Term Paper #1: Personal Media Usage
Waking up
Every single morning, I wake up to alarms on my phone. It is always the same sound. The sound I wake up to is “Radial”. I have all of my alarms set in 15-minute increments even though I also wake up by the first alarm. I am a very paranoid person when it comes to being late, so I make sure to set plenty of alarms.
After I turn off my alarm, I pick up my phone and will usually see if I have a text from my girlfriend. She wakes up earlier than me, so she always texts me first. After I text her back, I will open snapchat and answer all of my snaps for the day so I can keep my Snapchat streaks. After that I will make myself get out of bed. As soon as I get out of bed I usually put in my air pods and start listening to music to give me motivation for the day. I keep my air pods on throughout the morning while I am getting ready. I will occasionally watch Netflix while getting ready, which usually involves documentaries.
School day
After I am done getting ready for the day, I make my way to my classes. I drive to my classes so when I get in the car, I usually have some background music playing on the short drive. I usually have Lizzy McAlpine playing in the background. My current favorite song by her is “Apple Pie”. It has been on repeat the past couple of days.
Depending on the day depends on where I go. Most days I park at Reynolds and just walk to my class. On the walk to class, I stay off my phone and just focus on making it to class on time. I always arrive to class early, so I usually take that time to check my social media. I check Instagram first. I will check my personal account news. I check my photography account on dm's. I manage a social media page for a med spa, so I check that account as well. After I look at Instagram, I check snapchat to see if my friends have posted anything. Then I go to TikTok and see if anyone has sent me videos and I will scroll there until class starts. After class starts, I try to stay off my phone and pay attention to the professor, but I usually end up picking up my phone to see notifications I have received.
After Class
After Class, I will walk back to my car while looking at my phone. When I get back to my car, my phone automatically connects to my car, and my playlist will shuffle through songs. I will either drive back to my dorm or go to the dining hall for lunch. If I go to the dining hall, I get my food, sit down, and watch TikTok as I eat my food. After lunch, I drive back to my dorm and change my clothes and get in my bed. When in bed, I usually will get back on TikTok, or I will be on Netflix watching another documentary.
After scrolling for a while, I will open my laptop and see what assignments and studying I need to get done. I spend a lot of time working on my computer whether it be for school or for my photography business. I usually have photos that need to be edited for my job. I work with the sports communications department as a photographer. I use affinity 2 to edit my photos so a lot of my days are spent doing that. Sometimes in the afternoons, I take photos for different sports and after that is when I will go and edit my photos.
When I am done with my meal, I will usually hang out with my sister because we are roommates. Our hanging out will usually involve us scrolling on TikTok on our phones next to each other. As the night goes on, I will sometimes go to the lobby and hang out with my friends, and we will have group study sessions. This will involve me being on my computer again to complete more schoolwork from the day.
By the end of the night which is usually around 11 or 12 pm, I never just go straight to bed. I take a shower and then while I am in the shower I am always listening to music. When I get out of the shower I go to my room and finish getting ready for bed. While I do this, I am usually watching TV again or scrolling on TikTok. After I am done getting ready for bed I go lay down in my bed. Before I can fall asleep, I am always scrolling on TikTok and on Instagram and occasionally Facebook to see any news from my family.
Overall
I am aware that I use social media a lot throughout the day. I always have my phone throughout the day, and I am not good about putting it down. I try to take breaks when I can, but we have grown up in a generation where cell phones are the norm. When I am on my phone, it is used as a tool to unwind and decompress from the day.
The week of 9/7 - 9/13
September 9/15
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