Over the past ten days, I have
systematically typed out every minute of my personal media usage. This meant
that each time I went on the internet, read my book, made a phone call or
bloody well sneezed I wrote it down. The whole process was time consuming and inconvenient.
It wasn’t until I started graphing the results that I saw the benefits of media
logging.
Uni assignments aside, it is the best
way to see how I interact with and use all the types of media at my disposal.
As a journalism student, I have to be aware of how the world uses different
technologies to suit its needs. How am I to do this without knowing the ways,
and the reasons I use media in my own life? The following analysis of my
results will look at the types of media I used, and why I used them
in that way.
The table below is my ten day media log, the data provided was the basis for all of my personal graphs. Each category was classified into the different forms of media in use, and totals calculated at the end.
FORMS:
With over twenty different subcategories
in use, I organised my data into five media groups: Radio, Computer, Smart
Phone, Television and Text Media. The graph of this can be seen below labelled
‘Media Usage”. Each of these forms of media is integral to journalism and
communication. This tells us that news has found a niche in all the forms of
media we are exposed to. Journalism and communication obviously play a vital
role in modern life.
 |
| Forms of Media |
Originally,
I thought the graph would show me which forms of media I favoured. I was
wrong; radio aside the time spent on each was similar. I attributed this
to the fact that each media group is used for very different purposes, all of
which I value. These purposes are summarised below:
Computer – University study
Smart Phone – Social networking and News
Television – Entertainment
Text Media – Novel
Radio – Music
To prove this I made another graph where
I presented my media uses, rather
than the forms. Seen below, these corresponding graphs show beyond doubt that I
am a very media specific person.
 |
| Media Purposes vs. Media Forms |
FUNCTIONS
In relation to journalism this means
that each form of media has a specific role my life, and more specifically that
my Smartphone is the only way I am subjected to the practice of journalism. If
the large majority of people showed the same statistics, it would be a huge concern for those in print or radio journalism. Evidently, subscriber numbers
have dropped in both of those fields since online news.
The reason for this, as I see it, is
because online news is so convenient. Not only is it available twenty-four
hours a day, but it is updated constantly. The graph below shows my news
sources:
 |
| Ways I access the News |
Apart from one lonely little Sunrise
session before uni, all of my news, a huge 88%, came from my Smartphone. For me
it is the easiest, most thorough and cheapest way to access news. I have outlined below some of the positive functions of on-line news (particularly with Smart Phones):
·
I can read the news
whenever I want, not just when a program starts
·
Stories are updated
twenty-four hours a day
·
Hundreds of news
sites are available, all in the palm of my hand
·
I don’t have to go
to a newsagents, a radio or a television to read the news
·
I can save stories
that I like at the touch of a button
·
People are able to contribute
easily and openly on most stories by commenting
The reason so many people are using on-line news is because it has more functions than radio and print
media have to offer. This affects journalism and communication because people
in today’s society want functionality.
They want to do more with less effort, an ‘all in one’ lifestyle.
Smart Phones are helping people worldwide achieve that goal. This link shows a list of all the things an Iphone (my model) can do. I had no idea I
have so much at my fingertips.
 |
| Ways I use my Smartphone |
Far less impressive than the list on the website, the above graph shows how I used my Smartphone over the ten day period.
It’s amazing that only 14% of my time on the phone was actually spent
making calls and texting. This shows that my Iphone is much more to me than a
means of communication. All of my social networking,
banking, gaming, e-mailing and most of my news are done on my Smartphone.
Without it I wouldn't get e-mails until I came home, exchanging money would be
a nightmare, and I probably wouldn't play games at all.
This form of media has completely
changed the way I operate, along with many others. In JOUR1111, 77.3% of
people own an internet enabled Smartphone; this can be seen in the table below.
 |
| Class Results on Smartphone |
To see how this has affected journalism
directly we can look at another section of the survey which shows the ways the
class accessed news (see graph below). It can be seen that online news is the
second most popular form, with 67.8%. The class’s data does not match my own,
as television and newspapers rank highly. Then again, when I
completed the survey I selected newspapers and television, which it turns out I
barely use at all.
 |
| Class Results on Ways to Access News |
In conclusion, completing this
assignment has made me realise how limited I am in my media use. This doesn't bother me. I use each form of media in the way that serves me best and is most
convenient. I think this is how everybody approaches journalism. I have grown up in a technological world, where every day things
are being made easier for us. I believe Smartphones and the internet will become increasingly important to the practice of journalism and
communication in the future.
