Hello,

When you are in class with you computer open taking notes, do you ever feel distracted by the surrounding applications?  Have you ever felt like you just can’t prevent yourself from checking a notification when it pops up? Well just know that this is very normal.  Computers have added so many easy distractors that it is almost impossible to not want to stray away from your notes and class discussion for a second so that you can check that Facebook post or even a unimportant email.  In my digital media class we are required to use laptops and other devices.  Is this a good thing or a bad thing?  Well personally, I believe it is a great thing, it will teach us to learn how to multitask on the computer not just because we have to, but because with the new notification bar we need to.  There are many different things that can help us focus whether you are in class taking notes on the computer or just doing an english essay in the library.  Multiple applications, such as self control, focus bar, focus mask, and time butler are applications that I use to prevent myself from getting distracted.  Honestly, none of these things can actually work unless you take them seriously, which means that you just have to come to terms that there will be distractions and you will need to learn how to deal with them.  What I find to be most effective is doing things in short intervals.  Telling yourself: “work hard on this for the next 25 minutes and then you can check your email” etc.  It may not work for everyone as the notification bar still makes it hard to not want to check email or other things earlier, but it definitely is worth a try.  Anyway, distractions will only continue to get worse, so start now and learn to deal with them.

Yesterday, at 4:00 I put my phone in a drawer and didn’t take it out for 24 hours, or at least that is what I was supposed to do.  The task was for me to be on a media fast for 24 hours–that includes not looking at any screens for 24 hours.  I thought it was incredibly difficult because my phone is my life and my computer is where I do all my work.  I was not able to watch TV or communicate with friends and family on a typical Saturday.  I was hard to meet up with people and to find people without the use of my phone.  I got a lot of “why didn’t you answer my texts” or “call me later” and I would always just reply ” I can’t” it was hard.  There were times that I would forget about the media fast and try and check my phone remembering just before not to click it on.  I missed it very much, and with all my friends trying to get me to look at a funny video or show me a text, it was hard to stay away from their phones too.  I tried to so hard for so many hours not to look at it, but I succumbed to my desire to check my phone and found a lot of meaningless stuff on it.  I immediately put it back in the drawer after checking the home page.  I was proud that I didn’t do my usual, which is go through all my social media sites and so on.  I am so glad that I had the experience because it really confirmed the fact that I would have such a different life without my phone.  Communication with others would just be so different not in a bad or good way, it would just be different.

Hello everyone,

I have always hesitated to get a twitter account.  Having facebook, I honestly never understood the point of twitter.  ”Why would you write your status’ on twitter instead of on facebook?” I would always ask.  It seems so repetitive and a waste of time.  Everyone posts about what they are doing right now and honestly why would one care.  I understand that it is a fun way to follow famous people that you are fans of, but other than subscribing to well known twitter users, I just did not understand the point.  Facebook status’ seemed to be more substantial and interesting to read.

After speaking with the digital media class about these issues that I have always had with twitter, I have a whole new understanding of the social networking site.  As a result of getting a twitter account for the class, I have come to really enjoy the site.  I like posting tweets that don’t have to always mean anything important.  One thing about twitter that I really like that most students also mentioned in the class, is that one is able to post anything they want without feeling like their post is going to get judged.  On facebook, it is true, I always feel like I have to think about what I am posting really hard before I post it, because I know all my friends will see it, whereas on twitter everyone posts random or funny tweets and most of the time your friends won’t even get a chance to see it.  Another thing I have come to like on twitter is that they limit the amount of characters in a post you are allowed to add.  This makes it so posts aren’t overwhelmingly long and are easily read in a short time period.  I really enjoy that aspect.

In conclusion, I have come to realize that twitter and facebook are two very different type of social networking sites and that twitter is more laid back and fun to explore.

Thanks for reading,

Ben

What do you like better?

Not totally positive if this makes a difference or not, but growing up in California, I have noticed that the majority of people with smart phones have iPhones.  I used to do surveys in my classes at my small high school.  In a regular class there were only about sixteen students, but in each class I found there to be a average ratio of 14:2 (iPhone : Droid).  Although the Google Android has made huge strides, I do not believe it will pass the iPhone for years.  As an owner of both types of phones I have a strong opinion for why the iPhone is better.  I believe it has a more simple user face, the touch screen is better, and the fact that a new one doesn’t come out every 4 or 5 weeks is also a positive for me.  Personally, when I buy a new iPhone, I like the idea that I am not going to feel outdated for a year or so, whereas when I got the Samsung S2 when it first came out, the new one came out soon after.  There are just so many different android phones that it becomes too hard to keep up with all of them.  The android software has always been so complicated to navigate and more complex to figure out.  I will say that the one thing that is nice about the android phones is that they come out in a bunch of different options and sizes.  The iPhone needs to have a bigger screen option when the six comes out.  If it doesn’t I feel as if a lot of people will be very disappointed.

In conclusion, if you like or have an android I am sorry, but I think that maybe you should consider switching over to the iPhone soon.

To keep with the theme from my last post, I am writing to share with you a survey I took today.  After class, I sat outside and observed people walking.  I focused on whether or not the people walking to their dorm, the dining hall, or even to their next class were on their phone. I noticed that most people who were walking without any friends around them were either texting or on their phone.  And those who were walking with a friend, I would say that on average 40% were still looking at their phone.  This may have just been a exaggerated day or a very busy time in the day, but still that is a lot of phone usage.  As I spoke with my digital media class yesterday about addiction and dependency on digital media, I came to realize that most people around my age group (freshmen in college) go through the same issues regarding cell phone usage.  For example, when our iPhone batteries die we don’t know what to do with ourselves.  There was one day, last week, when I was studying in the library and it was pouring outside.  I found myself starting to plan out when and how I was going to get a hold of my iPhone charger, which was all the way in my dorm at the time, before my phone died.  Looking back on this stressful moment, I laugh.  I can’t get over that I was so worried about not being able to use my cell phone that I instead of studying I found myself strategizing over how to get a charger.  It is honestly ridiculous, but I know a lot of college students probably also really dislike when their phone dies.  Still can’t imagine the day when there was no such thing as cell phones.  Can you?

Hello,

After observing my digital media use over the course of three days, I realized that I would not be able to live without my phone.  I have an iPhone 5.  With my phone I can do everything that I would do on a computer and more.  I am always checking and responding to emails for personal and school use.  I spend a lot of time texting with family and friends.  I spend quite a bit of time on Facebook or Instagram, the common social media sites.  I even use my iPhone as my primary camera.  I can’t imagine a time in this world without cell phones.  I don’t understand how people survived.  If I get lost, or if I am meeting up with someone, my go to resource is my phone.  I have a terrible sense of direction and it continues to be terrible, because I have a smart phone to rely on for navigation, and therefore my sense of direction never will get better.  Having a cellphone, even if its not a smart phone can be a lifesaver.  In a literal sense, if you are in an emergency the cellphone can be used to call a friend or the police. In a less serious way, a huge portion of my life is on my phone: my  contacts, my calendar, my texts, and pretty much just everything relating to the social aspect of life.  Smart Phones in particular make everything much easier and convenient, as they hold a lot of every day uses, including games and music, all on one device.  Once again, I don’t know what I would do without my iPhone.  That will be all for my first blog post, look out for the next one relating to digital media literacy next week.

Thanks for reading!

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