So I’m back in the blogosphere, huh. It sure feels nostalgic as this is technically my third (or fourth??) blog. My previous blogs didn’t really have any certain topic so this’ll be something new, as this one will be acting as a media diary of sorts.
I consume media every day, unarguably most of it in the form of social media. In this day and age when our phones are basically extensions of our body and there’s a scary virus on the loose it’s easy to understand why we take staying digitally connected as a given. Apart from my phone I have a laptop, a PC (that’s just missing its hard drive at the moment) and the latest addition to the family has been an iPad. Each of these devices serve a different purpose and that alone tells something about how my media consumption habits have changed throughout the years. It feels like yesterday when I was a kid and we had our first clunky PC that was good only for fooling around in Paint and playing Doom.
So why do I consume media in the first place?
To stay in touch with people I know.
I do this mostly by WhatsApp. I have family and friends all over the world so I would be quite lost without instant messaging and phone calls over the internet. Back in the day I used to chat a lot on Facebook as well, but now I don’t really do that anymore. I only frequent some groups of Finnish pet rat enthusiasts. Since Instagram got the DM feature that’s my go-to if I need to contact someone whose phone number I don’t have. Speaking of that, social media can be a wonderful place to make new friends as well, or to just have a casual conversation with anyone with mutual passions. The downside of this type of media is that sometimes it might get kind of overwhelming when you get sucked into the mentality of having to be available all the time. Not like the good old days on MSN messenger when you logged in hoping to see your friends online!
To get inspired.
Photography, illustration, craft projects, fashion, makeup.. You name it. There are countless sources of inspiration on different social media platforms, my absolute favourites being Instagram and Pinterest. Browsing content created by other people can be a fantastic source of motivation. To top it off, nowadays it’s very easy to find tutorials for almost anything you could think of.
To get information.
I mean we basically have a whole library (and more) in our pockets! We might not stop to think about that very often but it truly is a privilege being able to access that infinite amount of information anytime and anywhere we need. Of course it also has its inevitable downside: it’s just as easy to spread false information, so it’s more important than ever to educate yourself on media literacy.
It’s also worth a mention that now that the world is in a bit of turmoil caused by Covid-19 we have to adjust to the situation and that means for the moment we study online. I have never taken online classes before so I must say I’m surprised how smoothly it’s going so far. Of course I’d love to get to know my peers and teachers in person as soon as possible, but the use of Zoom, Moodle and even WhatsApp as a part of our studies is making everything.. well, if not easy per se, at least bearable.
And the last but not least is entertainment.
Who doesn’t find themselves in a weird loop of watching unnecessary Youtube videos once in a while? On top of that we’ve got Netflix, all the public and commercial TV channels that stream online and so on. I haven’t owned a television since I was 18 and I don’t really miss it either, since everything is available online.
For me the same goes for the radio. When I was a teenager I used to listen to the radio in the morning while cycling to school. But as I realised I can just listen to what I want on YouTube, Spotify and other platforms there was no return for me. I neither have any program that would interest me enough to turn on the radio at a certain time, I rather listen to podcasts since I get to choose the time and the topic.
I suppose I’d put video games in the entertainment category as well. I used to play them a lot more than I do nowadays. It’s a bit of a shame having left that hobby, but I just find it very difficult to find the time and money for it! Let’s see if I can do something about that when I finally get my hard drive back from Bilbao and can assemble my PC once again. (Yes, moving between countries is a hassle.)
Well what about print media?
I read my news on the internet as luckily there are many reputable online news sources that don’t require subscription. I did have a period in my life when I used to read an actual newspaper every morning: this was when I had recently moved to Spain and I did it in the bar with my morning coffee as I was just starting to get a hang of the language. I also have a kind of personal tradition of buying a magazine whenever I have to take a plane, which is not very often.
And then of course there’s books. I have read various ebooks but I must say I’m not a fan. I do think it’s a great option to have and there are certainly situations when it could be more convenient, but if I had to choose I’d go with traditional books. I spend enough time in front of a screen already, and for me there’s just some inexplicable magic in the feeling and smell of printed paper.
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