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Jessica Watzman

Mass Communication and Society

My Media Audit Final Report

1
Dr. Mark Walters

My Media Audit Final Report


Introduction
In Mass Communication and Society instructed by Professor Mark Walters, My Media Audit was
a useful tool to track the actual amount of media usage by a user compared to estimated amount of
media usage by a user. Students tracked and estimated his or her own media usage over the course of a
week and categorized the data according to 6 major media forms: audio, film, internet, mobile devices,
print media, and television, along with an option for no form of media being used. Each of these seven
options had two or more subtypes to choose from, which were more specific descriptions for what form of
media each student used. The subtypes are listed for each form of media as follows: audio CD/cassette/other portable audio media, radio; film - movies in theaters, DVD/Blu-Ray, netflix/other
streaming films; internet - news/current events, other written information, music, video, video games;
mobile devices - tablet PC (iPad, etc.), smart phone (iPhone, etc.), personal audio device (iPod, etc.);
print media - periodicals (magazine, newspaper), book; television - news, other (drama, etc.); no media other, sleeping. Using these specific subtypes, students could track what form of media they were using,
if any, and record observations (mood, weather, eating/not eating, alone/not alone, multitasking/not
multitasking, location, anything else that may be of influence) to determine if there may be any correlation
between the form of media used and the observed variables.
My Media Audit allowed me to conclude that my perceived media usage is significantly different
from my actual media usage. I overestimated my usage of some forms of media, and underestimated my
usage of other forms of media. I also concluded that people can use different forms of media to do the
same thing, like watching television shows either on the television or on the internet. Often, there is a
specific reason for using a form of media, but not always.
Empirical Data
The total time I allotted for television use for this week was 88 minutes. I spent 260 minutes using
print media, all of which went to using a physiological psychology textbook to study for an exam. I used
mobile devices for 381 minutes this week. The only mobile device I used was my iPhone. I spent 20
minutes this week watching film. Internet was by far the form of media I used the most, with 2089 minutes
accounted for. Of those 2089 minutes used on the internet, 227 of them were used on news/current
events. Videos on the internet accounted for 355 of the 2089 minutes. Video games accounted for 174 of
the 2089 minutes. The rest of the 2089 minutes of internet usage can be attributed to other written
information, which was 770 minutes. Audio usage was 99 minutes this week.

Jessica Watzman
Mass Communication and Society

My Media Audit Final Report

2
Dr. Mark Walters

I find it interesting that my time using media is not greater in comparison to my time not using
media (Figure 1). Since I am
awake for most of the day, and I
am using media for most of the
day, I would have expected that
I would have spent more time
using

some form

of media

between 6 AM and 12 AM.


I was surprised to see
that a good chunk of my internet
usage is used for news/current
events (figure 2). Its important
to stay up to date on what is
happening in the world, and I wasnt
and

learning

about

aware that I spent so much time reading news articles

current

events.
I was not surprised to see that my internet usage accounts for approximately of my media
usage (figure 3). Most of my time is spent on the internet on various social media websites, such as
Facebook and Tumblr, or on Skype with my friends. However, due to multitasking, a large portion of audio
is not shown, because for a large portion of the time I use the internet, I am also listening to music on
Spotify.

Jessica Watzman
Mass Communication and Society

My Media Audit Final Report

3
Dr. Mark Walters

I found it surprising to see that my peers spend so much time on average watching television and
film (figure 4). One of the reasons I logged so little hours on television and film is because most of my
favorite shows are online, and I choose to watch them online because it is easier to fit into my schedule
and the television in the sorority house where I live is not always available because other sisters are
watching television. However, I did notice that I use the internet to watch videos more than my
classmates do (figure 5), and therefore we actually watch videos/tv shows for a more similar amount of
time

than

when

television

or

internet/videos are compared alone (308 + 88 = 396,

76 + 401 = 477).

