I do not think of myself as much of a media consumer but a consumer of certain media. My blog entry is representative of non-workday media usage. This seemed a bit more interesting as opposed to a workday where my media usage is almost non-existent.
6:30 a.m.: I regretfully check email and text messages first thing. Most of my email is junk so it does not take long to trash 99% of it. Unfortunately, I carry a personal cell phone and another one for work. I next check my work phone text messages to make sure a client did not message me regarding a current appointment or a future one. Unbelievably, I get text messages often in the middle of the night directly or through business apps like Google and Yelp.
6:38 a.m.: By this time, I am scrambling to take my two dogs out and get them fed before having to wake up my son for school. From about 7:00 a.m. until about 8:00 a.m., it is all about getting my son ready and on time for school.
8:06 a.m.: This is my at-home work-out time. During my workout, I typically turn on the television to provide background noise. I usually log in to Hulu and put something on that does not require my full attention and it is often an HGTV show. Currently, during my workouts, I am binge-watching the Property Brothers.
9:12 a.m.: During breakfast is where I will dive into more typical news media. If I have no work messages to return and today I did not, I will engage in Yahoo News. I use Yahoo because I get an email every morning providing me the current headline news. I will scan the headlines and read articles that catch my attention. This morning, articles regarding current events in Afghanistan had my full attention. I tend to be very particular about news media because it can affect me negatively all day.
I also subscribe to a blog called Morning Brew and sometimes there are articles that pique my interest as well. Unfortunately, today, there were none which then gave me time to browse Facebook. Ahh, my guilty pleasure. This is where I need to be careful and keep aware of time. As I am sure it is for most people, becoming engrossed in Facebook can easily become a “time suck.” On Facebook, I will look at the news section first and then go to the videos to watch what videos Facebook’s algorithms suggest for me. I mostly watch domestic animal rescues. My Facebook feed is bombarded with those, as well as beauty videos. I would venture to guess Facebook knows I am a hairstylist and makes sense why I get those videos.
10:17 a.m.: While my son was in school, I was able to attend the Beyond Van Gogh experience showing at The Anaheim Convention Center. This exhibit was brought to life via digital media and counted towards my daily media consumption. The Van Gogh exhibit was well worth the additional media consumption hours. This is one of my favorite artists and the exhibit left me inspired.
Not only did I attend this media event, but on my drive to and from I listened to a fiction audiobook. The book I am listening to is a crime drama featuring a strong female detective named Josie Quinn. I choose to listen to audiobooks instead of the radio because I find it more relaxing while driving.
1:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.: In this timeframe, it is family time and there is no time for media. This is walking my son home from school, getting him an afternoon snack, and completing his homework until dinner time. From here it is getting dinner prepared and driving my son to his Ninja Gym class.
6:31 p.m.: While my son is in his gym class, I hop onto Twitter and go to the O.C. Health Department’s page to check Coronavirus updates. I stay current on cases in my community since my career involves face-to-face client contact and in a business sector subject to closures in high community spread. Staying up to date on this information allows me to plan, which alleviates some anxiety if my business sector is directed to close once again. When case counts and positivity rates are high, it causes worry which prompts me to review the State Governor’s Twitter feed to check Covid-19 directives.
6:58 p.m.-8:30 p.m.: Bedtime routine begins for my son and animals, as well as preparing for tomorrow.
8:31 p.m.-10:00 p.m.: This time of night is my downtime, but tonight it is all about business paperwork. While working, I again have the television on for noise. Since I can multi-task with the paperwork, I can put something on that is more entertaining. Tonight I put on America’s Got Talent via Hulu and then lights out.
In reviewing my consumption, I consumed approximately 6 hours of media with most of it being for entertainment. My news media amounted to about an hour, which I feel is plenty to keep my mental health from being affected adversely.
How do I rate news outlets?
Yahoo News – 9: I give Yahoo News a 9 because it offers many media sources from The Huffington Post and Associated Press to the Kansas City Star.
Morning Brew – 7: I gave the Morning Brew a 5 because they are an unknown media contributor and often regurgitates information from a single news source. This causes me to perform further research to ensure their news is accurate. What I like about this media source though is it summarizes current events and helps me narrow my focus on stories important to me.
Twitter – 2: I gave Twitter a 2 because of all the random stuff in my feed that comes from people I have no idea who they are or if they are who they say they are. I only use the search bar to find the people or pages I know or trust. Currently, I only search my county health department and state governor pages to stay up to date on current coronavirus policies.
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