Introduction

Today we live in a very complex world filled with many forms of advancement in technology in what is mostly referred to as the digital revolution. One of the biggest changes is associated with the switch from analog and other mechanical devices to the use of digital forms of technology. This is a switch that has seen the great use of digital computers that have changed the lives of people in the world and form a major part of their day to day activities because of their wide applications.  The digital revolution has mainly had great impacts on communication as well as computing sectors and has led to the development of the information age. Apart from computer technologies there are other forms of media that have still played an important role in the digital revolution. The radio and television have been two of the most important developments in human history and have for decades been two of the most popular forms of media in the world. However, as years passed, the applications of forms of media have gradually been changing thanks to advancement and the development of technology and the introduction of new technologies. The world of electronic devices is one that has been met with high rates of improvements, for example, form cathode ray tubes. To television and today flat screen TVs; from super computers so big they could not fit in a room to laptops, tablets, and smartphones; from analogue Television signals to new digital signals; advancement in the internet; development of social media,; development of streaming services such as Spotify, Netflix, and many other developments in technology that influence most of the aspects of today’s human life. The applications of this technology is immense. This paper will analyze various aspects of digital technology in the world of today, regarding their applications on our day to day lives and develop a comparison with the way other people prefer regarding the specific types of technologies they use most in their daily lives (FOTHERGILL, 2016).

My media usage

I belong to this period of the information age and have the advantage of the use of most of the new technologies that have come up through the years. I have also managed to utilize some of the old technologies whereby some people may call obsolete such as radio newspapers and televisions. The analysis of my daily utilization of technology shows I use my telephone and to be specific my smartphone more than any other form of technology. My smartphone is small highly portable, with the internet and digital capabilities that allow me to do many things on it. My smartphone has enabled me to replace the use of other digital devices such as my computer tablet, radio, and other digital applications. The ability of my telephone to access the Internet provide the opportunity to access emails, read the newspaper and enjoy a large variety of social media applications such as Facebook, snap chat, Instagram and also enables me to stream my music online. I still find the opportunity to access other digital devices such as once in a stream some of my favorite television series on my television and also watch movies on it offline, and I use my tablet for reading books, news and magazines once in a while. I also use my personal computer to do my school research, check my online classes and respond to them, read school material and do my assignment from the online blackboard and down load some of my favorite music and other content online (Smartphone, 2011).

My smartphone has become the most used digital device in my life because of its many applications. As much as it is a telephone and I use it for communication, its other applications such as access to the internet allow me Access to various social media apps. The analysis has shown how much I am a big fan of snap chat and spend most of my time there and this is something I did not know. The internet on my smartphone provides me with so many possibilities and can be very addictive sometimes (Smartphone, 2011).

Pie chart of all media over a five day period

The chart above shows how I use different forms of media regarding the time I spend on them. I spend more time on snap chat and the least time on a stereo which is a device I honestly do not own. From the chart, it is clear I spend most of my time on the internet either the telephone, television, computer or tablet. This is attributed to the ability of the Internet to provide various services such as streaming television series online, downloading and reading books online a\such as the use of Kindle from Amazon and also accessing social media platforms such as snap chat, Facebook, and Instagram.

 

This chart shows the newer media compared to old media and the number of times the media was used

The chart above shows the difference in the use of old media and new media. Old media represents newspapers, televisions, and radios and these were once very important forms of media but have been replaced by the new ones.

Media usage of other students

 

Media	My Media	Student 1	Student 2	Student 3	Student 4	Average(4 Peers)
Computer –online	270	430	210	1230	1230	770
Computer –offline	210	80	0	0	0	20
TV	345	725	240	1080	360	601
Tablet	5	0	0	0	0	0
Newspaper/magazine	25	40	0	120	0	40
Radio	495	395	90	300	180	241
Stereo/CD	0	0	0	0	0	0
Books	225	215	30	240	0	121
Telephone	1680	1470	300	750	490	753
other	0	0	450	225	0	169

 

The chart above is a representation of the media uses by some of my peers as well as mine, and they have been put side by side to compare them efficiently.

Based on the charts it is clear that every student has a different preference regarding their use of different media and most of all in comparison to mine. My online use of a computer is almost the same as that of student one and student 2 and very much lower than student three and student four who spend most of their time on computer screens. I seem to spend time on my computer while offline whereas, all the other students spend no time on the computers offline except for student one who spends some time with the computer while offline. Student 1 and 3 spend a lot of time watching television as compared to the rest of the students.  I spend a total of five minutes on the tablet whereas, no other student spends time on it. I spend some time reading actual newspapers and magazines. Student 3 spends the most time on newspapers and magazines and student 4 doesn’t spend any time. I appear to spend more time on the radio than any other student. None of us spend time listening to stereo devices. I spent as much time as student 1 and 3 on actual books as student 2. I and student 1 spend most of our time on the telephone than any other student and I spend no time on any other category of media. The data shows the varied preference in media use. It also shows the difference in access to the different media, for example, I have access to tablet while no other student s has access to it.

One of the significant difference between my media usage and that of my peers is the time I spend on my telephone, and as explained before, I use my smartphone for almost every aspect of media. This is in comparison also to student one who also spends a lot of time on the telephone. As compared to my peers that mostly spread their media use on the various devices. I use it because of its access to internet and ability to use many social media platforms such as Facebook, Snap chat, and Instagram (Smartphone, 2011).

 

The above shows a comparison of the telephone usage between my peers and me and clear shows the difference.

Conclusion

The analysis was very important in the description of the use of media technologies between my peers and me. It shows how digital technologies are gradually growing and becoming an important aspect of our day to day activities and are also slowly replacing old forms of media considered analog and obsolete. The data shows the preference in media technologies for the different students and me. One of the striking differences is the use of telephones whereby the data shows that I spend a lot of time with my smartphone compared to the other devices (Smartphone, 2011). The reason is that of the convenience the smartphone provides regarding communication; talking on the phone, SMS, emails; access to social media platforms and especially snap chat where I spend most of the time and other important aspects that come with the internet. However, from the data is can be seen while the students spend less time of telephones they do so on their computers while online and this shows how influential the internet is despite the difference in device used (Spain, 2015).

 

References

FOTHERGILL, L. (2016). Personally, the idea of young people preferring to socialise over Facebook rather than down the pub is pretty embarrassing. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/student/istudents/rapid-digital-technology-advancement-is-significantly-impacting-young-people-socially-and-a7014656.html

Smartphone: Convenience or Obsession. (2011). Retrieved from http://smartphoneconvenienceorobsession.blogspot.co.ke/

Spain, C. (2015). The number of devices and connections we own continuously go up—making life easier for us, but challenging for the network. Retrieved from https://newsroom.cisco.com/feature-content?type=webcontent&articleId=1648482