Roxana, 16
Media consumption: Approximately 4 hours per day
Favorite Media/Technology: Instagram
How do you and your family interact with media/technology?
My family interacts with technology regularly, the whole family has the social media platform Instagram, and we all post stories and photos regularly and there aren’t really any restrictions as long as there’s nothing bad I am hiding, but at the same time both my parents follow me on Instagram so they know what I’m up to and I’ve never really hidden anything bad so I feel like I have much their trust having social media.
How do you and your peers interact with media/technology?
Me and my friends are on social media a lot, we use Snapchat, Instagram or TikTok regularly to post videos, photos, or just chat and see what other people are up to. Pretty much everyone has some form of social media so it’s easy to keep it touch.
What do you use media for?
I mostly use media to post photos and to keep in touch. I like to post videos or stories to memorialize the moment or certain places I went with certain people or specific events. Partly I feel like I do this to show things I’m involved in or have planned.
What is your favorite/least favorite thing about media/technology?
Honestly, my least favorite thing about social media is how downgrading it can be on your mental health. I know I can easily be caught in the current of TikTok or Instagram and end up scrolling for hours and then realizing that I wasted my time on nothing. But like at the same time I know many adults talk about this, but honestly it is kind of true, but when you’re on social media, you easily find yourself comparing yourself to like others on the Internet and what they’re up to or how they look like and certain items they own.
What is one thing you want the people who create the media you like to watch/play/interact with to know?
One thing that I would want someone who created the media is to know how dangerous Snapchat is. At my school we had a lecture of a kid’s mom whose son went through I think fentanyl poisoning from some dealer on Snapchat. I know and I would like anyone reading this to know I don’t do drugs or alcohol or anything but it’s scary to think the developers of this may know what’s going on but don’t wanna fix anything about it. But like it’s pretty scary media platforms can change people’s lives and things like that.
What media do you interact with the most?
The media I interact with the most is Instagram. I like to have a profile up to show what I’m doing and places I’m going to.
Where do you get most of your information about what’s happening in the world (e.g., news, internet, parents, etc.)?
Most of the information I get about what is happening in the world is from either from the radio, parents, friends, news, school, or Instagram.
What media helps you stay busy/stay calm during challenging times?
Honestly, Instagram is probably the social media platform that keeps me busy during challenging times because I can watch something for a bit or cruise around on people profile to see what they’ve recently posted.
What lessons have you learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenging times?
When COVID-19 happened I was in seventh grade so I feel like the lessons that I learned coming out of it was that I had to become more self-aware and I was maturing and becoming into a woman so I had to always be aware of my surroundings what I would say, how I would appear to other people.
Have you learned anything about how you use media and technology because of the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenging times?
So, during COVID-19 I used social media a lot to connect with people but once I came back to school, I kept using social media as much but then over time my usage of it declined a bit. Now I am a sophomore in high school and I really like lowered my usage of Snapchat and TikTok. I mean I’m still on them a lot, but I don’t really focus my time on it as much as I used to. But I have realized that I use social media a lot when I’m in my house by myself or when I’m honestly pretty bored and have nothing better to do. Which then relates back to the question of my use on social media it feels like I’m mostly on social media when I don’t have anything to do or anyone to hang out with or when I’m mostly bored, which parallels how I felt during COVID-19.
Interviewed by: Pedram Bazargani, UCLA student
Kayla, 11
Media Consumption: 3-4 hours per day
Favorite Media/Technology: Discord & Nintendo Switch
How do you and your family interact with media/technology?
I spend a lot of time with my family watching movies or playing video games. We usually watch animated movies because of my younger sister, or play games like Super Smash and Animal Crossing.
How do you and your peers interact with media/technology?
I communicate with my friends after school using Discord to chat, since I don’t have any other forms of social media. We also all use technology for homework assignments.
What do you use media for?
I mainly use media to watch random YouTube. I mainly watch content that is related to my interests, like percussion and skateboarding. I also play Minecraft when I’m bored.
