2. Introduction
In recent decades, forms of media have
skyrocketed, representing both technological and
social change. Over 10 days, I logged the hours I
spent both using and producing media. My
investigation examines which media forms I
utilised and analyses why, and provides a
comparison between the way in which my peers
and myself interact with various types of media.
4. NEWS
Over 10 days, I spent around 6hrs 25mns viewing the
news. On only two days did I read the newspaper, and
these were the two days I was working, where the
paper is delivered to the desks of all employees. The
vast majority of my news
viewing is via television, and
it was only on days when I
was unable to watch
televised news coverage,
that I would browse
through the headlines
online, in order to remain
up-to-date on current affairs.
5. NEWS
According to the survey, my classmates shared my
order of preferences for accessing news (television,
then online, then newspaper). I suggest this is
because the news is enhanced with visuals, and
becomes far more captivating and meaningful when
seen, rather than read.
7. AUDIO
The previous graph represents the number of hours
my peers spent each day listening to the radio. Over
half of them listened to less than one hour each
day, 15% listened to an hour daily, and 16.7%
listened to no radio at all.
On average, I listened to the radio for just over one
hour each day, but, as the next graph
demonstrates, my listening was
unpredictable, ranging from nothing one day to 3
hours the next.
9. AUDIO
Much of my radio listening
was, however, accidental. For 8 hours over 10 days, I
was subjected to AM radio played by my mother, in
the car and at home. Only when the radio was set to
FM, was it a personal choice. Therefore, I only
deliberately tuned in for 2 hours and 20 minutes
over the period – a mere average of 14 minutes per
day. This places me alongside 53.9% of my
peers, who listen to less than an hour of radio daily.
I believe this percentage who barely listens to radio
is a consequence of technological advancement in
delivering music.
10. AUDIO
How do you listen to music?
Radio (used for music 450
400
by 185 people) is 350
clearly losing the 300
battle against 250
computers (used by 200
150
320 people) and 100
iPods/iPhones/other 50
Smart Phones (used 0
by 385 people).
11. AUDIO
Presumably, my peers and my declining dependence on
radio for music is due mostly to the choice offered by
iPods, computers, etc. – that is, we can personally choose
what music to listen to, as opposed to suffering through
songs we may or may not enjoy on the radio. The
portability of iPods and smart phones may contribute to
their success, as they are far easier to carry than a Discman
and CDs, or mp3s on a laptop. There is also the snob factor
– no one wants to whip out a small, battery-operated radio
on the bus, only to be scoffed at by Apple elitists, flicking
through their indie playlists with fancy album artwork.
Whilst live music is increasing in popularity as more bands
include Brisbane in their tours, it is still more financially
feasible to listen to a band’s CD than hear them play live.
12. BOOKS
I have included books as part of my usage
because, as a self-confessed bookworm, they form
the most significant component of my media usage.
The survey of my classmates did not include
books, but I would estimate the hours I spent
reading over 10 days probably exceeds many, due to
the text-heavy nature of my courses.
13. BOOKS
17 hours and 10 minutes were spent reading
textbooks, leaving only 3 hours and 50 minutes to
read fiction for pleasure, and 1 hour and 55 minutes
for non-fiction.
While television and movies, at one Books
stage, gained popularity over books, Textbooks Fiction Non-Fiction
I believe reading will soon regain its 7%
former glory, as eBooks and 16%
eReaders swarm the market,
targeting the technological age.
77%
14. ONLINE
The graph below represents how many minutes per day
I used online media. Though I spent significantly longer
online some days than others, my 10-day internet usage
totalled 16 hours and 10 minutes, averaging around 1
hour and 37 minutes each day.
Personal Daily Internet Usage
300
250
No. of minutes
200
150
100
50
0
15. ONLINE
According to the survey of my peers (below), I am far
less active online than my classmates, the majority of
whom spend 2-3 hours online per day, followed by 3-4
hours per day. 321 pupils (75%) spent more than 2
hours online each day, with only 111 spending the same
amount of time or less than I did.
