MY MEDIA JOURNAL

The range of technologies and media outlets available to us today have radically evolved and proliferated since the time of our parents’ adolescence, as new media forms are emerging that are easily accessible and preferable to traditional options. Phones, newspapers and broadcast television are no longer exclusive sources for communication, information and entertainment and are also not limited by their chief functions.

 The internet provides a cheaper source of socialising through sites such as facebook, email, messenger and skype, with over 96% of the JOUR1111 class having their own facebook page and 88% using the internet primarily for the purpose of socialising. Over 70% of the JOUR1111 class also have smart phones, which have the capacity to serve as portals for internet browsing, emailing and social networking, extending beyond their designated function of sending and receiving calls and texts.

I have tabulated and graphed the results of my media use over a two week period from the 11th of August to the 24th of August. The tables calculate the amount of time in minutes I spent using each media outlet and the graphs demonstrate these results pictorially. The first graph shows all media forms, whereas the second categorises these forms into larger groupings.

DATE	INTERNET								PHONE
	Youtube (mins)	Facebook (mins)	Email (mins)	TV (mins)	Research (mins)	Blog (mins)	News (mins)	Podcasts (mins)	Texts (mins)	Calls (mins)
11/08/11	40	5	20	300	70	0	10	0	3	3
12/08/11	70	0	10	350	30	0	0	0	5	12
13/08/11	50	0	10	210	20	60	20	0	45	0
14/08/11	30	25	0	60	290	30	15	0	25	0
15/08/11	20	0	8	20	30	20	15	0	20	0
16/08/11	30	5	10	120	30	0	20	0	16	5
17/08/11	120	5	20	120	60	0	10	0	12	0
18/08/11	120	0	15	60	80	0	0	0	4	0
19/08/11	30	30	20	40	30	20	0	40	25	0
20/08/11	20	20	0	20	0	60	30	0	30	10
21/08/11	60	10	25	40	180	0	30	0	30	2
22/08/11	40	10	25	100	120	80	30	0	18	0
23/08/11	90	15	25	120	180	0	10	20	35	5
24/08/11	30	0	12	60	20	0	25	0	18	0
Sub-Total	750	125	200	1620	1140	270	215	60	286	37
TOTAL	4380								323
DATE BOOKS WRITTEN MEDIA TELEVISION MUSIC DVD Textbooks (mins) Novels (mins) Newspaper (mins) Magazines (mins) News (mins) Entertainment (mins) Music (mins) DVD (mins) 11/08/11 30 20 0 0 15 30 120 0 12/08/11 30 0 0 0 15 0 30 0 13/08/11 20 0 40 0 25 0 120 0 14/08/11 30 0 0 0 20 20 200 0 15/08/11 60 140 0 0 25 0 200 0 16/08/11 20 60 30 120 0 0 320 45 17/08/11 20 60 0 20 25 25 240 0 18/08/11 40 45 0 0 0 0 240 120 19/08/11 0 30 0 0 25 0 150 0 20/08/11 0 30 30 0 0 0 300 0 21/08/11 30 40 0 0 0 0 420 0 22/08/11 30 30 20 0 25 0 300 0 23/08/11 60 30 0 30 0 0 360 0 24/08/11 10 140 0 0 0 20 200 120 Sub-Total 380 625 120 170 175 95 3200 285 TOTAL 1005 290 270 3200 285

The results of my two week investigation reveal that I utilize multiple types of media through a wide variety of forms.  As a university student completing an overload of five subjects with a part-time job and friends who require attention, I prefer to access my media on my own schedule and as cheap and easily as possible. The miracle of internet enables me to do this, as I can watch my favourite television shows by online streaming or by downloading and storing them for later use. I do not have to interrupt study or work to flip on the television at a set time or have to endure hours of relentless commercials. The large amount of online television that I watch, approximately 1620 minutes over a fortnight, is also a testament to the wide variety of programs available online and if I am hooked on a series, I do not have to wait a week for the next episode (unless it is a new series screening from the U.S. or the U.K. and even then, I receive it a lot sooner than I would than waiting for it to air in Australia). As a whole, the internet consumed approximately 4380 minutes of my time, with 1140 minutes dedicated to general research for university and work. I spent 480 more minutes watching online television, which shows that I may need to reevaluate my priorities. The majority of my lecturers post information and readings online and recommend sites for further investigation, demonstrating how the internet serves as a major tool for education, with no limit existing as to the amount of people who can access it at once.  I also preferred to receive my news online, with 90.6% of the JOUR1111 class agreeing with me, as I can access it at any time and can find pieces I am interested in quickly through keyword searches. The 175 minutes of televised news that my journal reflects is really a result of broadcasting patterns, with networks scheduling the news between 6pm and 7pm, when my family eats dinner. I still prefer to socialize in person, but I use facebook, texting and email because I know that my friends are obsessed with such mediums, as evidenced by survey results for JOUR1111. I may not use such mediums as much but I can certainly acknowledge the value in them. The main surprise from my media journal was that after the internet, music was the main form of media I consumed, as I spent 3200 minutes of my time listening to my music. This is because music is a media form that I can consume whilst performing other tasks. I listen to CD’s every morning when I drive to University and work, on my ipod when I go running, on my computer when I am researching, writing an assignment, reading a book, or hanging out with friends. I spent 1005 minutes reading printed texts or works, which were assigned readings for particular subjects. However, I work in a bookstore where one of the prevalent fears is that online shops will gradually replace the need for bricks and mortar stores. With the development of kobos, e-readers and ipads, the printed word is becoming an endangered art, rendering novels, newspapers and magazines as useless media forms that are costly and cumbersome. The e-revolution is threatening a lot of livelihoods as consumers are more inclined towards faster and cheaper sources of media, and all avenues seem to lead to the internet. Journalism is all about keeping up with current events and engagement with media platforms is now necessary to survive.