Cellular Parasite
A Look at My Week’s Media Diet
Controlling my media habits has been a problem for me ever since, as I suspect most who struggle with it, the moment when I received my first smartphone. With all the capabilities and endless avenues to explore it hardly seemed necessary to abandon the entertainment unless there was something equally as attention-grabbing going on outside in the real world. As I’ve grown older, that mentality has definitely lifted for the most part, but the habit is something I still struggle with, or ignore, daily.
To learn more about this habit, in this past week I set up the app ‘Moment’ on my phone as well as utilized the built-in software of my phone to track how often I used my phone and what I entertained myself with during the screen-time. This recorded not only the times I was on my phone, but the number of pickups and notifications I received as well. I learned that YouTube was my most used app, having thought previously that it had to be Twitter. I also learned that my late-night media habit of endlessly perusing tweets and videos contributed the majority of the amount to the hours without stop of being “plugged-in.” One of the most valuable insights that I took away from this, however, was visually seeing the days that I spent the most time on my phone and how that corresponded with my schedule and connectedness with others.
On days where I had more classes or events planned, though still with ample free time, I used my phone significantly less, even though I had about the same opportunity of time to be on it. Days that were a little more laid back, though, I wasted all of the extra hours that were given to me. I was able to keep busy days productive but wasted the days that I had the most free time. The momentum from a slightly busier day was enough to make me keep being productive as well as interact with those around me, but, if a day started out lazy, I would catatonically peruse my phone for hours. I realized how much time I had been wasting when I should have been making the most of an easier day. All the study hours or time to catch up on homework escaped my sight, replaced by my iPhone screen.
Overall, this has, at least somewhat, resolved me to focus more of that “free time” on working towards both my academic and personal goals, oftentimes which are intertwined. I hope that upon realizing the extent of this habit, I can more easily resist the temptation and turn to productiveness which will not only assist me with getting through college but help me make the most of my time with the friends I have made here.
