My Media Diet

1.    Prompt

Your task for this assignment is to record your media consumption for 5-7 days straight. Take note of how many hours you spend reading, watching television, using the Internet, or engaging with any other forms of media. While you do not have to give an exhaustive account of every TV show you watch or website you visit, do note what types of books, TV, websites, etc. that you consume. You can also describe which particular shows you watch or sites you visit daily/on a regular basis. After listing your media diet for each day of the week (length of time, types of media), you should provide a brief analysis. Questions you might address in your analysis include: What does your media diet say about you? How do you think it might compare to the media diets of other people your age? What might your media diet suggest about American society more broadly? Are there changes you'd like to make regarding your media consumption? How might your social location influence your media intake? 

Just when I thought the internet was a total distraction to my studying and what is going on outside my laptop screen, Thanksgiving break came. I was hoping to be able to make more time out for studying for finals and focus on projects...Nope! None of that happened. I mean of course I had a social life outside using the internet, had fun and what not, but hardly any of it was dedicated to schoolwork. What I realize is that more time for me meant more time dedicated to media booshit. I was planning on recording the hours I spent on the internet and TV, but it became too excessive to record. I lost track. I would say that every day I spent, at most, 2 hours watching TV, which is not bad at all; I went to the movie theaters a couple times, which counted for about 5 hours; and then there was the internet…Need I say more? Because my laptop is my own (not like the living room TV and family computer where I would have to share with my siblings), and everything from movies to socializing with friends outside (this would include meeting up with friends or mentioning how much I miss the ones from out of town), I was on it quite a bit. Let me rephrase that: a lot!

What I did time myself pretty closely was the reading: It was Friday afternoon, and it took me an hour and fifteen minutes to read school-related material…and then I passed out of boredom. That was a fail. But to in my defense, I am a horribly slow reader, and time just goes by too slow and too dull when I read. So, I decided not to touch school-related material until Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, coming back to school from home was difficult to adjust from lazy-mode to putting all of my attention on studying. In between doing my homework I squeeze some time to check on any updates on my Facebook or PereHilton.com (I love that trash!), and I watched shows like Modern Family and East Bound and Down for a good three hours before starting with my homework again at 10pm. Yea, I did not get much sleep that night. I think that although I might be blaming the break for the laziness, but I am typically a horrible procrastinator and the media consumes a lot of my free time. I just let the week-long break get to me.  It is difficult to focus on my priorities, well mainly schoolwork, when the accessibility to almost anything via the internet is much more appealing than dreading over school and homework. It is sort of an escape from what I have to do. Unfortunately, it increases procrastination; therefore increase my stress level. And I am pretty sure I am not the only one to face the same issue. I mean there are so many news articles online that say that the younger generation of American are screwed because we rely so much on media and technology. C’mon, I mean there are even competitions where people compete to see who  the fastest at texting is, and the winner is rewarded a $100,000 (or more) prize!?!? Ya, our society are totally not consumer slaves to the media and technology (sarcasm…).  I think thanks to the internet that the distraction level is significantly high because what it offers, but like what was discussed in my sociology class, it is a new medium that provides so many resources to explore. Over time people might be able to manage that time much more wisely and less obsessively. 

YouTube and Conspiracy Theories

Last night I was on this online radio site, Pandora, and Jay-Z’s song “Lucifer” was playing. I turned to my roommate and mentioned that he supposedly was a part of this group called Illuminati, a group that worships Satan. My roommate was shocked because he is such a great influence on the music industry and people in general, so she did not believe me. I told her it was just a conspiracy theory that I saw on YouTube. I go on YouTube and type in “Jay-Z illuminati conspiracy” and a whole bunch of videos with titles like “Jay-Z Subliminal Messages,” “Jay-Z worships Lucifer,” etc. popped up.  After watching the videos about Jay-Z,  this is what I found out: to represent that he is a part of Illuminati, Jay-Z throws up a triangle shape with his hands; he calls himself J-Hova (short for Jehovah, which means God) saying that he is the Goid of music, and if you play his song “Lucifer” backwards, it says “666. Murder. Murder. Jesus.” Not only was I totally freaked out and scared of what I was watching, there were other videos related to Jay-Z and the illuminati conspiracy theories within the music theory. Now, I am not sure if the song was chopped, spliced, and put together to have the song say that backwards, or if any of the statements told were true, but regardless, the messages had me spooked and thinking “what if…” After clearing my thoughts, I reflected and said to myself: without YouTube and other public media sites we would not be so influenced by these urban legends and conspiracy theories. People would probably not even be knowledgeable about this Illuminati society, only that they worship the Devil. But now we are given all these resources and video clips about taboo topics, it’s hard to not be intrigued.  

