Media Log and Analysis - Essay Example

Through an analysis of my media consumption, I managed to draw some conclusions and decipher a pattern. I will highlight the issue of sending text messages first. I realized that I am accustomed to sending more text messages during periods that I am not engaging actively in another activity. For example, I am likely to send very few texts when I am driving or playing video games. From my records, I sent a minimum of 30 messages over the 7 hours that I was busy playing video games. On the contrary, I sent 150 messages over a similar duration when I did not have much to do.

This makes it clear that sending messages is a preferred preoccupation during times when I have nothing else to do. My first day of recording was a Friday and considering the fact that I sent 263 messages on Friday and 150 on Saturday, I deciphered that Saturday is a busier day translating to lesser time spent sending messages. The number of messages sent on Friday tells it all that I had little to do and I needed to preoccupy myself through catching up with friends via messages. From this, I deciphered a negative relationship between the level of activity in the realistic world and the level of engagement in the electronic media world.

Although sending text messages is fun, I realize that is should engage in real-time conversations with people. In addition, text messages often leave the recipient with a lot of room of reading in between the lines and deciphering more that a simple text intended to communicate. Moreover, I realized that it is easier for me to send a text message that starting up a conversation when I am around people (Wankel and Shaun 139). This serves to highlight the negative effects of relying on electronic media.

Apparently, although I spent a lot of time sending text messages, phone calls are limited. On the first day, which was a Friday, I recorded fourteen calls. Interestingly, half of these calls were from family while the rest were from my close associates. The other two days had fewer phone calls because I was a lot busier. Sunday had only five phone calls and this implies that I spent quality time having real time conversations. Sending more text messages and having few phone calls reveals a different pattern in electronic media consumption.

It shows sending messages is a preference over telephone conversations. The fact that I only engage in only fourteen phone calls while sending 263 text messages to friends only implies that I find it easier to talk to peers who are miles apart through messaging services. Moreover, I sent 126 messages on Friday from 22hrs to 4.00 am, but only had three phone calls. This implies that there is great preference to text friends during the night than during the day. However, this only happens when I am not busying myself with another form of electronic media, such as video gaming.

It is evident that sending text messages has taken away the beauty of face-to-face relationships. Before this analysis, I had never realized that I have detached myself from the real people in my life. This has occurred in two ways. During my free time, I am busy with my phone instead of engaging actively with the people next to me (Wankel and Shaun 139). For example, it is likely for me to be sending text messages, active on the internet or checking mails instead of catching up with family over dinner.

Alternatively, I would also watch a movie