A Day in my Digital Life
My life is a lot different now than when I was sophomore. My day normally starts every morning around 6:00AM now because I am a vocational student. I Also have a different car and a girlfriend that I have been dating for almost 2 years. My days now start differently than they used to and they go a little something like this. I use my phone as my alarm clock; this seemed easier that going out and getting a traditional clock for my alarm. Sometimes when I am finding it difficult to get out of bed, I have to hit the snooze a couple times. This usually causes me trouble though and I start to get behind and run late. I always tell myself I need to get up when that alarm goes off, and I regret it when I don't.
In addition to my morning routine, I also text my girlfriend throughout the morning. this normally will not affect my pace getting ready or anything. But it definitely takes a toll if I was already running behind because I couldn't get myself out of bed.
Once I get to Ben Davis High School, because I am a vocational student, I really don't use technology all that much in the digital media sense; unless the teacher were to show a video or something of that nature. Then at 9:05, when we are released to our vehicles, I always check my phone again and sometimes call my sister and ask her to throw something in the oven for me to give me more time when I get home. Also I do make a lot of phone calls throughout the day, and an article we read recently made me start to wonder about the government tracking people through their phones. The police using this technology to track people that they suspected something of was one big topic. But I have a problem with people being able to listen in on my phone calls; and without me even knowing. I suppose its intended for good, but it is still a major invasion of privacy that makes me and a lot of other people I know uncomfortable.
On a brighter topic referring to media, is the use of the internet to finish my homework. Sometimes if I am unable to get my homework done the night before, I will get it done in between Ben Davis and Avon. That is exactly what I had to do today. Lucky for me it was an "A" day which means I get 3 hours of free time in between schools. I used the internet on my laptop to research something for homework I had in economics on the stock market crash of 1929. It didn't take me as long as I thought, about half an hour, so I was pleased with that.
After I finished my homework around 10:30, I was finally able to eat, relax, and watch some TV. There usually isn't much on TV around this time. So I usually end up putting in a movie but most of the time I don't get to finish it. Then I am in suspense for the wrest of the school day because I never got to know what happens in the end!
Once I'm back at Avon, just like at Ben Davis, I don't really use too much digital media. But once that bell rings at 2:54 I immediately check my phone to see if I have anything from anyone. Usually if I have anything its a text from my girlfriend asking where to meet after school because I am her ride home. This is the first year that I have been able to take her home every day and I very much enjoy that.
Once I got home I was just trying to kill time until 5:00. That was the time that my girlfriend and I set for our date that evening. I used most of it texting and playing games on my phone; I do this a lot when I'm bored. I would say that texting is my biggest digital activity and it does have a cost. When I text like I do I could be giving attention to my 3 year old brother or spending time with the wrest of my family. That is something that I would like to change.
Once I got the green light, I hopped in my car and the first thing I did was turn on the radio. I always listen to music when I drive. My favorite type of music is country and that is the favorite genre of my girlfriend as well so that works out pretty good. The thing that I don't like about the radio is all the ads. That is the only down side. Sometimes I will just play CDs to eliminate this problem and everything is all well and good.
Once we arrived at Pizza King, our favorite place to dine, we ordered our food and turned on the TV. Everyone knows you can't go to Pizza King and not watch TV. But sometimes I feel like that can take away from just sitting down and having a conversation. This would be another cost to the use of digital media that can be avoided.
If there is one thing that we like more than Pizza King, it's going to the movies! We go to movies all the time it is one of the things that Erica and I love to do together. Unlike watching TV at home or at a restaurant I feel like going to movies brings us closer. There really is no opportunity cost when it comes to this in my opinion. I also really like seeing movies with my dad. It is just something that we have always done and I have a lot of fond memories that came from going to movie theatres.
Once I got home from my date around 9:00, I sat down with my family and we all watched the big bang theory. This is a time when the family is all together and we get the opportunity to spend time with each other watching something that we all really like. Everybody even has the same favorite character on the show. But just like some of the other uses of the media, I feel like our time could be better spent. We could play a game or go to the park; just spending time together not in front of a TV screen.
When I look at the things that I have done throughout the day, I am surprised at the amount of time I spend using digital media. Yes technology can be a help, like when I was doing research for economics, but it can also hurt you. Sometimes the opportunity cost of the digital media is too great. It's not more important than spending time with your loved ones and it is certainly not something that you want to get addicted to. I remember reading about a person who only slept 2 hours in 4 days in the article, "Is the Web Driving us Mad?." He was on twitter the whole time. I myself don't use any social network like facebook or twitter, but I know a lot of people who do and I think the amount of time they spend using them is ridiculous. People need to spend less time with the media and more time in the real world. That is what I plan to do.