24-Hour Media Diet
5AM – While at the gym I frequently listen to music provided by Apple Music. I interacted with this multiple times to find a playlist that motivated me. My music app has begun to introduce random, new songs into playlists – ones that I have never heard before.
6AM – Texted my fiancé about the day while I began to get ready for work – continuing to use Apple Music in the background.
7AM – I recently have begun to listen to the radio while driving to work. It allows me to feel connected and in “the know” about what is happening in Seattle. HITS 106.1 plays music, but what really keeps me coming back is the talk radio portion – segments include “second date follow-ups” and “to catch a cheater”. I heard a rumor that some portions are scripted, but this is difficult to verify. They sound real when they are happening.
7:50AM – Before beginning work for the day, I often play Wordle, and Connections offered through The New York Times. These games seem to help my brain warm-up for the day – this could very well not be true, but it feels like it.
8AM – Arrive at work and check email provided by Microsoft Outlook. Deleted some emails that had been in my inbox for quite some time.
10:30AM – While on a 10-minute break, I checked Instagram, Facebook and watched the promo video for Olivia Rodrigo’s new deluxe album out on Thursday night at 9PM.
12PM – My phone screen lit up with notifications I had missed in the last 90 minutes. I checked Instagram, and Facebook again. I saw an audition posting for The 5th Avenue Theatre’s upcoming 2024/2025 Season that inspired me to reserve a time slot. The post shared that due to popular demand, they added additional dates.
12:35PM – At lunch I saw a post on Facebook that exclaimed excitement over a 10-episode order of a rebooted Golden Girls available on Disney+. The reboot with a photo (clearly edited), displayed Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler, and Lisa Kudrow.
1PM – I checked in on my inbox again (Microsoft Outlook) and scrolled mindlessly through Instagram for a moment before returning to the remainder of my work for the day. Lots of content related to clothing and skincare.
2:45PM – I downloaded the Citizen app that shares live reports of crime happening in the area after discussing safety benefits with a friend. This required my interaction with the AppStore, as well as the app itself. Most of the reports involved robberies and assaults.
3PM – I received a text from my brother, in our family group chat that showed a picture of his dog, Zoe.
4:15PM – I logged out of my accounts and closed tabs for the day on my work laptop (Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Wordle, and an online digital training module) and “unplugged” somewhat for the remainder of my time at work.
4:30PM – On the way home I listened to HITS 106.1 again. The same station holds my interest in the morning and afternoon. I find that I turn the volume down to help with winding down from the work day.
5:30PM – Once I got home, I logged into Canvas and compared my physical calendar to the digital calendar available through Canvas – to ensure that all due dates were accurate for the week. I began working on homework.
7:30PM – As I prepared dinner, I put on a Chris Klemens YouTube video (a daily vlog) that was recently uploaded. This was something that was easy to listen to while I began cooking. Chris shared the moving process from Delaware to New York City in this vlog.
8:30PM – My fiancé and I watched another episode of the new docu-series, Quiet on Set, the special that exposes the dangerous situations young child actors found themselves in back in the early 90’s. This show is available on Amazon Prime.
9:30PM – I set our Phillips Hue Light to dim out and rise for the next day. I closed apps that had remained open and set my alarms for the next day.
Today, work kept me much more occupied than usual, which is why I had an overall lower amount of screen time. After reviewing my media consumption for a full day, I was interested in radio and the validity that accompanies HITS 106.1’s information. Determining whether or not these segments involve real couples/real people is difficult. There is a Reddit page that claims these segments are fake – declaring that it violates the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). I searched the Washington State Legislature and discovered that consent from both parties is required. So the stories may unfold in real time, but both parties have given permission prior to the on-air phone call.
There are many pieces of content created today just for entertainment. With YouTuber, and comedian, Chris Klemens, transparency is evident. The style of his videos clearly communicates that this is his personal experience or opinion. This prepares me to take information and opinions with a grain of salt. It’s his channel after all – his online presence.
The Disney+ reboot of The Golden Girls seemed extremely random, and too good to be true. But as I have been observing as a consumer, Disney+ is increasing the amount of older, more mature content available on their streaming platform. After a quick Google search, I found (unfortunately) the sad truth “that this is a fake poster coming from a Facebook page known for creating satirical fake posters for movies and TV shows that are not being released” (Nebens, 2024).
From my experience, Facebook is the worst (meaning most common) place for fake, artificially generated news. This particular example is typical of another random Facebook page being created, and dishing out fake, but not unrealistic tv show reboots that multiple individuals would love. Obviously, a fake Facebook page about a TV series has far less implications than a fake report about someone winning or losing an election.
In my experience, Instagram seems to be much more tailored to the particular account holder – my “for you” page is all about items, and experiences I might find interesting on the basis of my browsing history.. With Facebook, there is a vagueness that hinders one’s personalization of their experience with the platform. I think this “vagueness” makes it easier to share “fake” information. When I Google something, I’ve learned to watch for “sponsored” at the heading of a website. This makes it much easier to identify those who are pitching a product. With a lot of social media, one needs to be discerning and question items that seem too good (or too bad) to be true. With the advent of AI, I’m wondering if there will be some way to scroll over an image and see if any part of the image or content was AI-generated?
I saw a moderate amount of fake news on Facebook – an amount that is fitting with this platform. Oftentimes, it’s the same account posting constantly, dishing out as many stories as possible. Most likely, seeing what will stick. I noticed that individuals love to point out whether the content is fact or fiction in the comments, usually escalating to a heated debate in the comments section. Although it may sound odd, accounts that have patriotic profile pictures and/or cover photos make me automatically want to fact check the content more so than usual. Everything in our world today is so politically driven, this seems like a look into the person who created the misinformation
Works Cited:
Nebens, R. (2024, March). Is a Golden Girls Reboot Releasing on Disney Plus? New Remake Speculation Explained. The Direct. https://thedirect.com/article/golden-girls-reboot-disney-plus-remake#:~:text=In%20the%20end%2C%20Golden%20Girls,that%20are%20not%20being%20released.