For part 2 of the Media Use Assignment, you will carefully track and analyze your actual
media use of that same media over 5 days and then write up your results, responding to a series of
reflection questions. This paper is to be approximately 1000 words + graphs/tables/charts and, like
part 1, is also to be written in essay-style (i.e. with a thesis).
Keeping track of your media use is no easy task. It requires an awareness of your every move. The days you choose to keep track will likely be difficult for a few reasons, not the least of which is that it will interrupt your routine and get you thinking about your media use in new ways. But that’s precisely the point.
Take note of each time you pick up and put down the media and for how long you make use of it each time. This requires you to take notes, complete a checklist, or make use of whatever system you design to keep track. Your organization and methodology (a term used to describe how you do what you do) is an important part of the project and will be part of your evaluation. Ultimately, you’ll have to tally up your
approximate time use totals at the end of each day and then develop a total time of use over the 5
days. You can develop other metrics if you’d like, for instance, average time of use over 5 days, etc.
* The 5 days you select don’t have to be consecutive; they could be any 5 days you’d like. But be sure
to complete all 5 days well in advance of the due date; at minimum, aim to have them done 1.5
weeks (or 10 days) before the deadline so that you have time to write. It would be wise to schedule
these days into your calendar as early as possible in order to plan your day (or at least parts of it)
around your participation in the project.
But numbers alone don’t communicate how the technology is used and more importantly, how that
use is part of your day to day life. So when writing up your paper, consider the following questions:
how did you use the media? were you the creator/sender, or were you the consumer/
receiver?
how much did the usage cost you? (think in terms of the economics of media use)
where were you most often when you engaged the media? with whom? (think exterior
context)
what was your emotional state? before using? during? after? (think interior context)
did the media facilitate communication with others? did it hinder it? how so?
These questions will get you thinking about how you might begin to write qualitatively about your
media use (vs the quantitative, or numerical analysis you generated over the 5 days). Keep in mind
that the answers you generate here should make specific reference to the results of your diary (e.g.
notes, observations, statistics, charts, etc.) in order to support your claims. EVIDENCE IS KEY,
otherwise claims can’t be substantiated.
Finally, conclude the paper by considering the following questions: how did the results of this Media
Diary compare with your Self-Assessment? What, if anything, did you learn from this 5-day exercise
and the write up that followed? And lastly, what, if anything, would you change about your relationship
with this media as a result of what you found?
