Personal Media Use and Production Diary

 MEDIA DIARY TABLES FOR THE TEN-DAY PERIOD 

Day One: Thursday, 02/08/12

Day Total = 12.17 hrs

Day Two: Friday, 03/08/12

Day Total = 10.81 hrs

Day Three: Saturday, 04/08/12

Day Total = 4.90 hrs

Day Four: Sunday, 05/08/12

Day Total = 14.16 hrs 

Day Five: Monday, 06/08/12

Day Total = 13.56 hrs

Day Six: Tuesday, 07/08/12

Day Total = 10.36 hrs 

Day Seven: Wednesday, 08/08/12

Day Total = 10.49 hrs

Day Eight: Thursday, 09/08/12

Day Total = 14.92 hrs

Day Nine: Friday, 10/08/12

Day Total = 9.11 hrs

Day Ten:  Saturday, 11/08/12

Day Total = 8.92 hrs 

ANALYSIS OF RESULTS 

In contemporary society, media has become an exceptionally powerful and influential entity. As opined by Terry Flew, Professor of Media and Communications at the Queensland University of Technology, “we live in an age of media convergence, where new devices and services are making it possible to access seemingly infinite volumes of media content from around the world.” The facts that nearly 64 out of 100 people in Australia own a mobile phone and that 52 per cent of our country’s entire population use the social networking site, Facebook, reveal our increasing reliance on media for all our academic, social and political endeavours.

Over a period of ten days, spanning from Thursday the 2^nd of August to Saturday the 11^th of August, I, a first-year Journalist student and self-professed media addict, logged my media use and production in an honest and legitimate effort to truly appreciate the effect and influence of media on myself and society at large. Speaking as a representative for all media users (yes, I may be self-appointed), it has come to my attention that media has the ability to infiltrate, and arguably control, our lives without us really being aware of its persistent presence. As such, the purpose of my analysis is to quantify this looming monster that is the media so as to enlighten other equally ignorant modern media-users to the significant reliance we, as a society, place on media outlets.

Here, at the beginning of my analysis, it is worth noting that I fall within the majority of the students surveyed being female and 18 (refer to Figures One and Two). Consequently, this makes the analysis of my individual media usage and production particularly informative, as it will be interesting to see whether my results align with those of most females my age.

Figure One:

Figure Two:

Overall, my daily media use for the ten days averaged out to 10.94 hours. Initially, this calculation appeared excessive and inaccurate. What I had not taken into consideration, however, was the fact that I utilise numerous media outlets simultaneously. Throughout the ten-day period I became increasingly aware that while using my computer I have many windows open – I found myself researching via Google, while also typing notes on Microsoft Word and checking emails and Blackboard for updates. Such a practise could be characterised as multi-tasking – surely an activity most journalists would recognise as part of their job description.

Without fail, for everyday I logged my media usage and production, my computer was the medium I evidently relied most heavily upon (Figures Three and Four).

Figure Three:

Media	Average usage and production for 10-day period (hrs) (2 d.p.)
Computer	7.15
Phone	1.65
Television	0.31
Radio	0.14
Print	1.21
Other	0.22

Figure Four:

On average, I employed my computer for approximately 7.15 hours per day for academic, social and enjoyment purposes. As my results for 8 out of 10 days highlighted, I predominantly used my computer for academic pursuits such as researching, using Microsoft Word or for checking University-related sites including the Library’s Homepage, mySI-net and Blackboard. I find it difficult to believe that of the 167 students surveyed only 127 answered the question of whether they go online to study and research in the affirmative. Such a fact I believe will have to change if my fellow peers are serious about pursing a Journalism and Communication degree as using this medium for research purposes is an integral part of responsible journalism. After reflection I have concluded that my reliance on the Internet and my computer in regards to my academic studies could be due to the course I am studying which the peer survey indicates is uncommon within the JOUR1111 cohort. Only 1.8 per cent, or in other words 3 of 167 students, surveyed are, like me, undertaking a Bachelors of Law and a Bachelors of Journalism. My laptop is a necessity in Law lectures as the speed of these lectures makes writing notes by hand almost impossible. Moreover, the law is something that is organic – ever changing and progressive. As such, most cases and legal information are available in online form only due to the fact that it is altered so often.

