A unique ten day investigation into my habits as a media consumer.

Grace Wilson, Student # 42904685 With the guidance of Carmel Rooney & Bruce Redman as part of JOUR1111

The purpose of this assignment was to conduct a personal media use log on a daily basis for the duration of ten days. From the data collected, I can analyse my usage in comparison with my peers and attempt to evaluate what drives this behaviour - do I value one medium above all the rest? What are my primary motivations or purposes when using media? What does this say about my relationship with journalism and communication? All these questions (and more) will be addressed in the following report.

It can be discerned from the results of the JOUR1111 course survey that in terms of my age, gender and residential status, I conform with the majority. Being an 18 year old female domestic student, puts me in a privileged position to comment. 51.1% of my peers are between 17 and 18 years of age. 75.7% of my peers are female. 93.8% of my peers are living and studying in Australia.

I am part of a lesser proportion of students (9.9%) studying a Bachelor of Journalism and Communication dual degree.

It should be noted that the data in the following table is represented according to hourly increments.

Media
PURPOSE
Sunday 11/03 Monday 12/03 Tuesday 13/03 Wednesday 14/03 Thursday 15/03 Friday 16/03 Saturday 17/03 Sunday 18/03 Monday 19/03 Tuesday 20/03

ONLINE
Work Social

TELEVISION
News Entertainment

RADIO
AM FM

PRINT
Newspaper Magazine

3 2 1 2 1 2 3 4 2 1

3 3 2 3 1 2 2 2.5 3 2

1 1 1 1 1 0 0.5 1.5 1 0

2 0.5 2 0 1 3 2 2 0 1.5

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0.5 1 1.5 0.5 0.5 1 0.5 0 1.5 2

0.5 0 0 0 0 0 0.5 0 0 0

1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

Print 5% Radio 15% Online 43%

Television 37%

The percentages used in the above graph were obtained by dividing () the total amount of time spent per media source by my 10 day media usage total of 60 hours and multiplying (x) that number by 100.

Over the course of 10 days the majority of my media consumption was online. This came as no surprise, with everything now available at our fingertips in terms of work (i.e. general research, blogging, email) and social interaction (i.e. Facebook). The data for both columns in the previous table can be considered inclusive. Meaning, I will have Facebook chat running in a minimised window, irrespective of my intention to log on.

My internet usage per day can depend on how much homework I have due. I spend an average of 2.1 hours (2 hours and 6 minutes) per day online for work related purposes. The use of this medium is driven by the convenience factor. To have access to unlimited databases and academic journals specialising in any number of topics enables me to visit a virtual library from home and scan information with greater efficiency.
In terms of online news, Nine MSN is my browser home page and despite not being renowned for its credibility, it often features breaking headlines and entertainment stories. If something interests me, I will peruse it further through more reputable online sources saved in my favourites (SBS World News Online or the Huffington Post, etc.).

Like 91.9% of my peers, I primarily use the internet for Facebook, as a platform to interact with my friends and family from interstate. It allows me to view their profiles, send them private messages or post on their walls publicly. I only have one Facebook account, which is consistent with 94.7% of my cohort.
It is interesting to note that only 2.8% of the 436 students who responded to the survey do not have an active account. This shows the extent Facebook has permeated modern life that it is almost a pre requisite for normal social functioning.

I have a relatively discrete profile with high security settings, so my information is only visible to friends (it should be noted, I use the term friends loosely as it extends to school acquaintances and those occasional friend-of-a-friend recognisable faces that you feel obliged to accept requests from). I never update anything overly personal like my phone number or relationship status to the site. It is used solely as a mechanism to communicate with others, and because of this I use it on average for 2.35 hours (2 hours 21 minutes) per day. A fear of missing out and need to be connected is what drives this (verging on obsessive) online behaviour. For instance, if there has been a recent social event where pictures may be posted throughout the day, I will be more likely to check Facebook frequently.

Positive Facebook rapport in the form of likes and the instant gratification of comments on our photos, boost self-esteem as online users and encourage us to post again. This desire to share what we are doing and who we are doing it with has led to the predominance of other social media platforms. Before enrolling in JOUR1111 I was part of the 63% and 70.8% of people, respectively, who didnt have existing blogs or Twitter accounts. Now these outlets contribute to my time online, though not as extensively. My blog is maintained for university purposes, including lecture summaries. I still only have a basic understanding of all its features, although I have come to quite enjoy sharing my thoughts and social commentary via the blogosphere. As for Twitter, I have only Tweeted once in an attempt to be ironic... (I will never get Twitter Grace Wilson, 2012 #famouslastwords). My average overall online usage per day is 2.6 hours (2 hours 36 minutes) per day which is consistent with the majority of my peers who use it between 2 and 3 hours. However, the fact that I do not have an internet enabled smart phone (unlike 77.3% of my course with their varying brands) means my access to these sites is undoubtedly limited, and I must spend more time on the computer.