We live in a society where “seeing is believing”. Thanks to the internet, the media visually influences its audience to have certain beliefs and opinions. You can go on YouTube, Ebaumsworld, or even Google to find videos and articles on conspiracy theories because the internet is easily accessible. There are videos like what how the Sloppy Joe entrée was introduced, or the mysterious deaths of the actors from the movie Poltergeist, etc. Such videos and articles only spawn more material of the subject. Those Illuminati videos from YouTube brought about even more conspiracy theories against music artists like Kanye West, Chris Brown, Rihanna, etc., and now there is a documentary about the topic of those artists being a part of this satanic group. I feel that because we have this entire media circulating around people either ask themselves what should they trust to believe them or they are full believers of what they watch online. I mean should society change their outlook and philosophy of “seeing is believing”? Should we even bother? I mean, it is always interesting to watch videos on crazy topics, but should those topics influence our opinion and lives? The internet and the media is a powerful tool in influencing the lives and opinions of individuals, so people have to keep that in mind. Just because you see something online, does not necessarily mean you have to believe it, and it does not have to influence your way of thinking.  

Social Networking: A Love-Hate Relationship

2. Social Networking and Privacy 

Your task for this assignment is to record your thoughts on the prevalence of social networking. How often do you use social networking sites/tools like Facebook, Twitter, or FourSquare? How much time to do you spend texting, tweeting, or checking status updates on your phone or computer?
Do you think the cultural move toward social networking, constant access, and the loss of privacy it sometimes brings about is a positive/negative trend on the whole? What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of this entanglement between our personal lives and technology?  Have you ever "over-shared" or texted, tweeted, or posted something you have regretted? Do you ever worry about your privacy when it comes to using these tools?

Geez, I feel like my day cannot be complete without logging onto Facebook or using my phone to text. I use Facebook to connect with friends, to get distracted from the tedious work I have to do for class, etc. I sign in, skim through what has been posted previously on my feed, check if anyone has left me any comments or messages, respond to those posts, and maybe update my status. It is ridiculous how ritualistic the whole process it is. I feel somewhat lame for sitting in front of a screen for who knows how long, just socialize via the internet. But then I feel less lame about myself when I find that there are those who are even worse off. Every time I log in I feel like I know everybody’s business—my feed is swamped with status updates like, “Just ate lunch at McDonalds. I’m so ready to nap!” Seriously? Even though Facebook is a public networking site where you can post whatever you want, I feel there is a line where you are giving out too much information. I feel that people who post information as to where they are, what they are eating, etc. are seeking attention. It is just a tad creepy. It’s as if Facebook is your diary that is open for all to see. That can be potentially dangerous seeing how there are so many people who get their accounts hacked into, or scammed into trusting certain people, or pay for products because the product, from what is told them, is for a good cause, etc. I should not say anything because it is there business, but since their business is so public, well then I guess why shouldn’t I? I only have one advice to offer for people like that: Do not take Facebook so personal! People do not comment on personal posts like that for a reason…its awkward!

Texting can also be invasive as well. If something private was sent to a friend, depending on how trustworthy that friend is, he or she can easily send it to others as a means to poke fun at you or crush your image. It is really sad. When I text, I text my friends A LOT. I feel incomplete and lost without my phone. And I trust the people I text, but there is a huge possibility that they might show my text to another person in spite. It is even harder to keep something confidential when “But don’t tell anyone” is texted to the opposite person. Plus, how am I to know of the other person’s hidden intentions? It is just so hard, what with communication being so public, to be discrete and live your life. One could delete their social networking accounts and disconnect their phones, but then there is a fear that because you don’t have a Facebook, Twitter, or a phone to text, then you don’t exist. Since technology is so vital to our society, all these technological tools are now sources of self-identification. I could not see myself without these means of communications because all my friends use them, and without these tools, I would lose contact with many of my friends. So there really is no way out. You pay the price of privacy or fend for yourself.

Technology and Social Interaction

3. 
"Your task for this assignment is to describe your thoughts on how technology influences social interaction. Do you think the spread of technology has had a positive or negative impact on your everyday face to face interaction? What about for people more generally? What do you think about using the Internet to meet other people (via online dating sites, Craigslist, message boards, fan sites, online gaming, or virtual worlds)? Is connecting to others via online communities a viable way of creating meaningful relationships, or are we neglecting our everyday relationships in favor of these "virtual" relationships? Do we, as a society, need to focus on creating more "real" spaces/public spheres for people to connect, interact, and discuss meaningful political and social issues?"

