My Phone causes (over)Consumption

I asked my students in TCF 444: Media Stories in the Digital Age, to log their "media diet" from Tuesday to Sunday. They were asked to share their intake (or an excerpt of it --- there is often shame associated with what we watch and listen to in private), and give a short reflection of what they learned about themselves, about media, and about ways we most often access mediatized stories.

I tried to log time, place, technology, what I did, and some bit of commentary.

Here's mine:

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

8:30 – 9 am in Phifer office: 2 computers. Laptop typing. Desktop: emails, cnn, facebook, elearning, youtube…

9:30am – 10:45am in130 Phifer: Computer projection: e-learning, my blog, student’s blog, youtube, vopod (444 class on web 2.0)

12:30 – 1:45 in 130 Phifer: Computer projection: e-learning, my blog, student’s blogs (312 assignments)

2 – 4:30pm in Phifer office: desktop computer. Gmail – student’s internships, book project, job search stuff, dropbox sharing files with Dr. Butler, facebook: birthday wishes to friends, message from student who need letter of rec, artist’s website:

http://www.quintanwikswo.com/

watching her short films: http://www.quintanwikswo.com/#mi=1&pt=0&pi=13&p=-1&a=0&at=0

6pm – living room standard def TV: Dinner with the kids in front of the TV. TT and I watch Drake and Josh on Nick and then Daddy’s Girl’s on Centric.

7pm –8 pm In my bedroom. TV as background noise, showing BIO of Steve Martin, not watching. On laptop: email: student re: media diet (this) assignment), facebook: reading status updates of rap lyrics, personal thoughts, Haiti, gossip blogs, cnn, feministing (daily news round-up links led me to:

http://jezebel.com/5051901/

checking for new video on my favorite vlog:

http://pouringdown.tv/

no new video… why don’t I sign up to be notified… dunno

was thinking about gun violence because of Dwight’s documentary. Decided to google gun laws in Alabama: http://crime.about.com/od/gunlawsbystate/p/gunlaws_al.htm

Permit to purchase handgun? No

Registration of handguns? No

Licensing of owners of handguns? No

Permit to carry handguns? Yes

Scary! The crazy guy in the car next to me might (and probably does) have a gun in his truck…

How did people know what laws were before google? I didn’t. I rely o the internet for human connection, work, teaching, learning, research, directions, movie times, watching films (Netflix streaming)… Is there a day where I don’t use the Internet?

Working on book project --- emails, downloading pdf of drafts, gchat. Collab work online.

Chatting with old friend from hs on fb. Link to recall from Asia:

http://www.mcneilproductrecall.com/page.jhtml?id=/include/prd_all.inc

Tylenol. Funny they paid her a lot for sponsorship.

More gmail. Gmail on my laptop. Gmail on my desktop. Gmail on my G1 phone. Google is the foundation of my everyday media encounters.

8 – 9pm watching A&E – various paranormal shows about kid psychics and haunted homes.

9 – 10pm. In bed. Reading for class prep for Thursday. Pavlik. Rhettberg. Grammar of the Shot.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

2am - gchat bling on my phone (which always stays connected. Message: Are you up? (No! I just rolled over)

6:15 – 6:40 – in bedroom. Laptop. Checking email. Mostly students wanting cameras for Friday..

7:30 – 45 in living room. Bubba watching Backyardigans, recorded on DVR. “I want cowboy boots and a cowboy hat too!” I am on facebook, reading morning statuses, cnn, and gmail on laptop… emailing Dean asking for support and to set up production funds for student films.

7:30 – 8:15 – in the car. Radio. Flipping. Always flipping. Stupid and boring talk radio (racist, sexist, offensive) and NO MUSIC. Ugggh.

8:30 – in office. Turn on internet radio. Last fm. Search by “r&b” plays lots of good songs, songs I haven’t heard of and LOVE the ability to immediately switch to the next song if there is something that I don’t like. INTERACTIVE, active user radio… FINALLY!!!!

8:30 – 11:50am. In office. Desktop and laptop. Both are online. Writing on laptop. Radio and Internet going on the desktop. Facebook activity. Gmail. Perez and Feministing. Chat with friend.

2pm – 4pm. Back in the office. Desktop. Watching youtube videos… thinking about Wesch’s ideas. Juhasz’s class on Youtube. Youtube as archive. Instant access to old videos. Back in the day, had to have a vhs copy from Yo MTV Raps! To see an old video again.

7pm – 9pm. Living room. DVR. Watching Copyright Criminals on DVR. Watched it twice. 2^ndtime recorded on DVD burner. Will show in 444 this term.

9:30 pm – in bed. On laptop. Student emails. Facebook – liking things… let’s my friends know that I am around and thinking about them.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

6am – in bed. Phone tells me I’ve got FB messages, text messages, gchat.

7am – Kitchen. TV. Bubba watches Kai-Lan, recorded on the DVR.

7:30 am – car. Radio. Flipping stations. Morning talks shows are offensive and annoying. Flipping… will anyone just play a song? Why don’t I have a CD?

8am – Walking from parking lot to Phifer. Cell phone. FB message about meeting for next week.

8:45am – Office. Computer – e-learning site. Putting more links to radio/audio stories for 444 class. Examples of audio storytelling. Just learnd that Thembi, from radiodiaries passed away in June. Listened to NPR story about her passing.

10:00 – 10:30. In 130. Discussing ways audio is used to tell stories. We watched trailer for RadioDiaries.org. (I didn’t tell the student I had been crying upon learning about Thembi’s death. First tears shed in my TCF office --- her story was so intimate. I could hear all of the details of her life, the texture of the sounds of her place, the tone of her voice, the depth of her commitment to living… now she’s gone but her story lives on through her story.)

