Adam, 5

Media Consumption: About 3.5 hours a day

Favorite Media/Technology: YouTube on his iPad

How do you and your family interact with media/technology?

I have my own iPad, and Jasmine (his sister) has her own. This is mine. I like YouTube and I watch stories about Red Riding Hood and play games. This is my game on Fortnite.

How do you and your peers interact with media/technology?

I like to play Fortnite with my friends and my cousins. Sometimes I play soccer on the Xbox when my friends come to my house.

What do you use media for?

I like watching stories on YouTube and hearing the songs. I also really like to go on the Instagram and look at pictures.

What is your favorite/least favorite thing about media/technology?

I love YouTube and Fortnite and Instagram because they’re really fun. I don’t like it when I have to share my iPad with Yasmeen because she didn’t charger hers.

Interview By: Rema Khalifah, UCLA 4th Year Student

Aiyana, 3

Media Consumption: 2 hours per day

Favorite Media/Technology: YouTube on her iPad

How do you and your family interact with media/technology?

My grandpa bought me this iPad that I love and Grandma lets me watch it while I eat breakfast. Sometimes Daddy lets me watch YouTube before I sleep, too.

How do you and your peers interact with media/technology?

I FaceTime my cousins when I miss them. When I can’t see my cousins, I can call them!

What do you use media for?

I love to watch YouTube and see Wendy and Jannie. They have so many toys. I love them.

What is your favorite/least favorite thing about media/technology?

I don’t like when I have to wait to press ‘the thing’ [Skip ad button on YouTube].

What is one thing you want the people who create the media you like to watch/play/interact with to know?

I want to tell them thank you for letting me spend time with my friends on YouTube. Oh, tell them too that I love watching girls like me sing!

What media are you using more now because of the coronavirus (COVID- 19)?

YouTube. And Grandma bought me ABC Mouse, but I only play that with Grandma.

Where do you get most of your information to learn more about the coronavirus (e.g., news, internet, parents, etc.)?

Grandma is scared of Coronavirus. We can’t touch anything because the germs, remember? And you can’t take your mask off! I have a pink mask with kitties on it. It’s so cute.

What lessons have you learned from COVID-19?

Coronavirus says you have to stay inside. I play outside in the backyard, but we can’t go to the park.

Have you learned anything about how you use media and technology because of COVID-19? I can only play on the iPad when someone lets me, but we play outside more now.

Interviewed by: Danielle Rivas, UCLA 4 th Year Student

Eliza, 14

Average screen time: 8 hours/day on phone; estimated 1 hour of TV

Favorite media/technology: Snapchat

How do you and your family interact with media/technology?

We use family group chats, which I love. It’s a fun place where we can talk when we’re all doing different things. We send pictures, GIFs, life updates, and news articles. I Snapchat my siblings, but they don’t always respond to me. My parents don’t use social media.

How do you and your peers interact with media/technology?

I Facetime my friends a lot and sometimes we Snapchat while we Facetime. Or play iMessage games. We don’t text over iMessage that much anymore; we do it over Snapchat. That’s really the way that we text now.

What do you use media for?

I’m almost always using it to communicate with friends; that’s really the only reason. I text on Snapchat a lot. Sometimes I share posts with my friends on Instagram, but I’m not on Instagram as much. My friends and I also send TikToks to each other -- funny stuff, but also cool places we see online that we want to go to.

What is your favorite/least favorite thing about media/technology?

I feel very connected to my friends; we don’t even need each other’s phone numbers any more, we can just add each other on different apps and communicate with each other in so many different ways. I like how each platform gives me a different feeling -- Snapchat makes me feel grounded, Instagram gives me inspiration, and TikTok makes me feel creative. My least favorite thing is that you can track people. I might tell someone I’m busy, but if they see my Snapchat score went up, they’ll confront me about being on Snapchat. But I was really busy, it’s just so easy to send Snapchats. I don’t like that people think you’re always available.

What is one thing you want the people who create the media you like to watch/play/interact with to know?

I want to see more Asian creators on social media than what I see now. I feel like I see a lot of white, skinny, rich creators. For example, on TikTok I always see the D’Amelio’s, who are typical Connecticut, private school, privileged, preppy girls.

What media are you using more now because of COVID-19?

Snapchat. I get to have one-on-one conversations, and I get so many Snaps, almost constant. It’s a little weird, but I feel like I’m connected to the world and not isolated in my house.

Where do you get most of your information to learn more about COVID?

Family. I don’t really get news from social media. Or I try to look at reliable sources like the New York Times or the Washington Post or CNN.

What media has been helping you stay busy/calm during this difficult time?

Snapchat. Being connected to my friends calms me down. It’s just my mom and I in my house, so my screen time has exploded.

Have you learned anything about how you use media and technology because of COVID?

I feel like I’ve learned to share and respect other people’s opinions about COVID. I’ve learned how other people are taking it, like when people say it’s a hoax. This is definitely the first time I’ve been part of a political-type conversation on social media.

Interview conducted by: Claudia Morris, UCLA rising 4th Year Student