Though the other surveyors differed from me in relation to their purpose for using their computers, what we did have in common was our utilisation of the social networking service, Facebook. As shown below, 99.4% of those surveyed have at least one Facebook account (refer to Figure Five). Creating my media diary made me appreciate how often I check my Facebook, wether it be via my mobile phone or computer. Furthermore, previously, I had always perceived myself as more of a consumer than creator of media. After reflection, however, I have realised that I am in fact a producer of media as during the 10-day period, I blogged numerous times, used twitter and created an event on Facebook as well as posting six Facebook statuses. 

Figure Five:

Before commencing JOUR1111, my personal interaction with media had not involved blogging. I ignorantly thought blogs were just for unintellectual people who wanted attention. After writing some blog posts and interacting with other peoples’ blogs, however, I now see their worth. There is a clear relationship between this medium and journalism and communication practises. As technology progresses, more and more journalists are beginning to use blogs as tools to aid in their journalistic pursuits.  This media platform provides journalists with editorial, commercial and professional advantages.  It offers a space where journalists can pursue leads and gain more information on topics, as well as enhance the visibility of news organisations on search engines (e.g. Google) (this process is called search engine optimisation). Further, through Blogs journalists can form closer relationships with their readers and grab the attention of possible future employers.

After my computer, my mobile phone was the medium that I employed most often. Averaging it out, I was pre-occupied with my phone for 1.65 hours per day. It is, however, difficult to quantify the time spent sending and receiving text messages. Though what I recorded was an honest effort to attach a number to the time I spend texting I only took into consideration my proactive use of my phone and not also the time it distracts me, when I am not actually using my phone but merely thinking about my next text, for example. The difficulties I experienced exemplify the issues presented by trying to equate someone’s media use and production.

Of the 167 students surveyed, 130 students (78.8 per cent) have a smart phone. Unashamedly, I fall within this group, as I own a Blackberry. Like 81.2 per cent of the JOUR1111 cohort, I use my smart phone to access Facebook. I do not, however, have the application Instagram. I found the fact that only 71 students have Instagram surprising as nearly everyone in my friendship group has it and uses it constantly. To confirm this, I completed my own mini survey asking 20 of my friends at random whether they have Instagram. My results supported my observation, as of the 20 friends I asked 16 have and use Instagram on a regular basis.

Figure Six:

Further, on average I employed the medium of print for approximately 1.21 hours per day. Predominantly, I utilised textbooks. I believe this is due to the degree I am doing. Not only does a Law degree require a significant amount of research online, it also requires a significant amount of time spent reading textbooks.

Lastly, the media of radio, television and ‘other’ (iPod and eBooks) recorded relatively similar results with daily averages of 0.14, 0.31, 0.22 respectively. As I don’t have my licence yet and consequently catch public transport most places, I don’t really ever have access to the radio. As such I receive my dose of news mostly online, via my computer (Figure Seven). I also, however, access the news through the media of print and television. As my parents are avid readers of the newspaper, I often will also flick through the paper as I eat my breakfast, particularly on a Sunday. Thus, it can be seen that I am still a user of ‘old news’ unlike, the JOUR111 cohort on a whole who, the survey indicated, receive their news the least from print (Figure Eight). Instead, my peers appear more advanced in regards to the media than I, accessing most of their news via Facebook, indicating that my fellow students prefer new media compared to the old more traditional forms. It is interesting to note that my daily personal media interaction in regards to the news has somewhat changed since I commenced JOUR1111 as since being shown good news sites which I can access via the Library’s Homepage, by my Tutor, I now access my news online more frequently than ever before.

Figure Seven: 

Figure Eight:

At the commencement of my analysis I feel it is appropriate to further reflect on my findings and assess the efficacy of my media use and production diary in achieving my purpose. As Marshall McLuhan famously said, “the medium is the message.” This iconic phrase was introduced in McLuhan’s work Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man in which he suggests that a medium itself should be the major focus of a study. McLuhan opined that a medium affects the society in which it plays a role not only by the content delivered over the medium, but also by the characteristics of the medium itself. In light of my analysis, I find these comments particularly perceptive. As my results exemplify, it is the characteristics of smart phones with their many applications and Internet capabilities as well as computers and the resulting transformation of the news which are all effectively shaping modern society and altering how I, and many others, personally interact with media. Further, the platform provided by Blogs is transforming the ways in which journalism and communication are practised.

Creating my media use and production diary made me more conscious of how reliant I am on media. Being someone who writes most drafts for assessment by hand, who only has one Facebook account, no Instagram account and is opposed to eBooks, I was surprised to record such high numbers for my daily media use. On reflection, however, what else should I have expected from such a media-saturated society that I am undeniably a member of?