In today’s world, practically everyone is seen with a technological device attached to their hip. These devices are practically an extension of ourselves and it’s almost as if we’re unaware of how they impact our lives. So what happens when you test yourself to really analyze each app you open or each video you watch in a day?
Sunday morning started the same way my nights normally end, with my routine of checking Instagram posts about game day, Snapchat stories of everyone’s partying shinanigans and Facebook notifications from the night before. I went to the beach with some friends for a relaxing afternoon, posted some pictures and listened to music together. Later that evening, I had dinner with my boyfriend and we laughed over some new “memes” we ran across. Pretty normal day, right? Well, sort of.
Looking back at the log, my results were somewhat bleak; filled with mainly the most popular apps and nothing of meaningful content. Getting to step back and truly think about each picture I saw or each post I created, I realized how passive of an action viewing media is for me. Most of my habits when it comes to consuming media revolve around scrolling past pictures and videos without really looking at them, liking them when my immediate reaction is to do so and skipping them when it isn’t. I rarely interact with news articles unless something big catches my eye, never once opening a news-related app yesterday and spending too much time on more easily consumed media.
While I would love to be one of those people who uses their media consumption time wisely, educating themselves on current events and broadening their perspectives on the world, I’m simply not. I have found that I utilize social media as more of a pastime, entertaining myself by allowing my eyes to constantly be fed with snippets of content. Oh, and with Netflix of course.
I’ve come to terms with the fact I’m definitely not a news junkie as I’m someone who can’t find the mental stamina to engage as often as others while reading long passages. I feed on the quick satisfaction of pictures or videos over lengthy articles and as much as I’m on my phone, you won’t see anything other than Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook taking up my battery usage.
Even though I now know why my consumption habits are more surface level, this experiment has made me want to change the way I view media. I took the time to research platforms that would allow me to get my fill of news while not “boring” myself in doing so, leading me to sign up for TheSkimm and even tailor my news app on my phone to focus on articles I’d actually see myself reading. I mainly engage with social media solely to keep up with the world directly around me, through the posts of my friends and family, but I’ve found a new drive to be connected more with the outside world. Baby steps, you know?
Taylor Talk 