What is your favorite/least favorite thing about media/technology?
I don’t like how media makes us have shorter attention spans and less present in our daily lives. We’ve also learned in school about how information online can be misleading and not-credible, which is scary. I do like how technology makes it easier to communicate and makes doing homework faster, because it allows me to type everything out.
What is one thing you want the people who create the media you like to watch/play/interact with to know?
I don’t like all the YouTube ads. I swear there used to only be one ad in the beginning of videos but now they pop up so often.
What media do you interact with the most?
I spend the majority of time on my laptop or iPad watching YouTube or listening to music.
Where do you get most of your information about what’s happening in the world (e.g., news, internet, parents, etc.)?
I get most of my information from peers or videos online. Whenever I tell my Dad about something I learned he immediately Googles it because he doesn’t trust my sources.
What media helps you stay busy/stay calm during challenging times?
Listening to music helps me to relax and unwind.
What lessons have you learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenging times?
The pandemic taught me how to entertain myself. There were times when I was bored at home, so me and my sister had to get creative in how we would preoccupy ourselves in ways that didn’t only rely on our devices.
Have you learned anything about how you use media and technology because of the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenging times?
I struggled to adapt to doing school online at first. I even missed a few assignments because I didn’t know how to check when things were due. Now, I’m more comfortable with using technology and COVID has forced me to learn quickly.
Interviewed by: Amelia Weintraub, UCLA student
Leen, 13
Media Consumption: 4-5 hours per day
Favorite Media/Technology: Instagram, Snapchat, Netflix
How do you and your family interact with media/technology?
I text my mom through iMessages or Snapchat and I text my dad through iMessages when we need to. With my younger sister, I use Snapchat. We don’t really interact together with media so we all do our own thing.
How do you and your peers interact with media/technology?
I talk to classmates through Google Classroom and Discord for school-related things. With closer friends, I use Snapchat and Instagram to text them. We also use Snapchat to send each other pictures and Instagram to post about ourselves.
What do you use media for?
I use it for entertainment by watching videos and talking to my friends online. I also post a lot on my social media accounts, but mainly on the accounts with close friends.
What is your favorite/least favorite thing about media/technology?
My favorite thing about media is being able to have something to do. It keeps me from feeling bored and I am able to talk to my friends easily. My least favorite thing about media is any negative posts and comparing myself to other people.
What is one thing you want the people who create the media you like to watch/play/interact with to know?
I would like social media like Instagram and Snapchat to have better security. I have times when I get scared that my information will get leaked and I would like to have more privacy options. I also do not want to see hateful posts or comments so blocking them would be good.
What media do you interact with the most?
I interact with social media more. I post pictures on Instagram and Snapchat and keep up with my feed. I also stay in more contact with my friends by texting them through DM’s. I also watch on Netflix and find myself scrolling through the list of shows to watch.
Where do you get most of your information about what’s happening in the world (e.g., news, internet, parents, etc.)?
Sometimes, they just pop up on my for you page on Instagram or I search it up myself. My friends also share informational posts on their stories so I find them there.
What media helps you stay busy/stay calm during challenging times?
I would say Instagram because they have the reels feature and I find myself scrolling through it. That is also why I don’t have TikTok since they’re the same. It becomes addicting, which is very bad. Netflix has also helped me with all the shows I watch.
What lessons have you learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenging times?
I’ve learned that too much screen time is bad for you. I found myself using my phone too much, mindlessly scrolling around trying to find something to watch. Taking a break from my phone and going out would be better for me.
Have you learned anything about how you use media and technology because of the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenging times?
I would say I learned how I use media to entertain me when I am bored. I also spend a lot of time talking to my friends online which is nice so we can stay connected when we can’t see each other. But, I also find myself caring about how others see me and I focus a lot on my social media feed which is toxic behavior.
Interviewed by: Tasneem Elsayed, UCLA student