Walk-Through:
I gave a walk through to my friend Arianna Slater (fellow classmate) regarding my daily usage of social media apps on my phone.
I began by checking my Snapchat to see if anyone had Snapchatted me and then proceeded to scroll their the Snapchat stories and click them so that they would disappear from my feed. I was confused on why I cared whether the snap stories were on my feed or not and why I felt the need to watch every one.
Next, I went on Twitter and checked to see if I had recently been tagged in any tweets. After seeing that I was, I immediately favorited them, responded back and moved on to the next app. Next I went on Instagram, and after noticing that I had not recently posted anything of my own and wouldn't have any notifications, I decided to check out my profile to see what it would look like to other people. I often check out my own social media profiles, and edit them to avoid any negative thoughts from people who may view them.
I realized that through my constant need to be on social media, I have also learned how to show people the parts of myself that I choose to show them. I actually feel like this is a positive aspect of social media in that not everything about us should be displayed to the online world. People SHOULD only see what we choose to show.
I began by checking my Snapchat to see if anyone had Snapchatted me and then proceeded to scroll their the Snapchat stories and click them so that they would disappear from my feed. I was confused on why I cared whether the snap stories were on my feed or not and why I felt the need to watch every one.
Next, I went on Twitter and checked to see if I had recently been tagged in any tweets. After seeing that I was, I immediately favorited them, responded back and moved on to the next app. Next I went on Instagram, and after noticing that I had not recently posted anything of my own and wouldn't have any notifications, I decided to check out my profile to see what it would look like to other people. I often check out my own social media profiles, and edit them to avoid any negative thoughts from people who may view them.
I realized that through my constant need to be on social media, I have also learned how to show people the parts of myself that I choose to show them. I actually feel like this is a positive aspect of social media in that not everything about us should be displayed to the online world. People SHOULD only see what we choose to show.
Lastly, I checked my Facebook, which usually takes up the most significant amount of time in that almost everybody I am connected with has a Facebook. The first thing I noticed after logging in was the many notifications from Arianna I had of her liking all the pictures I had recently tagged her in. I then clicked her name and began to do the same for her. After doing so, I realized that this is something that I often do with my friends on Facebook and there really is no point in doing so. Sometimes I just like their pictures out of pure default mode. I feel as though since they are my friends, I must like every single post they decide to make. After scrolling and stalking Ari's profile for a bit, I also realized that I spend too much time stalking people on social media. Why do I do that? Why do I care so much about a profile picture from three years ago? I feel as though social media has given society the opportunity to know too much information about people they may not have ever met and that is a scary thought.
Finally, I went to the search bar of Facebook, typed in my best friend's name and checked to see if she had posted anything recently. After liking and commenting on any new posts, I did the same to my other close friends and finally logged off.
Short Reflection:
After my walk through I realized that most of the stuff I do on social media is completely and utterly pointless and a waste of time, yet I still feel the need to do it so often throughout the day. I feel as though social media usage is literally an addiction and if I want to tame my usage I must treat it like any other bad habit.
Finally, I went to the search bar of Facebook, typed in my best friend's name and checked to see if she had posted anything recently. After liking and commenting on any new posts, I did the same to my other close friends and finally logged off.
Short Reflection:
After my walk through I realized that most of the stuff I do on social media is completely and utterly pointless and a waste of time, yet I still feel the need to do it so often throughout the day. I feel as though social media usage is literally an addiction and if I want to tame my usage I must treat it like any other bad habit.
Video Capture:
Before using Camtasia, I assumed that while scrolling Twitter or Facebook my reactions would somewhat match the theme of the posts I was viewing. If I were viewing something funny, I would laugh. If I were viewing something stupid, I'd look annoyed etc. For this video capture, I decided to look through Facebook since it has the most on its feed.
I noticed that my facial expression remained relatively the same throughout the scrolling and clicking of the site. Sometimes I'd smile a little at something funny, but it was hard to notice even that. I felt as if I were expressionless, like I was just taking a still picture of my face. It was actually very uncomfortable to watch myself, because I immediately felt embarrassed by the footage.
It seemed as though I was literally in another world, I was zoned out and my eyes stayed glued to the screen I was looking at. I began to think about how I look when I do homework or when I am reading an article for class. I often find it so difficult to pay attention and to finish my homework without getting distracting, yet I can get so completely lost in social media. It is definitely a weird realization to say the least.
As a whole, I felt that the video capture made me think about what I really care about and what I really put effort into at this point in my life. It made me realize that I can spend hours scrolling through stupid status' and pictures, yet I can't spend twenty minutes reading an article for an assignment. I hope that I can take these realizations and they can help me to put effort into other more important things.
