Digital Media Usage

A full day's worth of media in my life would look something like this:

Apple Smartphone

Alarm

Maps

Messages accessed 14 times

Twitter x4

Instagram x2

Snapchat x3

Facebook x3

Google Chrome

            -Gmail

Apple Computer Laptop

Mail

Microsoft Word x2 (for homework)

Microsoft PowerPoint x2 (to follow along in lecture)

Spotify

iTunes

Adobe InDesign (for homework)

Google Chrome:

            -Blackboard x5

            -My.asu.edu x5

            -Gmail x3

            -Blogger x2

            -Bloglovin’ x2

            -YouTube x3

            -VEVO - Shut Up and Dance, Walk The Moon

            -UpWorthy – Beyoncé’s human struggles

            -Medium – Last Call: The End of the Printed Newspaper, Clay Shirky

            -SFGATE – Crap Detection 101, Howard Rheingold

            -Newsgate – Spotlight on Casey Niestsat

In class today I experienced someone else’s use of:

Safari

            -My.asu.edu

            -Blackboard

PowerPoint

Television

Netflix

            -Gossip Girl x2

Radio

I spent a total of 1hour and 30 minutes flipping between two different radio stations for my daily commute to school and back (not a radio show per say but music is media nonetheless)

I contributed to online media on this day by:

-Liking 4 Facebook posts

-Privately posting to my Facebook page as a means of getting an image from my laptop to my mobile phone

-Posting the previously mentioned image to Instagram

-Liking 13 Instagram posts

-Leaving 1 Instagram comment

-Replying to one school related email

-Leaving 3 comments on various personal blogs and ‘upvoting’ one response to a previous comment of mine.

By keeping track of every time I accessed media yesterday (shown above in the order of incidence but divided by device), I realized just how much of an integral part of my life media actually is. It was a little difficult to keep track of everything because I would often forget that I was actually doing something involving a digital media source. Marking down everything I accessed, how I accessed, and how many times I intentionally accessed the particular media platform created the above listing. Though this list doesn’t say how long I spent on each platform or how many internal links I followed at each site (unless the article is directly stated, then none), it’s pretty clear just how much of my time is spent consuming media and creating it. A lot.  I do feel that some of my uses of media are time fillers (twitter while waiting for the crosswalk, or reading an article while waiting for InDesign to load) but some of those listings were purely accessed while falling down into the black hole of procrastination. I wish I wouldn’t do that but honestly, who doesn’t?

One thing about this listing that really sticks out to me is that the amount of consumed that was media created by others is not counter balanced with the amount I created. I wish I spent less time interacting with media for personal use (less casual Instagram browsing or meaningless Facebook liking) and more time creating but now I’m wondering why I don’t? It’s entirely possible to create and consume content in balanced proportions and I would feel so much better about my productivity levels.

I can’t help but wonder if other people spend as much of their life creating, viewing, or interpreting digital media as I do. I’m sure that some people do it even more often than I do but the above list seems like more than the average. Part, if not most, of the time I spend interacting with media can be attributed to school so, I must fall in the ‘more than average media consumption category’ (especially if that statistic includes the media illiterate). The truth is that I’d rather spend my free time on the Internet than anywhere else.

Notice the lack of books, newspapers, magazines, and a general print category from the above list? The commercials deter me from watching television and anything worth learning by watching television would be shared online anyways. I am guilty of playing Gossip Girl via Netflix for background noise though. Newspapers don’t even deliver to my house except for the Sunday edition but if I don’t have time for 5minutes of visual ads on the TV why would I pay attention to my mom’s Sunday paper? I only ever read magazines on airplanes for some reason. Talk Radio shows are just as lackluster as television because they can only engage 50% of my attention at a time (I don’t need to physically attentive just mentally). While driving I sometimes listen to a radio show or podcast but the occasion is rare because what I want to listen to and the time’s I’m driving do not often align.

The only other statistic that I can think to draw from the media use listing is that I don’t text very often. What can I say; I’m a pretty independent person.

All my love,

kpeterr

P.S. If the government taxed wifi, how much money would they make off of you? 

Back to School

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I feel like Billy Madison waiting for the school bus on his first day of class. "Back to school. Back to school, to prove to my dad that I'm not a fool."

