Laura, 20

 

As an university student and particularly as a communications student it should not be suprising to hear that I utilise social media on an everyday basis. I have all my social media accounts connected to my phone so that if I receive any messages or notifications I will receive an alert. It has become just the same as receving a text or a phone call is to me, making me reachable at most times of the day via my social media. 

 

I use social media via my phone when I am out and continue using my phone when I am moving around my large home. I find myself just as likely to use social media on my laptop while at university or at home. As a student I use my computer regularly and it would not be suprising to find that I have a tab open for some type of social media account. If I am doing class work I will usually flick between the work and those open tabs. It is a distraction for me if only for a minute (or possibly longer at times). As someone with a short attention span this flicking back and forth between the two is ideal for me. 

 

In the last few days I have attempted to take partiular notice of how and where I used social media and for what reasons I found myself participating in the activity. There was a few instances that stood out. Earlier in the week I found myself in the waiting rooms at the doctors and instinctively I found myself reaching for my phone with the intention of using social media to pass the time, though I quickly realised I did not have my phone on my person and was left feeling awkward and bored as I waited. Without being able to use my phone and view social media the situation of being in a waiting room was entirely new and strange occurance. 

 

I also noted that in accordance with the established research (Sensis, 2015) I first check social media in the morning, for me it is as part of my routine as looking at the weather report in the morning is. This is partly because I do indeed check the weather via social media as I look at Facebook pages for the weather in wollongong, or the traffic reports which also come up in my newsfeed are an essential part of my routine. Because I am in bed and it is a quick activity I only ever use my phone in this instance.