Television is the second most popular media outlet of mine, as evidenced by the 10 day observation period (in which we can extrapolate trends). Time spent watching news or entertainment are considered to be mutually exclusive.

On average I watch 2.2 hours (2 hours 12 minutes) of television per day. This is just over the majority of my cohort who watch between 1 and 2 hours. I attribute this to trying to watch at least one hour of news on weeknights preferably SBS World News or, if not, Channel 10s The Project.

I also do not watch any TV series online, as an employee of the Blockbuster franchise and purely against the principle of it. This would contribute to how long I spent in front of the television and be comparable to others streaming and download habits. On average, I watch 0.8 hours (48 minutes) of news for every 1.4 hours (1 hour 24 minutes) of leisure programming. What lies behind this behaviour is a need to be informed about national and international events. We identify with news readers as the trustworthy conveyors of issues that matter to us. Often watching the news will consolidate the background of a story I may have heard during the day. This is a consistent finding with 71.1% of people whose primary source of news comes from the TV. As for the time devoted to leisure viewing, I think its important to have a break and a laugh (for your endorphins sake!). I also have the benefit of free rentals from work and do take advantage of that for a broad range of viewing to suit my mood. Often, we develop an interest in a particular series and if were able to, will tune in every week for the next instalment. I exhibit this behaviour, borne of a need to know what-happens-next and to an extent, understand pop cultural references.

My radio usage is dependent on how long I will spend in a car on any given day. That is one of the benefits of radio, being able to multi-task while also being educated and/or entertained. On average I listen to 0.9 hours (54 minutes) per day. This is consistent with the majority of my cohort who spend less than an hour doing so too. I am part of the 42.8% of my peers who listen to music primarily through this medium. I am also part of the 39.1% who are informed through it as a daily source of news headlines.


I rarely listen to AM stations unless travelling with my parents. Triple j is my preference for a balance of topical banter and Australian music. In the mornings I listen to the comic duo Tom & Alex interview artists, feature celebrity guests and make astute social asides. When I drive home later, I often get the benefit of Tom Tilleys Hack program, which is done in an edgy investigative journalism style. Otherwise I will tune in sporadically throughout the day as I make trips in the car. Comparatively, I spend less time using this medium on a daily basis, yet I value it highly as an engaging platform to facilitate conversation. We have the ability to contribute and even request songs by calling or texting in, which I have done on occasions before. The presenters are hip, personable and technology savvy. One day, I aspire to work in the industry, but for now gaining experience through JACradio at university will suffice. I have never listened to a podcast before its more about fortuitous timing for me, nor do I own a digital radio, but I acknowledge this will be the way of the future.

Print as a medium is largely neglected by my lifestyle. Having to pay for a newspaper is not the issue for me, rather, it is the convenience factor that strikes again. Forgetting to pick one up while I am at the shops is a common occurrence. The web has adapted to fill this void, and has meant news stories can be conveyed more time-efficiently, although not as in-depth. My family tends to buy newspapers only on the weekend, and if so, I will skim it for articles of interest. We get the Courier Mail and the Australian for their micro- and macrocosmic perspectives according to state and federal importance. However, Im not afraid to admit, I do spend more time reading the pull-outs like QWeekender and Review. These are the lifestyle magazines that contain human interest stories and the latest cultural buzz on books, music, films and exhibitions.

Old Media 57%

New Media 43%

Old or traditional media entails all television, radio and print sources. This explains why cumulatively I appear to spend more time using it, compared to my online usage as the only instance of new media.

Its interesting to note the cyclical nature of technology means that what we consider to be new and advanced now, will inevitably become old media. While intuitively we bear the association between old media and being outdated, this isnt necessarily true. It still has immense value in terms of authoritative news and as a source of entertainment. New media has the edge in terms of its ability to personalise online and share our experiences. Whereas before we were being fed the news, now we can create and interact with our news as well as perform any other number of other tasks online. The concern amongst academics that the rise of citizen journalism via Twitter and blogs is perpetuating unverified and potentially inaccurate news is unwarranted. New media is about freedom of expression and having access to a variety of perspectives. These sites are only likely to increase in popularity and I havent even begun to get my head around Tumblr, Pinterest or Instagram...

This ten day investigation has revealed: I rely heavily on online media to complete homework and socialise with friends, which comes as no surprise to anyone of my generation. I watch a considerable amount of television with the dual intentions of being informed about current affairs on channels like SBS and having a mental break by following certain sitcoms. I listen to the radio when I commute to and from work or university. I like its conversational tone and will almost always pick up interesting anecdotes and new music from my drive. I am not dependent on newspapers, however I do value their contribution as analytical mass media, and try to read the weekend issues.