I was surprised to learn how different my estimates were from my actual media usage (figure 6). I
expected that I would use more internet than I actually did, however this could have been thrown off by
my unusually high amount of print media usage that week. I estimated only 30 minutes of print media
usage but used 260 minutes, due to a test in my physiological psychology class. I believe that without
having to study, I would have had significantly more minutes logged for the internet. Therefore, my
estimates could have been thrown off if I was not thinking about certain upcoming tasks for the week
ahead.
Descriptive Data
The major correlation that sticks out to me in my data is my choice of not using any form
of media and if I was alone or not. It seems as though when I was alone, I chose to use the

Jessica Watzman
Mass Communication and Society

My Media Audit Final Report

4
Dr. Mark Walters

internet for the majority of the time. If I was in the company of friends or family, I more often than not was
either not using any form of media or watching the television.
As for the effect of mood on my choice of media usage, when I was either bored or neutral, I
chose to use the internet. When I was either bored, neutral, or content, I used the internet for video
games and played Minecraft. It would seem as though Minecraft helped to occupy me when I was the
most bored. Most of the time when I was using my iPhone, I was either bored or had just woken up.
The weather did not seem to have a huge effect on my choice of media. However, there is a
significant chunk of time where I was not using any media on Saturday during the rain. The weather did
play a part in this choice because if it was not raining, it is highly unlikely that where would have been wild
mallard ducks swimming in my backyard pool. I ended up spending 33 minutes without media with my
family watching the ducks swim and quack.
Whether I was eating or not also had a correlation with my choice of media. If I was eating, it was
more likely that I was not using any form of media. This is because I often eat meals with other people.
If I was multitasking, it was likely that the multitasking included listening to music and using the
internet in some form. This is because when I am at my computer, I am usually listening to music on
Spotify.
The only correlation I noticed between location and choice of media was if I was driving
somewhere. The only time I used the radio was when I was driving or in someone elses car. This is
explained by the fact that I like the radio, but my first choice of music is to listen to playlists I have made
on Spotify. In order to listen to Spotify on the go, I would have to use my phone, which is illegal and
unsafe to do while driving and also using a large amount of data.
Some external factors that should have been included in my observations may have been my
agenda for the day or any tasks I needed to get done. For example, I had a test on Thursday and that
affected how often I used the internet and print media for studying. Normally, however, I would not use
print media as often as I did for the week and I probably would have used the internet more.
Predicted Media Usage
My estimates for audio, film, and television were not significantly different from my actual
consumption. My print media usage was higher than my estimate because I had to study for a test. Other
than school work, I rarely use print media, and that was what my estimate was based on. My mobile
devices usage was higher than my estimate because I simply underestimated how often and for how long
I use my phone. My estimate for time using the internet was much higher than my actual consumption,
which was surprising. This is probably because I replaced some of the time I usually spend on the
internet with print media. Also, since moving in to my sorority house, I have had more opportunities to be

Jessica Watzman
Mass Communication and Society

My Media Audit Final Report

5
Dr. Mark Walters

social, which would account for less time using the internet and more time with no media used. This could
also explain why my estimated time for no media used is so much less than my actual time spent without
media.
One of the points in the article about how business students use their time is that the time put into
studying does not have a significant relationship to success, but rather the work ethic a student has. This
is relevant to my data collection because I studied for and took a test during the week of data collection. I
studied for approximately 260 minutes using print media, in addition to using the internet. Some might
argue that this is not a significant amount of time to study for such a difficult class, however I was able to
score an A+ with only approximately five hours of studying.
Summary
Many people in older generations claim that technology and the internet runs our lives, and
tracking my media usage shows that there is a basis to that claim. The demassification theory reflects this
well. While we often refute that we dont use our mobile devices that much, both the class and myself
used our mobile devices and the internet far more than we used print media, audio, and film. This shows
that our generation feels that we must be constantly connected and always know what is going on with
the people around us.
My selection of media usage did not happen by chance. It was influenced by my education, by
exciting happenings (the ducks), and by boredom. This is shown in the dependency theory. My goal
satisfaction relied on information from the internet, from print media, and all other forms of media used. I
used media to learn information for my class, to entertain myself, and to fulfill other goals.
I would redesign My Media Audit to allow users to record data 24/7. Most of the time, I am still
awake past midnight and there is a possibility that the later I stay awake, the more change my media
usage goes through. I know that later at night, I like to watch movies or television shows. With this
knowledge, it is possible that I could have come upon more insights had I had 24/7 information on my
media usage.

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