Marbella, 15
Marbella, 15
Media Consumption: Daily ~6 hours a day
Favorite Technology and Media: iPhone and Snapchat
How do you and your family interact with media/technology?
My mom, younger brother, younger sister, and I are always on our iPhones. My younger siblings don’t have social media accounts yet, but my mom does, so she follows me on Instagram. Even though my mom and I are on Instagram a lot, we don’t interact over social media. Sometimes my mom and I will watch reality shows together on the TV, but I mostly watch Netflix shows on my iPhone when I’m alone in my room. My mom doesn’t enforce many limits when it comes to the amount of time we spend on our devices. Usually, each of us watch videos on our individual devices during mealtimes.
How do you and your peers interact with media/technology?
My friends and I use snapchat to communicate with each other outside of school. We really like snapchat, because it gives us the opportunity to interact often even if one of us has moved to a different school. Sometimes, when we get bored of snapchat, my friends and I will group facetime with each other, but we don’t do that very often.
What do you use media for?
I mostly use media to keep in touch with current friends, old friends, and distant relatives. I also use media, like Instagram, to stay updated on what is going on in the world. Sometimes when I don’t go on instagram for a day, I go to school the next day and don’t understand the inside jokes that my friends tell, because they are based on new viral memes. I also use media to find inspiration on places I want to travel in the future. Honestly, when I used to come across travel pictures I would get so jealous, because I couldn’t afford to travel to those places. But now, whenever I see someone traveling to a really beautiful place, I tell myself that someday I’ll make enough money to travel there too.
What’s your favorite/least favorite thing about media/technology?
My favorite thing about media is that it allows me to stay connected with friends and family when they’re far away. I have friends from elementary school that still comment on my Instagram pictures even though we haven’t talked in years. It’s nice to know that the connections I’ve made throughout my life won’t ever be completely lost, because of social media. My least favorite thing about media is that a lot of people use it to bully others, compare themselves to others, or rank people based on superficial things. Most of my friends and I have been bullied at least once over social media. I also see a lot of my friends comparing themselves to other people based on the amount of likes they get on a photo. When I was in middle school I thought getting a lot of likes was the most important thing in the world, but I can see now that likes don’t define who someone is as a person.