This rainy Monday morning marked the start of spring semester at my university and I'm excited. I never thought I'd say that but the feeling is unmistakable.
Here's some things I'd like to take note of:

• Bought new pens on a whim and while they're aren't the entire reason I'm excited for spring semester but I do love them more than my old favorites so far (Paper-mate InkJoy, the ones that click).
• My first formal graphic design course will not be as hard as I originally thought and was definitely not worth the nerves.
• I saw more men wearing their hair in a bun on campus today than I have ever, including on tumblr.
• One of my professors looks like the kind of teacher that gets sleazy with students but carries out mannerisms that point his personality in the complete opposite direction.
• I might join a team of complete strangers for a season of intramural soccer.
• This might be the first semester I make tons of friends or maybe just a few but I know I'll be fine either way.

I'd love to know some of the things you noticed today?

❤kpeterr

Winter Skin Essentials

❤Garnier Clean Nourishing Cleansing Oil

I had received a free sample of this last summer and I can remember thinking the world of this stuff when it removed every lick of makeup in 0.2 seconds flat. Now as a fair warning, I've only ever tried two oil cleansers in my life so I do not have much a scale to rate this on but I would recommend anyone at least give it a try. It's supposed to be formulated for dry skin but when you go to rinse the oil dissolves to leave no evidence.

❤Olay Fresh Effects Dew Over

My favorite moisturizers to use during the day are the gel ones because they absorb super quick. This one feels really fresh on the skin and takes care of my dry/flakey patches. Because the product is pretty thick, I only really use it for the driest parts and I'll use a lighter formula product for everywhere else. This sounds like a hassle when I say it here but this guy has saved the tip of my nose from flaking right off on multiple occasions.

❤Blistex ChapStick in Strawberry Lemonade Blast

Chapstick in the winter is a 'can't live without' kind of thing. I like this one because it's thick enough to really last and put the moisture right where you need/want it but not too think that your lips get sore from spreading the stuff where it needs to go. The one I have is in Strawberry Lemonade but the smell reminds me of the Shockers candy more than anything. The scent is refreshing after reaching for the holiday-ish ones in recent months.

❤ Burt's Bees Intense Hydration Treatment Mask

Now I've talked about this before (here) but I can't help but mention it again. For anyone with a need for a serious dehydration rescue, give this a go. A small dollop can be used as a night cream or a large amount can sit on your skin for 30 minutes and you'd still have to wipe away the excess. It leaves your skin feeling plump with moisture and I just love this.

❤The Body Shop Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream

As the newest addition to my goop collection, I don't have much to say but I do like it. It is very thick, smells pretty good, and basically its good at fulfilling it's designated job. Which, for clarification, is good.

❤J. R. Watkins Hand and Cuticle Slave in Mango

Now, I understand the meaning of 'hand and cuticle,' however, isn't the skin on your hands essentially the same as the skin on the rest of your body? I really enjoy this stuff for it's intended purpose but I also like to use it on my elbows, knees, feet. Smells like summer and is also really good at it's intended purpose.

Have any good tips for seasonal dry skin suffers? I'm begging you to send them my way! 

❤kpeterr

P.S. I've come to the conclusion blogging about beauty stuff is hard and fun and makes me feel very weird. I also feel like I may just flop over dead if anyone from my real life found this.

Hello 2015!

I cannot say 2014 was a bad year. I couldn't even whisper it but I'll surely welcome 2015 as a breath of fresh air.

Having completed everything on my list of to-dos for 2014 (which you can read here) I don't necessarily have a list of things I want/need to do in the upcoming 12 month period. If I were to write up a list, all the items could be summed up with the simple phrase 'do more.' I'd like to learn more, read more, spend more time outside, love more of myself, and find more to love about other people... etc.. 

This is so cliche to say but with each passing year I can feel myself growing emotionally stronger. Not that I would have ever defined myself as emotionally weak but I'm learning more about myself and how to be confident about what it is that I have to offer the world. I really can't wait to see what challenges, rewards, failures, and opportunities reveal themselves in the new year and maybe, just maybe I'll document them as they present themselves.

Happy New Year and Good Luck.

♥kpeterr

P.s. Lets talk about your resolutions for the new year!