I heard a statistic while listening
to the radio- teenagers (I was one at the time) spend about 6 hours a day in
front of a screen- a phone, TV or computer screen. When I heard that, I thought
that was impossible. How could I be spending that much time doing anything? I
didn’t even have enough time to sleep, eat, do my homework and get to class on
time. How was I fitting six hours of screen time in? I started to keep track of
it, and I figured out that I was looking at a screen for more like 7 hours a
day. These days, it’s even higher- teenagers are spending 7 ½ hours a day
consuming media, according to the Washington Post.
A media ethnography assignment give students a chance to reflect on their own use of and attachment to technology, and they could decide if their current habits are healthy or unhealthy. I would assign a media log, maybe for a few days to a week, and then have the students write a reflection paper on their media use. I would have students share their media logs with me (not with the class) so that way there is no incentive to hide habits from classmates’ judgments. I also might have them keep a tally for their most-visited websites- some might be surprised to discover that they check their facebook 16 times a day! I’d want the students to reflect on their own habits and decide what about their media use was healthy or unhealthy. We could determine “healthy” and “unhealthy” as a class, bringing in ideas about internet addiction and compulsive behaviors, personal safety online, procrastination, and also how much time should be spent away from screens, for the sake of our health and wellbeing (eye strain, exercise, vitamin D!) My evaluation of this assignment would be based on the quality of their log and their reflection. If the student writes genuinely about what they noticed about their media use, whether or not they decide they want to change anything about the way they use media, I would give that student a passing grade. But I think this assignment would be very interesting to students because it’s so relevant to them: they use media every day and everyone around them does also. It’s giving them a change to study themselves, and I think students would be engaged by that.
A media ethnography assignment give students a chance to reflect on their own use of and attachment to technology, and they could decide if their current habits are healthy or unhealthy. I would assign a media log, maybe for a few days to a week, and then have the students write a reflection paper on their media use. I would have students share their media logs with me (not with the class) so that way there is no incentive to hide habits from classmates’ judgments. I also might have them keep a tally for their most-visited websites- some might be surprised to discover that they check their facebook 16 times a day! I’d want the students to reflect on their own habits and decide what about their media use was healthy or unhealthy. We could determine “healthy” and “unhealthy” as a class, bringing in ideas about internet addiction and compulsive behaviors, personal safety online, procrastination, and also how much time should be spent away from screens, for the sake of our health and wellbeing (eye strain, exercise, vitamin D!) My evaluation of this assignment would be based on the quality of their log and their reflection. If the student writes genuinely about what they noticed about their media use, whether or not they decide they want to change anything about the way they use media, I would give that student a passing grade. But I think this assignment would be very interesting to students because it’s so relevant to them: they use media every day and everyone around them does also. It’s giving them a change to study themselves, and I think students would be engaged by that.
cited: Teens are spending more time consuming media, on mobile devices (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/postlive/teens-are-spending-more-time-consuming-media-on-mobile-devices/2013/03/12/309bb242-8689-11e2-98a3-b3db6b9ac586_story.html
Having students keep track of the websites they visit is a great way to introduce the topic of internet addiction, which was one of our discussion topics in last week's class. Not only could they track how many times they check Facebook, but you could pose reflective questions like "What was the first website you visit when opening a browser?" You could also have them keep track of the frequency of page visits, and how long they spent on certain pages. This might sound like a lot of work invading a student's free time, but there is probably an app or browser plugin that could do the work for the student.
ReplyDeleteYour idea to ask the students to decide for themselves if their media use is healthy or unhealthy would work really well, I think. It would be a more beneficial assignment for each individual student in that way. What difference does it make if we as teachers think a student's media consumption is unhealthy if they themselves don't acknowledge it? Thanks for your insight.
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