Sara - 18
Sara, Age 18
Media Consumption: 4-5 hours a day on the weekend and 2-3 hours on a weekday.
Favorite Media/Technology: Instagram
How do you and your family interact with media/technology?
My family and I generally use technology to communicate through text the majority of the time. With me being so far away for school, they tend to use it to check in on me and to make sure that I’m eating. Other times, I tend to give them a call just to reassure them that I am actually fine. In terms of media, we don’t interact at all. I don’t have them as friends on Facebook or any of my other social media platforms mainly because I want to keep that part of my life separate. We do, however, use WeChat as a second form of communication when they cannot reach me via text or call.
How do you and your peers interact with media/technology?
The way that my peers and I interact with media and technology is a lot different than my interaction with my family. One of the main ways is that it is all on social media. We text via Messenger or Snapchat. We don’t usually call one another, and we tend to share content by either tagging one another or just sharing it in group chats. Other times, we use social media to connect with one another and to share exciting news to one another. I use social media to connect mainly with my friends from home because we are all separated for school. We tend to make plans for breaks when we get home with Messenger. Other times, I use social media to share memes with my friends at school. It generally just keeps me connected with my friends throughout the year.
What do you use media for?
Media can be used for a number of things including, but not limited to, communication, research, data collecting, entertainment, raising awareness, and more. With communication, one can connect with someone who may be halfway across the world. They are able to keep in touch with friends and family when they are far from home. With media, research and data collecting will always be able to benefit from it. People are able to learn new things and skills with media. One can always find new forms of entertainment on media when they need something to fill in the time. Lastly, one of the best ways that media is used is for raising awareness. The media can bring new topics into the light that one might not be aware of before and help find ways for them to be apart of the solution.
What is your favorite/least favorite thing about media/technology?
My favorite thing about media and technology is the ability to communicate with people around the globe. I am able to communicate with my parents when I am off to school or with my friends when I am home for break. It provides me with the ability to stay connected with the people that I know and keep up with them while I am away from them. It also allows me to learn new skills and things around my neighborhood to enjoy. If I ever need a place to eat, I can just search it up and decide on the variety of options that are provided for me. It makes life a lot easier.
However, there is always a downside to media and technology, and I dislike the fact that people tend to be so absorbed in their phones and other forms of media/technology that they forget about their surroundings. It’s a great thing to be able to communicate with one another, but I feel like people are forgetting to interact with one another in person since they are constantly on their phones.