January 9, 2024
According to my iPhone’s Screen Time report, normally I’m on my phone for 4.5 to 5.5 hours a day, but on this day I used my phone for 3.5 hours. I also checked my Macbook’s Screen Time report and I’m usually on my computer for 5 hours a day, but this day was only 23 minutes. So this isn’t an entirely accurate representation of my normal media use.
The strangest part of this day was that I didn’t text anyone. I usually text my partner or friends and family, but I was working and didn’t use my phone for a large part of the day. So let’s dive into it!
7:00a – Text messages, Twitter (X)
I woke up and I checked the texts from my partner that he sent while I was sleeping. There were two links to videos on Twitter, so I watched the videos and then looked at my missed messages of tweets he sent me on Twitter and watched those videos. I didn’t continue to scroll on Twitter since I needed to get ready for work. I also didn’t happen to reply to his texts.
7:30a – Canvas
I watched videos of class lectures on Canvas for my classes while getting ready for work.
8:30a – Snapchat
I watched Snapchat stories from content creators while getting ready. I just prop my phone up and let them play like watching/listening to day in the life style vlogs on YouTube.
9:00a – Spotify, Apple Maps
Once I got in my car to leave for work, I plugged my phone in and opened Spotify and Apple Maps for my drive. I listened to a playlist Spotify created for me based on my listening, they titled it “Cosmic Mix”.
9:30a – 3:30p –
I was working during this time and didn’t use my phone or Apple Watch. I also didn’t read anything or use any form of media. I work in customer service, so I was speaking with people face-to-face. We do have music playing in the background at my job, but I can’t hear it most of the time.
3:30p – Apple Maps, Spotify, Notification Center
After work, I checked my notifications center and cleared those out, as there wasn’t anything important to open. Then I opened Apple Maps and Spotify for my drive home, continuing with the Cosmic Mix.
4:00p – YouTube, Canvas, Notion
I got home and my partner had YouTube videos playing of How It’s Made episodes, I believe it was a candy, though I can’t remember now. I wasn’t paying much attention since I was on my laptop (for the 23 minutes shown below) checking Canvas and Notion. I use the Notion platform to track my class due dates, notes for classes, my workout plan, and more.
4:30p – HBO Max
Soon after getting home and hopping on my laptop, my partner spontaneously put on the new Barbie movie, which we hadn’t seen yet, and I was immediately sucked in and closed my laptop. An unexpected movie night had commenced!
6:30p – Peacock
Once the Barbie movie ended, we immediately put on a movie we had been eagerly wanting to watch but hadn’t made the time to… Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie. We were equally as invested in this movie (we love Monk) and I still hadn’t used my phone since I got home. In fact, it was across the room on my desk. It was truly a no-distraction movie night!
8:30p– Peacock
After the Monk Movie ended we switched over to our current favorite night-time show, The King of Queens. This played in the background while we cooked dinner and then ate.
10p – Instagram, Snapchat, Apple Watch
I spent about 30 minutes combined on Snapchat and Instagram scrolling through Reels of cat videos before bed. I also checked my Apple Watch to see how many steps I had that day.
This day was a fluke in a way; I never go on Twitter, I usually text at least two people, I normally watch YouTube at some point, I never watch movies, and I use my laptop and read online a lot more. I try to be very cautious of my media consumption as I tend to go down rabbit holes and lose track of time.
I’d say my most credible media source on this day was Canvas. I trust Canvas and my professors’ teaching materials to provide me with accurate information. The least credible would be Instagram since I was scrolling through Reels about many topics, much of which were opinions framed a certain way to make a point without any evidence to back it up. If something piques my interest, I’ll hop on over to Google and do further research on my own. Instagram is simply a highlight reel, so everything is created to be entertaining and retain attention from viewers. This makes it lose some credibility for me.
Most of the time I’m just watching cute cat videos.
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