Before I get into the technological and media oriented details of this blog post, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Denisse DLC, proud author and founder of this website you have found yourself on, http://sites.middlebury.edu/dmldlc/. Created on September 10th of the year 2013, this blog will have a tendency to focus on the development of people’s relationships and societal ties through the eyes of various media vessels.
Born and raised in New York City, I have found it increasingly more and more important to manage success in the city through the usage of the internet. Everything from political events to social gatherings can all be found through some media outlet and a map on a cell phone or an MTA app can easily be your savior during the times you’ll get lost in the city’s transportation system. Whatever the reason may be, there is an increasingly larger population of New Yorkers who are joining the internet cyberspace and adopting its usage into everyday life.
Before arriving on the Middlebury Campus, I was subject to a small experiment conducted by Professor Mittell of the Film and Media Culture department at Middlebury College. This experiment depended on my ability to keep track of my media use for 3 entire days. In other words, I was keeping a “media log.”
The outcomes of this log were pretty outstanding if I may say so myself. Not only was my dependency on media and technology much higher than I anticipated. It also seemed like I was addicted to using my phone. For the three days that I kept track of my media use, I used my phone first thing in the morning all throughout the day and the last thing that I did was use my phone to set an alarm right before I went to bed. Now, I hadn’t expected to see so much phone use on my chart. It’s actually the media device that I use more than my computer or any other digital device in my possession. The following is an excerpt of my log, from August 28th:
“Phone: Woke up and the first thing I did was use my phone to turn off my alarms and check for any text messages.
Phone: Spoke to my mother while eating breakfast as she told me what to do for her while she was working and I was at home. The call only lasted 4 minutes according to my phone.
Stereo: I connected my phone to the stereo in my house in order to play some of my music. I played this music for about an hour and some minutes while I cleaned up and did some chores.
Phone: Before I chose an outfit, I checked the weather on my phone to see how warm it was outside. This literally lasted a couple of seconds.
Phone: After I showered and was already changing, I had to pick up another call by my mother, she was asking me what I was doing yet again. The call lasted like two minutes because I rushed the call.
Phone: I was going to take a bus, therefore I wanted to know how many stops away the bus was and NYC Buses now have a system where you can text the MTA with the bus stop code and they reply with how many stops away the bus is. This was only about a minute long.
Phone: I used my phone again to call my mother and let her know that I had already bought what she asked me to get her. I was already on my way back on the bus.”
Just using this small excerpt, it is clearly noticed that the progression of my day revolves around my cell phone use. However, I would not say I’m addicted to my cell phone. It’s a method of communication and a method of knowledge gathering. That’s something very important for a girl from the city who roams around all day and has a mother who feels the need to know of her daughter’s whereabouts every 5 minutes.