A Day in the Life

 

Digital media and technology plays a significant role in society and has made such impact. For instance, growing up we used dictionaries, encyclopedias and communication was either in person or mailing letters. Because of digital media, we're now able to web search everything, send emails, shop online, etc. I've personally seen how much digital media has changed my life, good and bad, and would like to share those observations with you.

Sites and Applications

    My daily routine includes numerous sites and applications. First app I open is gmail. As someone who's always on the go and needs their to-do list to survive, I quickly look over how many emails I have, both in my personal and work account. By doing such, I'm able to fill in my to-do list and prioritize what needs to be accomplished for the day/ week. Once I've reviewed my emails, I automatically gravitate towards Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. This helps me feel like I'm catching up with friends and family members that are far away. TikTok is usually last because I'm on it the most because of how diverse it is. I enjoy learning about job openings, repair tricks for home and even learning how to do new hairstyles or gym techniques. TikTok keeps my mind rolling and keeps me motivated to want a better lifestyle. For instance, when I see new meal prep options or someone's gym routine, I'm automatically motivated to want to go to the gym that day and it helps with my mental health. 

    Throughout the day, I'm usually just checking emails and working on the computer all day so don't really have time to get distracted with apps or sites. However, I will say that as soon as I get into work, I open up either YouTube or Pandora because music is a necessity throughout my work shift. Music helps me concentrate, stay relaxed and keeps me at a good pace to fulfill my tasks.

    Once work is done and I'm settled in at home, I'm usually not on any apps until it's time for bed. I enjoy watching YouTube videos because it's so diverse; I can watch court cases, educational videos, read aloud, tutorials, etc. This just helps me tire down and prepare for a good sleep when needed but not daily.

Reactions to Digital Media

 Overall, I would say that digital media needs to be restricted. I can agree that when doing research, read alouds, job searching, etc. it helps because the resources are immediately given to you. However, when it comes to social media and the things people are engaged in, you lose sight of what your purpose is overall. For instance, reflecting back to my childhood, all the neighborhood kids used to play outside, ride bikes, jump rope, go for walks. Now, children are 2-3 years old and know how to work a phone and spend hours on YouTube videos that aren't educational at all. 

I can also say that social media isn't as secured as it used to be. Anybody can create an account on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and search for specific kinds of people to "socialize" with. In these cases, we have young children, young adults posting their exact locations on the internet and anybody's that's considered a "friend" can access that information. That's a safety concern for me as a woman and as a mother. Seeing how many terrible cases have happened due to social media is frightening.

One over Another Satisfaction

    I believe each outlet has its own purpose and serves their needs. I find that my needs are satisfied in the platforms that I use consistently. For instance, my emails help me plan out my day and help me stay on top of what is needed to be done, in my personal and professional life. I also think that YouTube is also another one that I'm satisfied with because I'm able to have the best of both worlds; educational and socialize. When I do use YouTube, I'm playing music to serve as therapeutic while working, learning new techniques, recipes, skills that are important to me to have. On the other hand, I don't think that social media accounts such as Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok are satisfaction. Data shows people lose track of their day because they're consistently scrolling and not doing anything else.

Emails

I definitely receive numerous emails from companies. The ones that automatically catch my attention are any kind of sales happening from my favorite stores or any job opening. I think those are my top two because online shopping has become my go to when I need to buy groceries, uniforms, shoes, etc so when I receive coupons, I'm reminded that I can do that and have a discounted price, win- win situation. I enjoy reading about job openings simply to compare where I'm at currently to what is still needed of me to become a better employee in the future.

Use of Digital Media

    I believe that the use of digital media in marketing today is scary but not surprising to say the least. I see that companies have begun to use social media as the biggest outlet to promote any openings or deals to increase their clientele and reports. For instance, schools have a huge media outlet that helps them shape the foundation of the school. They use pictures of events that occur in the school year to be the eyecatcher to potential new families and returning families. In workplace, media is used to create that image of all the positives but also reflects how misleading the media is.

Conclusion

Overall, you can see that I have a lot of mixed emotions about digital media. There's positive and negative things as like they are for most things but being that technology is taken over the world, we have to adjust and make the best of it. Having it in my daily life as an adult allows me to reflect on the image I want for myself as well as demonstrate that to my child that we don't need a screen to learn about life.  Hope you all enjoyed! :)