The Social (Media) Butterfly

This whole blog post is based on the media log below.

From the moment this blog was assigned, I already knew what would dominate my media diet: social media.

My media consumption varies throughout the week. I still check Snapchat while going to class, but because I’m so focused on schoolwork, I’m not glued to my phone on weekdays.

But on weekends, I never put down my phone.

I’m a social butterfly, so I really like interacting with people. When I’m on my phone, naturally, I constantly check on my friends. I guess that also makes me a social media butterfly…

When I was tracking my media consumption on Friday, I thought I wouldn’t be using social media as much because I was hanging out with my high school friends. We were even watching an ITZY concert, which meant even more time away from my phone… right?

Wrong. I still used social media just as much, if not more.

Other than messaging, I’d often check social media just to check it. Sometimes, while eating meals, I would sneak a glance at an Instagram Direct Message before locking my phone again. Even during the concert, I constantly posted something on my Snapchat story.

I just couldn’t stop!

What makes it even worse is that social media dominates my daily life more than the news. That Friday, I only read the news once.

(Honestly, I started reading it to clear my email notifications… but then I wondered why reporters covering Trump’s impeachment trial were restricted.)

Of course, there are people today that also consume news on social media (although they do so passively). But I don’t even use social media for news consumption; I use it for social consumption. I’m addicted to knowing what people are up to, and showing people what I’m up to, even if they never asked.

But before you accuse me of being a pseudo-boomer who thinks social media ruins interpersonal relationships, let’s get this straight: I only spent a few minutes on social media every time I used it. Most of the day, I was focused on just being with my friends. Social media didn’t put up a wall between us.

Sometimes, it even connected me with my friends!

Despite constantly keeping updated with the latest Tweets, my mind goes blank on recent news. And that’s concerning. I know I need to consume more news.

I think, because I don’t read the news, I basically live under a rock.

But recently, I’ve gotten into podcasts. It’s super accessible for me because I can just listen while I do work, and it doesn’t demand all of my attention (unlike TV or news sites). In fact, the longest chunk of time I spent consuming media was when I was listening to podcasts.

So, until I can improve my attention span, I should listen to more news podcasts so that I can increase my news consumption.

It’s great that I interact with my loved ones on social media, but I need to start interacting with the world… through the news.