Classmates Daily Internet Usage
140
120
100
No. of People
80
60
40
20
0
<1 hr 1-2 hrs 2-3 hrs 3-4 hrs 4-5 hrs 5-6 hrs >6 hrs
16. ONLINE
Why am I in the minority? Quite simply, I do not do as
much online. My only three uses for internet are
Facebooking, web surfing, and researching, while my
peers engaged in a number of other activities, such as
shopping, reading blogs, and streaming radio and
television. Classmates Internet Usage
450
400
Personal Internet Usage 350
300
Facebook Uni Research Web Surfing 250
200
150
100
11%
19% 50
0
70%
17. TELEVISION
Excluding news reports, I spent 9 hours and 30
minutes watching television, averaging 57 minutes
per day (table). This places me alongside 116 of my
classmates in the <1 hour category, the second most
common group (after 1-2 hours).
Classmates Daily TV Viewing
140
120
100
No. of People
80
60
40
20
0
0 <1 1 1-2 2-3 3-4 >4
Hours
18. TELEVISION
I expected my peers to watch more television than
they did. When you compare the data for TV
viewing with hours spent online though, it is less
surprising – generally, as hours of internet usage
increased, television viewing decreased. This may be
a result of TV and podcast Daily Internet Usage vs. TV Viewing
streaming online, or
>4
personal preferences to
3-4
game, shop or social Hours
Daily Internet Usage
2-3
network online, over Daily TV Viewing
1-2
television viewing.
<1
0 50 100 150 200 250
No. of people
20. ONLINE
My personal online production, shown the pie chart
below, reveals an overwhelming majority of my
media production involves blogging (with 5 hours
and 20 minutes spent engaging in this activity over
the period.) However, this blogging was solely for
this course, and does not represent my usual
personal production. Therefore, Personal Online Production
most of my time was spent Email Blogs Skype
Skyping (1 hour, 15 minutes) then 11%
17%
emailing (50 minutes).
72%
21. ONLINE
My most frequent
activity, though, was
emailing, as I engaged in it 6
out of 10 days, while I blogged
on only 4 occasions and used
Skype twice.
Internet Production
250
This data corresponds to more
No. of People
200
than half (229) of my 150
classmates, who answered that 100
the majority of their online 50
0
media production involved
emailing, followed by Skype.
22. MOBILE
This section is titled “Mobile” as I spoke only on
cell, never landline. Most of my calls lasted around
10 minutes or less, and
were usually “where are
you” calls. As a result of
text messaging and Skype,
my phone bill has
dramatically decreased,
and I imagine this situation
would be common
amongst my peers.
23. USE vs. PRODUCTION
Over 10 days, I spent 86 hours and 23 minutes
engaging with media. 89% of that time (77hours, 3
minutes) was spent using media (watching the news
and television, Media
listening to the radio, reading and
web-surfing), while only 9 hours 11%
and 20 minutes were spent
producing media. Use Production 89%
24. USE vs. PRODUCTION
What of my classmates? Though the survey did not
provide as extensive information as my media log, I
imagine the majority of my peers would also be
“users”, namely because there are more types of
media production available (eg.
News, television, audio, books, net-use) than media
usage (net-production and mobiles).
25. USE vs. PRODUCTION
Analysing the available data from the survey, my
overall media use and production seems to be less
than that of my classmates. Whilst I am in the
majority (53.9%) of my peers who listen to less than
1 hour of radio each day, I am in the bottom 25% of
internet users (less than 2 hours online each
day), and the bottom 32% of television viewers
(watching less than 1 hour of TV daily). Though I
assume I read more than my other classmates, my
phone use and internet production are probably
below average.
26. USE vs. PRODUCTION
Social media – Facebook, Twitter, blogs – is rapidly
growing in popularity, and I predict that the gap
between media production and usage will close over
coming years.
Though media is a valuable tool, there needs to be
balance. I have a discerning use of media; I am not
dependent upon it, and, once coursework is
discounted, it does not form a significant
component of my daily life.
