Eye Opening Assignment
When first being assigned this project, I was nervous to see what the results would be. It is second nature to just pick up my phone and skim through the feed on my social media pages or text friends back and forth. I am so use to using my phone all the time that I do not even realize how much I am truly on it. Keeping this diary for a 48 hour time period was a great experience for me because it made me realize how much I use my iPhone. Take a look at my results!
Quantitative Information
- Total Interactions: 27
- Total Min/ Hours: 634min/ 10.6hrs
- Total of Textual Interactions:9
Total of Social Interactions:14
Total of Both:4
Activities completed under social: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Facetime, Phone Calls, Snapchat
Activities completed under textual: E-mails,Texting
Activities completed under both: Facebook, E-mails, Texting, Instagram,
- Activities that were happening during interactions:
Laying in bed:6
Laying around:3
Shopping:2
HW:4
Eating:4
TV/HBO GO:2
Chapter:1
In or on way to Class:2
Walking Home:1
Reading:1
Getting Ready:1
I’ve Got My Handy Dandy Notebook and Pen!
In this assignment, I was challenged to record everything I did on my iPhone in the last 48 hours in my mini notebook with my special Pilot G-2 pen. It was strange being forced to use the pen to record in my notebook every time I used my cellphone. If this assignment was reversal and I had to record in my notes app on my cellphone every time I used my pen, it would be just as strange. One reason is because I am so use to using technology to type things that using a pen and paper is foreign and another reason would be because it is strange to be combining the old and new way of writing and conversing. I have become so reliant on being technologically literate that it interesting to be reliant on a pen and paper again. I felt like I had very little control in this assignment because I was so constricted to the pen and notebook because usually on my phone I feel like I have more freedom. I have the ability to download as many apps as I want and autocorrect to fix all of my typos, where as a pen and paper is very specific and you get what you see. However, since I was doing this “experiment” I thought it would be good for me to try and be a little less dependent on my phone. I felt like I had this pressure to not always be on it because I was constantly very aware about how much I used my it since I was always recording my actions. I realized how many times I just would go to scroll through social media because I was bored and this made me realize how dependent I am on my phone to keep me preoccupied.
What I Have Learned
By the end of this experiment I realized a lot of different things about how I use my phone. I recognized the types of spaces I used exemplify the participatory culture Jenkins discussed in his article. For instance, I was constantly looking at pictures on Instagram and even posted one of my own. This app allows me to be creative and share with the world my pictures through artistic expression.On my phone I am not only able to express myself through apps, but these apps and also texting allow me to communicate with family and friends throughout the country. During this 48 hour experiment my school received a possible threat that was very intimidating and scared many people. I was grateful to have my phone so I could text and call my family and friends to let them know that I was okay and doing well. Even apps like Snapchat allowed me to send quick pictures to my friends to let them know how I was doing and that I was clearly safe. This made me realize how great technology can be to communicate with others and for them to be able to communicate with me.This assignment also made brought to my attention that I rely on technologies, like my iPhone, to improve my learning, productivity, and knowledge. I have become more digitally literate since I first got my first cellphone and use it for more than just communicating. It is a way of life now because I am becoming a person of the screen.
My Cellphone and I
I like to think that I do not use my phone as much as most people my age because I want to try and live in the moment, but in this day and age that is not very easy. I am constantly checking e-mails from professors, checking in with my Mom, or texting my friends to make plans. I found that although I may have not interacted with my phone very often, I was using it for long periods of time. I think a reason I am so dependent on it is because it is one of a kind. It is small enough that I always have it with me, it allows me to do research, keep me updated, and contact anyone in the world within just a few seconds. Of course I have a laptop that does most of the things my phone can do but a laptop is heavier and it needs WIFI, whereas a phone has no limits. I think my phone has become an even a bigger part of my life because now that I am at college I feel as if I am always trying to keep in touch with family and friends who are no longer close to me in distance. My phone allows me to talk to them, write to them, and literally see their faces wherever I am and whenever I want. Since the world relies on digital literacy now it also has changed the way I learn and do work in my classes. My phone also allows me to promote my work, such as my blogs, by tweeting links and posting pictures. Also the inside camera on my iPhone allows me to take a vast amount of selfies to send to friends via the snapchat app ,which in this digital world is somewhat the new way to digitally have a “face to face” interaction.
This dairy was eye opening not in just the sense that it brought to my attention how much I use my phone but also how much my phone has to offer me in this digital world where the pen and paper may soon be a thing of the past.