Before using Camtasia, I assumed that while scrolling Twitter or Facebook my reactions would somewhat match the theme of the posts I was viewing. If I were viewing something funny, I would laugh. If I were viewing something stupid, I'd look annoyed etc. For this video capture, I decided to look through Facebook since it has the most on its feed.
I noticed that my facial expression remained relatively the same throughout the scrolling and clicking of the site. Sometimes I'd smile a little at something funny, but it was hard to notice even that. I felt as if I were expressionless, like I was just taking a still picture of my face. It was actually very uncomfortable to watch myself, because I immediately felt embarrassed by the footage.
It seemed as though I was literally in another world, I was zoned out and my eyes stayed glued to the screen I was looking at. I began to think about how I look when I do homework or when I am reading an article for class. I often find it so difficult to pay attention and to finish my homework without getting distracting, yet I can get so completely lost in social media. It is definitely a weird realization to say the least.
As a whole, I felt that the video capture made me think about what I really care about and what I really put effort into at this point in my life. It made me realize that I can spend hours scrolling through stupid status' and pictures, yet I can't spend twenty minutes reading an article for an assignment. I hope that I can take these realizations and they can help me to put effort into other more important things.
Field Notes:
Through the use of field notes, I was able to truly see how I spent my time. However, I was not able to determine why I spent my time that way. That was something only I could answer.
I realized that I spend way too much of my time scrolling through pointless words and pictures, and not enough on the important things. I realized that when I am in a room full of people, half the time we are all on our phones rather than engaging in each other’s company. I found that I often completely zone out of somebody talking to me, because I am too engaged in the screen in front of me. This was something that really bothered me, because when people do that to me it immediately frustrates me. But how can I get frustrated when I do the same exact thing?
Another thing I found that particular bothered me was my tendency to completely ignore text messages. I have my "read-receipts" showing so when I open a text the person who sent it to me will know I have read it. However, often times I read somebody's text and STILL ignore it. I would be on my phone checking Instagram, but for some reason could not find the time to respond to their text message.
No matter what I was doing with my time, whether it be on the shuttle, eating, watching TV, hanging with friends, etc. checking my social media apps was always a huge chunk of this time. I noticed through my field notes that it was a much larger chunk than I previously thought. I also noticed that it is allowing me to care more about my social media self than my real self. I have over a thousand friends on social media, yet I only actively engage with less than 20 friends and acquaintances in my every day life.
Overall, these notes have allowed me to see on paper how much of my attention goes to social media. I always thought of myself as somebody that doesn't use social media too much. I would think things like "well at least I'm not like so and so who posts ten Instagram's a day" or "why does she tweet that, nobody cares?" I often think things like this, but am I really all that different? I may not exactly be posting things, but I am still activity engaged on these sites probably the same amount as the people I make fun of for it. This was a big eye opener for me.
Through the use of field notes, I was able to truly see how I spent my time. However, I was not able to determine why I spent my time that way. That was something only I could answer.
I realized that I spend way too much of my time scrolling through pointless words and pictures, and not enough on the important things. I realized that when I am in a room full of people, half the time we are all on our phones rather than engaging in each other’s company. I found that I often completely zone out of somebody talking to me, because I am too engaged in the screen in front of me. This was something that really bothered me, because when people do that to me it immediately frustrates me. But how can I get frustrated when I do the same exact thing?
Another thing I found that particular bothered me was my tendency to completely ignore text messages. I have my "read-receipts" showing so when I open a text the person who sent it to me will know I have read it. However, often times I read somebody's text and STILL ignore it. I would be on my phone checking Instagram, but for some reason could not find the time to respond to their text message.
No matter what I was doing with my time, whether it be on the shuttle, eating, watching TV, hanging with friends, etc. checking my social media apps was always a huge chunk of this time. I noticed through my field notes that it was a much larger chunk than I previously thought. I also noticed that it is allowing me to care more about my social media self than my real self. I have over a thousand friends on social media, yet I only actively engage with less than 20 friends and acquaintances in my every day life.
Overall, these notes have allowed me to see on paper how much of my attention goes to social media. I always thought of myself as somebody that doesn't use social media too much. I would think things like "well at least I'm not like so and so who posts ten Instagram's a day" or "why does she tweet that, nobody cares?" I often think things like this, but am I really all that different? I may not exactly be posting things, but I am still activity engaged on these sites probably the same amount as the people I make fun of for it. This was a big eye opener for me.