Jordayn Murphy

For our first assignment, we had to track what social media content we consumed during a single day. I honestly did not think that tracking my media use would be as revealing as it was. I started tracking my media use starting Monday morning through the rest of the day until I went to sleep. This blog will show in depth all the content I viewed, where it came from, how I read it, and how impactful the information was that I read.

Morning 9am-10am

9:00am:  It’s bad to say, but the first thing I do when I wake up is grab my phone. Within minutes of waking up, I was on Instagram scrolling through all of the posts and reels. A lot of the stuff I was scrolling through were just photos my friends had posted however, I saw this video claiming that “drinking apple cider vinegar is a miracle drink for rapid fat burning” Obviously, I kind of chuckled a little bit when I heard this because it sounds way too good to be true. However, a lot of the comments were supportive, and it did make it kind of more believable.

9:30am: I started to get up and get ready for work and usually when I do this, I throw on a YouTube video to have as background noise. One of my favorite youtubers Sadie Crowell had just uploaded a vlog where she spends her weekend in Nashville! She shares all of the cool things she did, and all of the friends she ran into. I honestly find it so entertaining to watch how she lives her life as a vlogger, and entrepreneur.

10:00am: On my way to work I started listening to the Call Her Daddy Podcast featuring Jessi Draper. Jessi is one of my favorite reality T.V stars from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. She went on the podcast to share insights on her divorce, show, and recent scandal surrounding her castmate and friend Taylor Frankie Paul.

Afternoon 2pm-3pm

2:00pm: While I first sat down in my car to take my lunch break at work, I started scrolling again on my phone. I was on Tik Tok however nothing crazy stood out, just funny cat videos I send my boyfriend.

2:20pm: I am just about to wrap up my lunch break; however, I started going through Instagram and noticed an article from the Washington Post. It was about ways to make your seasonal allergies a little less miserable. This really enticed me because during the spring my allergies get so bad. I usually take a Claritin, but this was explaining more D.I.Y things to do to help at home.

Nighttime 9pm-11pm

9:00pm: After getting home from work I start scrolling while I wait for my bath to fill up. I go on Tik Tok, Instagram, and Snapchat. I am honestly just looking at nothing, kind of just doom scrolling to waste time.

10:00pm: I start to unwind and get into bed; however, I check my emails and canvas to see what I need to plan for during the week. I usually try to create a schedule in my head for when I will need to set aside specific times for school around my work schedule.

10:30pm: Right before bed I do one last scroll on my apps before bed. I sent out my last message to my boyfriend saying goodnight, and I watched the Tik Tok video he sent me about someone bringing their cat to the beach. It was cute!

Reflection:

It was very interesting to see how much I am on my phone; especially how much I am on social media. I feel like a lot of the time when I go on my phone it is honestly too kind of take break from the real world. I feel like I definitely shut off the part of my brain where I am overthinking and over analyzing, however, at the same time it was pretty shocking to see how much I don’t really critically think about all of the things I view online. I kind of just accept it even if the information is completely false, and it honestly has become like a normal thing for me to ignore. There have been many times where I scroll past something and just say oh weird and literally don’t acknowledge it at all. I feel like this assignment made me realize that I need to look further into things and not just blindly scroll by pages sharing one opinion. I feel like the way I have taken in information makes me wonder if a lot of it was even true, or if I just read the headline and scrolled on past being like “hmm… crazy!

I honestly think now, I have been most inclined to fact checked Instagram compared to all the other social medias I am on. I feel like this one really does not abide by any rules and quite literally posts any information even if it is so far-fetched. I have seen that Instagram will flag a couple things, but for the most part if it does the message is so small and no one really pays attention to it. I do, however, trust some sources within Instagram like the Washington Post page I follow. The Washington Post has a very good reputation for reporting honestly. However, other than a couple accounts Instagram is pretty 50/50 on what is put out there.

This assignment was very eye opening and honestly super fun. I enjoyed seeing the patterns I have and finding ways I can be more mindful when consuming social media.