Influences!

Henry James’s points about EVERYDAY uses of media creating ignorance to the younger generation about the luxurious opportunities we have been fortunate enough to receive through media; encouraged me to log both mine and my flat mates media usage throughout the month. I kept record of how often I logged into Facebook, how often I updated a status, how many hours I spent on the internet, reading books, newspapers, how much time I spent on my mobile whether it be texting or calling.

Here is what the statistics look like:

DANIELLE                                                                     CLAIRE

Total Call Duration In one month:

8 hours 6 minutes                                                           2 hours 35 mins

Amount of Calls dialled:

3 hours                                                                            1 hour 15 mins

Amount of Calls Received:

5 hours 6 mins                                                                1 hour 20 mins

Total Amount Of Texts In One Month:

10,195                                                                             2,049

Sent Texts:

4556                                                                                1001

Received Texts:

5639                                                                                1048

Amount Of Newspapers Read In One Month:

4                                                                                     1

Amount Of Books Read In One Month:

4                                                                                     1

Amount Of Hours Spent Listening To The Radio In One Month:

30 Hours                                                                        20 Hours

Amount Of Time On Videogames In One Month:

12 Hours                                                                        8 Hours

Amount Of Time Spent On The Laptop In A Month:

200 Hours                                                                  250 Hours

Amount Of Time Spent On Facebook In One Month:

110 Hours                                                                  150 Hours

Amount of Status Updates In One Month:

4                                                                                 7

Amount Of Pictures Taken On A Digital Camera In One Month:

200 pictures                                                               100 Pictures

Amount Of Visits To The Cinema In One Month:

2-3                                                                             2

I think that it is evident why I chose media, as I engage with media a lot more than I would suspect the average person to. I was generally shocked and actually appalled at how much of my life is dedicated to things like texting and Facebook, especially considering majority of my time on Facebook is not spent socialising but merely stalking other people.

 One cancellation however is that when I am at home my time upon Facebook, the amount of calls I receive and make and the amounts of texts I send are very much lower as I do rely heavily upon these devices to stay in contact with my close friends and family back home.

Since viewing these stats I have made an effort to reduce some of these times as I believe I do fit into Henry James’s category of being an ‘ignorant user.’