Position Paper 1: Media and Me

Student responsibilities, organizational duties, social communication, and personal downtime – these are all the basic forms in which I would use media from day to day. Lately my cellphone has become an inseparable appendage to my body. I could even loosely describe my device as a significant other: I use it for comfort, to fill voids, to build myself, to evoke emotion, and the connection is basically unconditional as long as the bill is paid. I am, however, not infatuated nor am I addicted to my phone. I am that rare 2% of millennial energy that would rather be put towards physical interaction if possible, but given the 21st century circumstances I basically live on my phone to keep up. I spend countless hours exploring the interests of others while simultaneously exploiting my own to an audience that I would assume is my peers. Outside of social media, I also use various applications to enhance my academic experience as well as keeping in contact with professors and other students. Some would say this type of behavior is consuming or even an indolent bridge to getting fast results without extorting one’s full potential of skills, but I feel like the incorporation of media is liberating.


Within a week’s time, I spend approximately 13+ hours on Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook. I guarantee that 90% of that is scrolling and sending posts to my friends for mutual laughs. We could be sitting in the same room and still feel the urge to avoid silence with a couple of Facebook videos while we update each other on our daily predicaments. Out of all of my friends, I think I use Snapchat the most. I am constantly uploading the details of my day, new looks or #OOTD’s, and information about different events that happen on campus whether it be organized for the future or in real time. To me, Snapchat is a great way to let people know who you are and what you are doing without being face-to face. It is the ideal app for making casual connections because it’s format allows you to perceive someone in an almost strictly visual setting as opposed to something like Facebook or Twitter where words speak louder. I associate Snapchat as something more intimate and emotional. Since the duration of your “story” is only allotted 24 hours per post, it forces the content to something quick be more personal. Chatting takes up a lot of my usage time as well, I have friend groups that I text constantly throughout the day and it makes it easier to get my point across by sending them snaps (pictures or videos) of what I mean or of what is going on.

It is safe to say that all of my friends use Snapchat, but since I am now in the position of both leadership and historian of the organizations in which I participate, I find myself heavily using Instagram too. As Vice President, I take it upon myself to boost the appearance of my organization from an administrative point of view, and as historian I try to capture the commercial points that will create an appealing perception of what the organization is about, of what they do, and of the lifestyle you could hopefully one day adapt to. Instagram is a perfect way to promote concepts and ideas because it relies on visuals, like Snapchat, that do not expire over time. From experience, Instagram shows progression, creativity, and involvement. This allows the host to create something like a visual board of their life (@nobody_elses) or their business (@apo.aeomega1925 or @bsa_muleriders) for public consumption. In this day and age, everyone has the ability to obtain this kind of creative control, and in the shameless words of my professor: “If you don’t market yourself, no one else will.” On the other hand, not everyone sees Instagram as a means of marketing. Most of the people I know solely use Instagram like a photo album or for enjoying the content that other people and artists upload. I am not far from that, but unlike most of my friends I am currently working on my social media social media outreach and my ability to create an identity or brand for myself through the content I upload.

Let’s take it back to Facebook. I have a Facebook account mainly for family and references. I am not as entertained with it as I used to be, but since it is easier to convey thoughts and keep contacts, I keep my Facebook page active. A lot of the usage of this application is through watching videos, sharing posts, and casually updating my community on the things that I am involved in. Since a majority of my life is taken up by texting and chatting through direct messages, I actually use Facebook Messenger more than the actual Facebook host app. What would probably be keeping me from being more lively on Facebook is the fact that both Instagram and Facebook now share extremely similar qualities. You can post pictures and videos, create 24 hour stories, and go live. Ironically, most of these qualities stem from Snapchat. In fact, I would name Snapchat the superior to the other 2 apps simply because the only things it does not have is a permanent content database for public viewing and the ability to go live.

Although I adore the convenience of media usage, having everything at your fingertips can create some bad habits. I literally take my phone wherever I go even though I know it can cause some distraction to my daily routines. I scroll when I am in the bathroom, in class, in the car, in the bed, when I’m walking, and even mid conversation. Social media is a definite distraction, with its marketing strategies causing you to become stagnant for several hours at a time. I actually really hate how easy it is to stray away from doing a task because you watched one video, and then you become comfortable with the next video or post until you look up and realize that you have been on your phone for 3 hours. This kind of behavior can negatively affect how much I study, how fast I complete my work, and my initiative towards my academic lifestyle. I have also noticed that the amount of connection I have through media will sometimes help enable me in isolation from others. I have often preferred texting over talking and staying in my room to watch videos over actually going out and doing something. Luckily this is not a consistent habit and that it has not spoiled my appetite for wanting to experience reality. If anything, it opens my eyes from time-to-time on how much I actually could be doing physical activities and causing interactions with other living beings. Yes, life in the media can be a positive advancement to society, but I would never let prohibit me from living in the physical world. If anything I hope to strive for a collaboration of the two where neither technology nor nature loses its value to my life.