My New Media Diary

This post was inspired by a Financial Literacy conference that was held at my university. Although I was attending as a volunteer, I had the opportunity to listen to various speakers discuss finance-related topics such as the economy, funds, currency, federal debt, and markets. One part of the conference that stood out to me was when Jessica Rabe, co-founder of DataTrek Research and a young millennial, spoke about her dependence and use of technology in her everyday life. Unlike previous generations, she does most of her financial transactions online. On a slideshow, she presented a diary of the apps she uses to perform transactions. Her list included the following apps:

• Paypal- her preferred app since its quick, easy use, and easy to access 
• Venmo  – a perfect way to split a bill with friends, and it has a social component allowing her friends to see her purchase history and vice versa

To the surprise and dismay of some of the older members of the audience, she rarely uses a check. She prefers to use new media to do transactions rather than traditional methods like writing a check, withdrawing or depositing money in person at a bank because it eases her worries. She doesn’t have to worry or wonder whether her payment went through or if it will get through in time. 

Her part in the conference inspired me to create a new media diary, although it’s not limited to finance. In this post, I will examine my use of new media using the uses-and-gratification approach. This approach tries to explain how people use new media to “satisfy their needs and to achieve their goals” (Siapera, 2018, p.96). In 1973, Katz, Haas, and Gurevitch developed a classification of needs with five parameters which I will use to categorize the new media I use in my life.

The Five Parameters

1. Cognitive Needs

“…relating to information seeking, knowledge, and understanding”

(Siapera, 2018, p.96)

• Laptop – As a college student, I regularly use my laptop to visit different websites. Most of the time, I’m looking for manuals or tutorials to learn how to do a specific task or I’m searching for information online to do my homework.
• Phone – On my phone, I’m constantly looking up new information.  
• Apple News– I use Apple news on my phone to know what is going on in the world.
• YouTube – Sometimes I watched Youtube videos to visually learn how to perform a task.
• Television – I like to watch trivia shows like Jeopardy to learn new things about different subjects.

2. Affective Needs

“… related to aesthetic, pleasurable, and emotional experiences”

(Siapera, 2018, p.96)

• Phone – I don’t own a physical camera. I use the one on my phone regularly to capture moments, memories, and outfits (to use for future reference). With the creation of filters, I use them to change the aesthetic of photo to make it darker, lighter, or even vintage looking.
• Netflix – I access Netflix on my phone or my tv to find a movie to make me laugh or to inspire me.
• YouTube – I watch YouTube videos to find entertainment.

3. Personal Integrative Needs

“… combine cognitive and affective elements and relate to strengthening self-esteem” 

(Siapera, 2018, p.96)

Wix- I use the Wix app on my phone to maintain my personal blog. Although this does not relate much to self-esteem, it does relate to establishing my credibility and status as an aspiring writer.

4. Social Integrative Needs

“… strengthen contact with the social world”

(Siapera, 2018, p.96)

• Pinterest – I go to Pinterest to find inspiration from other people.
• WhatsApp – I use WhatsApp to connect with my family and friends.
• Phone – I use my phone to connect with family and friends by text message, call, or to access apps that allow me to connect in different ways.
• Gmail – I use Gmail to communicate with people within my university, future employers, and people in and outside of social network. Also, people use my Gmail to get in contact with me.

5. Tension-Free Needs

“…relate to escapism and relaxation”

(Siapera, 2018, p.96)

• Candy Crush – This just a simple matching game. Yet, I find it fun, addicting, and entertaining. Usually, I play it at night to relax or to pass the time by.
• Covet Fashion – Similar to Candy Crush, I play Covet Fashion to relax.
• Netflix – I watch movies and shows to escape reality.
• Spotify – I listen to music to relax me.

Final Analysis

New media is a large part of my everyday life. As shown by the analysis above, I use it to satisfy my various needs. This is made possible by the adaptability and versatility of new media. For example, using my phone I can look up information, purchase new items, entertain myself with videos, and maintain my own personal blog. The phone itself offers many services but because it gives its users access to thousands of apps, this expands its uses!

References

Siapera, E. (2018). Understanding new media (2nd ed.). London: SAGE Publications.