Summary of Preliminary Findings
Putting my use of new media under a microscope and really scrutinizing it for four weeks has opened my eyes to how dependent and how much my world revolves around new media and technology. A day does not go by in which I don't use either my computer or my phone. Since I am in school, a lot of my use is for my classes, assignments, research, etc., but it seems that any other time I am in the virtual world I am not doing anything very worthwhile. I am either idly scrolling through Facebook or Twitter, taking odd quizzes on Buzzfeed, or going from one hyperlink to the next in a continuous period of time that could be spent in a much more productive way.
But even though sometimes my time spent online seems pointless, I do spend a lot of time reading up on the news and learning about topics I hadn't known much about before. I enjoy reading an article and then going to Wikipedia to read more about a particular topic that interests me, and then continue following through different hyperlinks into an entire web of information immediately at the click of my mouse. I actually do condone this particular way I use new media because I feel it benefits me to learn more and explore this great big world, but of course, I can't take advantage of it. The real world needs to be a priority at all times, otherwise I may lose myself in the virtual world. Physical interaction is just as important as keeping up on the web, if not more.
Another big realization was how much I rely on my computer, but especially my phone, as a filler for void or awkward moments in my everyday life. I have described it as a nervous tick, a habitual instinct to pull out and look at my phone while waiting for anything, the elevator or train to arrive, class to begin, meeting a friend who's late, etc. I don't know why I can't just accept a moment of peace and sit in my own thoughts for a couple minutes. Also, I think the habit of checking my phone while there is a lag in a face-to-face conversation with a friend is actually quite rude, unnecessary, and is somewhat killing my interpersonal skills of just conversing with a friend. I have to accept that sometimes there will be awkward or non-awkward silences in conversations, but I have to just accept and move past them. I should just rack my brain for something to say, instead of relying on my phone to save me from the silence. I think it shows you've lost interest and have better things to be doing if you use your phone while hanging out with a friend. But I need to actually stop giving in to this nervous tick, because it's very unnecessary to be doing. I should look around me for once and maybe I'll notice something I haven't before. I should spend more time looking at the world than at screens.
Most of the people I interact with through new media are my friends in real life too. Those who I talk to on a regular basis are those whose stuff I like and comment on Facebook or retweet and favorite on Twitter. But there are also a lot of people that I never really talk to, but still follow and interact with just because they might post something interesting sometimes. And of course there are a lot of celebrities and experts I follow, who I've never met, but still interact with. In some ways it makes me feel closer and connected to them even though I have never seen them in person before my eyes. It is a strange thing how the Internet allows us to feel this way towards strangers. But we might not necessarily feel like they are strangers to us, since we see everything they post on social media platforms, giving us a glimpse into their private (or public) lives.
My intimate relationship with my computer allows me to take advantage of it and spend hours surfing the Web out of boredom. I eat meals in front of my computer, watch movies with it, dance and sing to its tunes, store my entire private life on it, and don't think about how easily it could break and I could lose basically my entire life in a blink of an eye. And this relationship I just personified is very creepy when I look at it from a completely objective and different point of view. And I am the clingy and dependent one in the relationship, which I never like to be, therefore I now cannot wait to go on a hiatus or diet from this unhealthy dependence.
But even though sometimes my time spent online seems pointless, I do spend a lot of time reading up on the news and learning about topics I hadn't known much about before. I enjoy reading an article and then going to Wikipedia to read more about a particular topic that interests me, and then continue following through different hyperlinks into an entire web of information immediately at the click of my mouse. I actually do condone this particular way I use new media because I feel it benefits me to learn more and explore this great big world, but of course, I can't take advantage of it. The real world needs to be a priority at all times, otherwise I may lose myself in the virtual world. Physical interaction is just as important as keeping up on the web, if not more.
Another big realization was how much I rely on my computer, but especially my phone, as a filler for void or awkward moments in my everyday life. I have described it as a nervous tick, a habitual instinct to pull out and look at my phone while waiting for anything, the elevator or train to arrive, class to begin, meeting a friend who's late, etc. I don't know why I can't just accept a moment of peace and sit in my own thoughts for a couple minutes. Also, I think the habit of checking my phone while there is a lag in a face-to-face conversation with a friend is actually quite rude, unnecessary, and is somewhat killing my interpersonal skills of just conversing with a friend. I have to accept that sometimes there will be awkward or non-awkward silences in conversations, but I have to just accept and move past them. I should just rack my brain for something to say, instead of relying on my phone to save me from the silence. I think it shows you've lost interest and have better things to be doing if you use your phone while hanging out with a friend. But I need to actually stop giving in to this nervous tick, because it's very unnecessary to be doing. I should look around me for once and maybe I'll notice something I haven't before. I should spend more time looking at the world than at screens.
Most of the people I interact with through new media are my friends in real life too. Those who I talk to on a regular basis are those whose stuff I like and comment on Facebook or retweet and favorite on Twitter. But there are also a lot of people that I never really talk to, but still follow and interact with just because they might post something interesting sometimes. And of course there are a lot of celebrities and experts I follow, who I've never met, but still interact with. In some ways it makes me feel closer and connected to them even though I have never seen them in person before my eyes. It is a strange thing how the Internet allows us to feel this way towards strangers. But we might not necessarily feel like they are strangers to us, since we see everything they post on social media platforms, giving us a glimpse into their private (or public) lives.
My intimate relationship with my computer allows me to take advantage of it and spend hours surfing the Web out of boredom. I eat meals in front of my computer, watch movies with it, dance and sing to its tunes, store my entire private life on it, and don't think about how easily it could break and I could lose basically my entire life in a blink of an eye. And this relationship I just personified is very creepy when I look at it from a completely objective and different point of view. And I am the clingy and dependent one in the relationship, which I never like to be, therefore I now cannot wait to go on a hiatus or diet from this unhealthy dependence.