Because of computer mediated communication, there is an increase of interaction with others online. People are able to communicate with close friends and families when they are away; those who do not normally speak aloud about their feelings, especially the handicapped or socially awkward individuals, can post what they want to express about themselves; and dating is much less difficult to meet new people thanks to online dating sites like eHarmony, Match.com, etc. There are so many benefits because of the internet. However, with every positive there is a negative. On the topic of online dating or just meeting someone new on these social sites without face to face interaction there is no nonverbal communication (facial expressions, body language, etc.) to decipher if what you said was offensive or what not. The opposite can occur in that it is difficult to decide how to write something without seeming too brash, too tactless, etc. Without the tone of voice and the facial expressions aspects to nonverbal communication, how is one to decipher the intentions of the person on the other side? Or if you are looking at it in a more social aspect to online dating, how cliché is it to say that you met your partner through eHarmony, just as thousands of other individuals have? Yea, that’s cute. But I think commercials are better. And don’t get me started with Craiglist’s personal ads. It is super sketchy and you never know what kind of person you will meet. For $10.00 a post you can get a lovely Newborn Christian woman fresh out of prison looking for a “friendly encounter.” Yup, you got my vote.

Without face to face interaction and only contacting someone through the internet may seem more personal, but there are times where the other person being contacted is putting up a façade separate from who they really are or how they feel. I also feel that these online services hinder communication skills outside the internet. I am only saying this because I see so many articles online, Yahoo especially, about topics like “How You Can Tell if He is Not the Right Guy for You,” or “What you Never Say to Your Boss,” etc. I mean something is lacking, right? But I can’t completely bash the internet for having all these outlets and services available to the public. Because of the internet, there is more of an intrigue of meeting new people, especially if one can’t travel due to financial issues, disabilities, etc.  Virtual reality sites are there to fulfill the feeling of meeting people from distant places like Australia or Italy. It’s fun and, unless you want something intimate out of it, there are no strings attached.

Ultimately, there are some benefits and negative impacts of using the internet as a medium of communicating. I do not know if online interaction it detrimental or not. My opinions can be different from how it can help another person or group. However, there are things that people have to be conscious about because of lack of face to face interaction.

Media Craze

Since 1960, new, if not then different, forms of media have greatly influence the Presidential elections. Before 1960, television was new, and radio was the sole medium in which the public could listen to the presidential debates. The alternative was paying to see the presidential candidate at a dinner, or a convention, etc. However, even paying for these visits were expensive, therefore, a voter would probably base their opinion on propaganda distributed throughout the streets or radio.  However, in the presidential campaign I for the 1960 elections, the democratic candidate, Kennedy, and the republican candidate, Nixon, were the first to have their presidential debate broadcasted on television. The appeal of having the ability to see the debate in a more accessible and slightly affordable way, garnered more public attention. As a result, the elections were highly influenced by this new form of media. However, there were some misleading aspects as to how the American citizens voted. Not only did the voters base their final decision on their platform, but also the presence of the candidates. Kennedy had a more young, youthful, and well-dressed appearance on television in comparison to Nixon, who looked older, tired and less energetic. Television had the capacity to catch the public eye, but maybe not so much engage with the public mind like the radio had. It is a more superficial medium of media. So, there is definitely a lot of bias that contributed to the introduction of television as new media.

Fast forwarding into the 21^st century, not only is there television available to the public, but now there is the internet and mobile phones, in which people can access information from about the campaigns. The internet is very effective and efficient in giving the information to almost anybody. The public can base their judgments on more than just the newspaper or propaganda posted of posters in the streets. There is more information available to judge the candidates on. However, because anybody can have access to the internet and there are people who blog about the campaign or like to give their own opinion rather than base their writing and information on fact, campaign can be negatively impacted.  It is more about public appearance, and from that, perception—do I want this person to be the FACE of our country? Reputation has also been something highly considered. Take for instance the Watergate scandal. The effect of the political scandal ruined his pubic appeal AND reputation, which forced President Richard Nixon to resign. The same can happen to the new generation of American presidents. If they say one thing to the public, a blogger, journalist, witness, even a random citizen can easily look online and see if their statement is even slightly false and report it publicly. There were pictures online that showed Obama looking at a woman with a lustful eye from the neck down. But a few days later, it was revealed that it was cropped, and he was actually focusing his attention on the people down the stairs behind the woman that was in the picture. I am not bashing on the internet and how it fails people in giving the right information, but there are definitely many faults to the new media that just has to be looked at carefully.