Hana, 16

Media Consumption: About 15 hours a day

Favorite Media/Technology: TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube

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

My father goes on business trips often so usually we communicate through text messages and FaceTime to check up on each other.

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

A lot of my friends are online friends, so we usually use Snapchat or FaceTime to keep up with each other. We also send each other memes on TikTok and Instagram.

What do you use media for?

I use TikTok for entertainment and to create my own content. I also watch anime and shop on clothing websites for art inspiration.

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

I love media because of how versatile it is. You can find information and guides about everything and anything. I do think it’s incredibly addicting though; I spend hours and hours mindlessly scrolling through.

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

I think I would want them to create more safe spaces. During the Black Lives Matter protests, Depop, a highly popular thrifting site, created a new tab for black sellers or designs by black creators. I thought that was cool that the company was doing their part to empower those in an unfortunate situation, and I wish other companies would do that too.

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

I FaceTime my friends almost every day now. I’ll be on my phone on TikTok or Depop and my friend will be on a call with me on my laptop. I’m also starting to use Snapchat a lot more because it’s kind of like texting, but you can see their faces.

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

Because I live in LA where rates have been rising at a rapid pace as of late, I’ve been looking at a lot of the news on the internet. I try to stay away from biased sites like CNN and Fox, so I’ve been looking at the CDC website and a lot of BBC news.

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

I think TikTok and the people I’ve met on the app are definitely helping me through this. I laugh at memes whenever I’m sad or anything, and it makes me feel less alone seeing thousands of kids feeling the same way I do.

What lessons have you learned from COVID-19?

To not take things for granted. I miss going out with my friends. I’m kind of happy staying inside though; I think it’s forced me to do a lot of self-reflection.

Have you learned anything about how you use media and technology because of COVID- 19?

I started using the internet to learn more things. I think I overlooked the educational aspect of the internet before, because I was too focused on entertainment. I’m starting to learn how to sew and embroider off the internet, and I’m really enjoying it.

Interviewed by: Chammy Choi, UCLA Rising 3 rd Year Student