
|
Day
10
|
Total
|
Internet:
Email
Facebook
Twitter
|
30
10
0
|
0
0
0
|
100
10
1
|
30
10
0
|
0
0
0
|
30
0
0
|
0
0
0
|
0
0
0
|
0
0
0
|
30
0
0
|
220
30
1
|
Phone:
SMS
Facebook
|
0
0
|
0
0
|
5
10
|
13
2
|
0
0
|
7
2
|
10
5
|
0
0
|
0
0
|
10
5
|
45
19
|
Radio
|
150
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
150
|
0
|
0
|
300
|
Total
(per day)
|
190
|
0
|
126
|
55
|
0
|
39
|
15
|
150
|
0
|
45
|
|
Total
|
615
|
||||||||||
Chart 1
The above tables and line chart depict ten days of my consuming and producing media. It can be observed that there are great oscillations in both my media consumption and production rates. The majority of media production spikes occurred on days where I broadcasted my radio program at my local radio station. Besides this and time spent emailing, my media production level was almost consistently below fifty minutes each day. Similar patterns occur in my consumption of media. There are multiple ‘peaks’ that take place in my schedule on days that I attend classes, and therefore long periods of time are occupied with travelling. This free time is typically filled utilising whatever form of media that is at hand – most commonly listening to the radio through an MP3, or scrolling through the internet or Facebook via my smart phone. Due to these heavier days of media consuming, it is a normal behaviour of mine to avoid these mediums on the occasions when I am not committed to travelling or working at the radio station. Thus, the multiple readings of zero on the graph can be explained and a picture of my weekly routines begins to form.
From the
visual representations of both Chart 1 (above) and Chart 2 (below)
it can also be noted that I consume a larger quantity of media than that I
produce. Chart 1 displays not only higher peaks of media consumption
levels but also more frequency in the relationship shared between the media and
me. Chart 2 provides an explanation for this with its comparison of my
usage of old media against that of new media. As is explicitly expressed, I use
a higher percentage of old media and spend less of my time on the internet
utilising newer media. These newer media forms provide more opportunity and
enthusiasm for the production of media and, arguably, it can be assumed that
were I to involve myself more heavily in new media I would increase my levels
of media production.
Chart 2
Chart 3
Radio is
the form of media I both consume and produce the greatest of. In comparison to
the results in the Survey Monkey, I am well above the average student. When
asked how much daily radio one listens to, 53.9% of students answered less than
one hour per day. On certain days I spent close to four hours listening to
radio in a day, a fact shared only with four other students according to the
survey. This, I believe, is heavily
influenced by my work in radio. I am a member of my local radio station and
host my own show for two hours every Saturday. As such, I devote much of my
time in the station itself and with others who do the same. I therefore enjoy
keeping up to date with the happenings with these fellow members and one of the
best ways to do this and show support is by listening to their shows and
following the station. Additionally, this significantly affects my production
rates as there are only specific times that I may produce my show, but they are
also much longer periods of production than is average.
Furthermore,
as was previously mentioned, I tend to listen to the radio when I am
travelling, be it in the car – a preferred method of listening to music by 82.9%
of students recorded by the class survey – or through MP3. This indicates a
behavioural pattern of convenience as far as media is concerned. Like a crime,
if the means and opportunity arise and correlate than I am exceedingly likely
to consume and/or produce media.
Chart 4
The
internet is my second highest form of media consumption and production. Chart
4 divides my time on the internet into my popular habits. As can be seen,
general browsing and entertaining myself takes up exactly half of my time, with
research, Facebook and YouTube proving to be my most common specific media
uses. These figures align with the student average in accordance to the survey
as these activities are stated to be largest visited as well as the most time
consuming. However, I will argue that
the amount of time I spend on Facebook is lower than students my age and prove
it through the undertaken media survey.
My claim
can be derived from the fact I, a 17 year old (like 223 others), female (330),
domestic (409) Bachelor of Journalism/Arts (132) student fall into the
Journalism student average. Out of this average, only 22.7% of students do not
own a smart phone, implying that 77.3% do with Facebook the predominant app
chosen. On top of this, only 14 students claim to use the internet for less
than an hour, while 96.8% of students are online for longer and 91.9% states
they spend most of that time on Facebook. I, on the other hand, by calculating
from my table, was on Facebook for a little over two hours (not quite four if
you include minutes on my mobile phone) for the entire week; a percentage I am
certain is lower than average considering the amount of people on Facebook and
for such extended periods of time.
This shows
that although I like to remain aware of events happening around me and keeping
up to date with my friends’ interests, I do not prioritise it an activity to
dedicate all my time to, suggesting, perhaps, my media usage is mood-dependant
too.
Chart 5
Chart 5 is a
visual breakdown of the fifth recorded day. This particular day was selected as
I felt it provided the best representation of a normal day of media use. These
ten days occurred throughout a course of time where a set routine had not been
established. I participated among media far less than I am used to in the past
due to the settling in of university life. Typically a more significant portion
of my time is spent on the internet, but this is not shown in my log. Day 5,
however, was the closest in properly displaying my internet usage; time spent
listening to radio and lack of time given to text and social networking. This
chart additionally displays my preference to older forms of media (TV and
radio) as my primary sources of news gathering.
Usually I enjoy watching the news on TV, a
fact that 71.7% of the class shares. A notable characteristic from my time log
is the fluctuations in my viewings of television – I watch it sporadically, but
when I do, I watch it in large doses. In that ten day period my TV watching was
normally between 1-2 hours; an average 29.9% of the class stated similarly to.
On this particular day very little of my time was put towards social media,
particularly Twitter. This is not unusual as I did not have a Twitter account
until joining JOUR1111, and it appears I am not alone with 70.8% of the cohort
were equally avoidant of Twitter before joining this course. It is also
apparent that I do not consult newspapers very often for receiving news. This
is quite different to the class as 51.6% claim to receive their news from the
newspaper – the third highest chosen medium. I believe my lack of interest in
newspapers is, again, mood-dependent. I only read newspapers when I feel like
it and when they are there to read.
In summary, I:
1)
Consume more media than I produce
2)
Turn to old media more than new media
3)
Am more involved in radio than the average student
4)
Use the internet for a large proportion of my time
5)
Use social networking sites less often than others
6)
Don’t largely rely on text
I am an
average Journalism student whose media usage appears to be mood-dependent and
convenience-orientated. With: limited time spent on social networking sites
like Facebook and Twitter; only a couple of days watching TV; listening to the
radio only when I am out and; reading newspapers only occasionally, as habits I
am not as locally informed as the class averages suggest I could be. However,
if I were to condition myself into a weekly routine wherein I read a newspaper
each day either via their website or through the mail, and watched the news
every evening, I could negate this lack of information. I also believe this
will slowly change thanks to JOUR1111 as I begin to pay more attention to the
media around me: already I have started a Twitter account and a blog of which
are prime examples of this shift in my attitude.
As the industry
continues to grow, so will my relationship to Journalism and Communication.
Graphs made possible by Microsoft Excel and images provided by Google Images.
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