2pm – 4pm. Office in Phifer. Gmail. Facebook. Cnn – what’s happening in the world? Haiti.

6pm – Bubba’s room. DVDs borrowed from public library. Power Rangers. I would never buy it on DVD. Library DVDs are good (when they aren’t too scratched to work).

8 – 9pm. In bed. Watching I.D. and bio. Investigation shows. Paula Zahn.

Friday, January 22, 2010

7:15- 7:45 am. Living room. DVR. Kai Lan for Bubba.

8am – 8:30. Stupid commercial radio. I really need to make a CD or charge my ipod and bring connectors to play music in the car.

8:45am 2pm – office in Phifer. Last fm radio. Again R&B. blasting. No one is here! LOVE the control. This is the ONLY way I’ll listen to radio. Commercial radio is so antiquated and ridiculous. Gchat. Gmail. Facebook. Netflix cue. Web searches for EX3 matte box --- $1800 ouch. Not right now. Email all production faculty about eq use and edit room. Email about book. Email, email, email.

Throughout the evening, fb messages and emails through my G1 phone.

9:40 – 11pm. In bed. Reading. Novel from the library. Good book but book physically stinks. Ugh. I also hate when the pages get rumpled. I like clean, fresh, new books but books are so expensive. I read once or twice then put on the shelf. Before moving here I sold 75 books at Half Price Books that cost a ton of $ but made enough (after using my credit to get one used book) to buy at Java Chip at Starbucks. Sigh.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

8am. Living room. Laptop. Watching trailers of films at Sundance. Reading feministing, perezhilton, cnn (do this every day --- why did I not note this? Was I embarrassed that I read gossip blogs. At least I don’t read bossip and some of the other really horrible ones). Writing blog posts. Reading student blogs. Just read on FB that TCF student’s mom called Haiti telethon and Steven Spielberg answered. Ha!

9am. Living room. TV. Was trying to clean up the DVR (Bubba no longer wants Blue’s Clues, Bakugan and some other shows. ACCIDENTALLY, I delete ALL PROGRAMS… doing too much, multi-tasking. Tiana is gonna be really upset at me when she gets up. So much of what we watch is all recorded. We rarely watch things when they are broadcast. All of Bubba’s shows. All of her TV shows. My PBS documentaries. OUCH. SORRY! I suck.

9:41 am. Man…. I think it’s time to unplug. Well, sort of. I’m going to steam clean the carpets and figure how to tell TT all her shows are gone. = ( but first a quick cnn and facebook checkin.

Email on my phone throughout the day (about 20 times)

9pm – 10:30pm in bed. TV. 48 Hours hard Evidence on i.D. on flipping through channels.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

6am – in bed. Gmail on phone. Got fb message. Laptop. Facebook – return messages. Birthday wishes (so many bdays today).

7- 8am. In bed. TV. Flipping channels, nothing too interesting on. Watch cnn, i.d., bio, and others. Nothing caught my interest.

8:45 am. At desk. Listening to music. Wanted to listen to online radio but internet isn’t working… oh AT&T. = (

so, I’m on itunes with random music. And writing. Phone is letting me know that I have FB messages. Too slow of a connection (“3G sucks inside my house… only works down the street). Makes me frustrated that I can’t do things quickly, easily (and instantly) when I have a message.

So, my reflections.... the "big thoughts" on my overconsumption:

Teaching with technology. I do it. ALOT. I stand behind the pedagogical reasons... I think that using websites and web-based media allows students to see what other folks are doing right now. They can see things that inspire them, model form or aesthetics, and means of distribution. I use blogs so that reflections, assignments (such as this one), and conversations are not one or two-way channels, just between the student and me, but become multi-directional and multi-dimensional when the students read each other's posts and comment. When students post their own creative projects online they can view and comment, share with their subjects, family, friends... and easily link and re-post to places like facebook. Still, I am conscientious that I have to change up the types of assignments - blog post one week, reading (from books) next, then media making, then reflective writing online... this, I find, is the best way to build media praxis where folks are thinking, doing, and reflecting in a way that is productive and informing; what you think, what you do, and what you come to know are all interconnected.

In terms of my own media consumption, I've realized how much I love to read and have to balance “work reads” for pleasure reading. I read mostly online --- news and blogs. I watch TV only for an hour (at most) before bed. I’m addicted to Gmail and FB. I only watch movies on DVR, online through Netflix, Netflix by mail or Redbox $1 rentals. I need more times to watch movies.

I love music but I HATE radio. I only listen to radio in the car. I like online radio that allows you CONTROL! I do so much in a day but I want to do more!!! I think they should just rebuild the entire commercial radio model... I need something new there. Plus, now that I'm a Mom and older, I don't buy CDs (plus there are very few artists who make entire disks of good music)... I will only buy tracks that I like online and listen from my computer, phone or ipod.

So, my phone. How smart is it? Or rather, how smart am I that I am tethered to the rest of the world. You can call me, text me, bling me 24/7 on gchat, message me on myspace, facebook, twitter.... do you really need that much access to me? Should I, could I , would I ever just turn it all off?

I'm still digesting... thinking about when I wrote specifics and when I just said things in general here. Why is there so much stigma around "stupid" TV shows or other "dumb" things that I actually enjoy consuming... like reality TV. I didn't watch much this week (although I usually watch shows all the time)... I didn't want to put it in my media log. Hmmmmm.....