My Media Usage Diary

          Internet (no of times a day)

Observations:

1). My highest number of usage comprises of Facebook, text messages, Skype, Uq email and online news.

2). In phone apps, I use more of Whatsapp (free international text messaging).

3). Around 80 – 85% of my media usage is Internet usage, while around 10-15% comprises of mobile and television.

4). When compared among Twitter and Facebook, I have used twitter for only an hour or so in these 10 days, and Facebook for more than 4.5 hours.

5). I use Twitter, Blogs the least, and watched very little television.

What lies behind this behavior?

Our exposure to media depends on our interests and activities. I have been using Facebook often to keep in touch with my friends from overseas. These days, Facebook has also started video calling, which has increased the functionality. I have recently started using Twitter; which I only use for my course related purposes.

Many people use Skype to talk to their loved ones. Staying long distance, they can do video calling for long hours in a very easy and inexpensive way.

I have been using UQ email more frequently to keep myself updated with my course and important events; I also do a lot of texting to be in touch with my other university friends (who are doing different courses). I sometimes use YouTube as well, to watch my favorite episodes or music videos. Also, there are many people who blog about recipes, gaming and many more. As a result it all depends on what we like, and what interests us the most.

Relationship to journalism and communication

Our habits of media usage depend on our likings, and our behavior.

For instance, I am more of a Skype, Facebook and email user so that I can be in touch with my family and friends in an easy and inexpensive way. Just a year back I never had a need to use Skype.

As a journalism student, it is important for me to be fully updated with news. Online news is fast and easy way to access information. I use Whatsapp (mobile) as I can message for free). Just a few days back I never blogged, until recently, as it became an important part of my course. Our exposure to media simply depends on our interests and activities, as an example people who have a hobby for photography use Instagram (mobile app) that helps in taking great photos.

When I was in India, I loved watching television, but now I watch less because of my interests and activities. In short, media usage has become an integral part of an individual’s day to day life, dependent on our likings. Many people use Facebook for other functions, such as playing games, making online friends and so on.

Survey information collected from peers

Comparing my personal media use with the survey information, it was found that around 94.7% of people use Facebook, compared to other social networking sites like Twitter (which counts up to only 30.3%). Further more, according to the survey results, 63% of students in the course never blogged, till they started JOUR1111. I never blogged, or used Twitter prior to the course, this corresponds to the statistics that were collected.

Now talking about the smart phone apps, I am a Nokia user, using more of Facebook, YouTube and Whatsapp on it. The survey indicates around 191 people are Iphone users, and the least amount of people use Blackberry, while around 22.7 % do not have an internet enabled smart phone. In addition, around 26.9% of people use Instagram (who love clicking photos). More over, 19.2% people use Twitter and 21.5 % Tumblr (who love writing blogs).

Overall, the media diary gives an exposure to our media usage and reflects our likings and behavior. This is dependent on the individual and their day to day activities.