PP 1 - Personal media usage

Position Paper #1

MM 3223 - Jenna Huey 

Personal Media Usage

Social media is a huge part of my life and has consumed me in good and bad ways. I use different platforms, such as my phone, ipad and computer. I also use my phone to not only use social media, but to stream shows, call and message others. 

 

 

This chart here shows the millions of Iphone users that choose Apple. I believe a majority of people prefer to use Apple products and I am one of them. I think being an Apple user has inspired me to always have the best of phones so my use of social media was advanced just like everyone else, so I guess you can say my social media habits started young.  

Social Media started to become a habit for me in middle school. All of my friends started to get an Apple Iphone starting with the Iphone 4 or maybe even an Ipod. I remember the most important app to me as a young kid was Musically that is now known as TikTok. As time went on I was able to download snapchat, and this is where my main base of communication came from and still does. 

                            

One of my most used social media apps, GroupMe. This app is the first to be checked as I wake up and usually every hour. It is used for our softball team and it is our way of communication. This app is treated as a liability app. Our coach sends out a message every other hour letting us know about practices or weather changes and we have to make sure to like the message within a reasonable time. 

Just being here at Southern Arkansas has shown me how important my phone can be , I rely on it to know what my plans will be for the day. 

Other than GroupMe, every morning I have realized that the first app I always check is Snapchat and Tiktok. 

Tiktok- As I have been tracking my daily and weekly average of how much I use this app it has been steady of about 1-2 hours a day of just scrolling on this app. I know that it has consumed a lot of my time throughout the mornings. Instead of allowing myself to take the time in the morning to myself I am usually hopping on this app right away. 

Snapchat- This app is my main form of communication to my friends and my softball team. I also average 1-2 hours a day of simply just texting and snapping pictures. I am not the biggest fan of this app because I'd rather send a Imessage or make a phone call, although it is the one of the first apps to be opened early in the mornings. I feel this app is used the most especially by my closest friends, so I always feel like I know whats going on in their lives when they are on this app. 

Instagram- This is my one of my lowest screen time app used due to the fact I just don't check in with it a lot. I like to open this app just to see what my friends back home are up too or if there is updates on sports teams, especially with softball being in season. 

Facebook- My lowest screen time usage is facebook due to the fact my only friends on there are my mom and her friends. I feel like I am very late to facebook and I just have it to check on my moms updates and my friends who are older. It is not a common app used amongst my friends at all. 

The positive effects of having social media is the ability to stay in touch and informed with the world around me. Having all these different apps to communicate with friends and my family from Arizona means a lot to me. I have used social media for so many things other than texting, I have been able to stay updated with athletic teams all around, find workout programs, and help others virtually in different ways. I think social media has had a big impact on myself and I know it has for friends and other people around me. 

The negative effects of social media to me is that it is very consuming. Sometimes I catch myself looking at my phone in the middle of the night wondering why I am even on my phone. It has became a very bad habit for me to constantly have my phone out, for it to be the first thing I check when I wake up and the last thing I check when I go to bed. I also believe that social media or anything that is perceived in a bad way online can cause a sadness in someone, when it is simply just on the internet and not presented in person. 

In summary, social media and these apps has helped me stay connected, stay in the loop and grow closer to people. It has kept me caught up on my academic and athletic life. Although I would consider myself a unhealthy user of social media, I do not know what I would do without it due to the fact it is used and needed all over the world.