StumbleUpon…the new procrastination tool.

           Procrastinating seems like the number one reason to be on the Internet. I know whenever I’m trying to avoid writing a paper or a particularly boring reading I find myself on YouTube or Facebook to distract myself. But that’s the thing, I only have a few websites that I visit and that is what’s so interesting about StumbleUpon it not only helps entertain and inform but brings you to new sites that you might never have seen otherwise.

I first heard about StumbleUpon during winter finals this year when it seemed almost everyone in my dorm, well at least the boys, where using it to avoid studying. This personalized yet randomized site leads you to find interesting and different sites that one normally wouldn’t find on your own. The sites that are recommended to you by the interests that you filled out when first starting with StumbleUpon are recommend by either your friends or people that had the same interests as you. This seemed like a really interesting new site to try out but because it was the middle of finals I wasn’t going to touch it with a ten-foot pole since I don’t need anything besides Facebook to distract me. I forgot about this site till recently when I noticed that StumbleUpon is now connected with Facebook. The collaboration of these two sites creates a greater exploration of what’s available on the Internet. So I went and signed up for the free service. Now that I’m on its hard stop, the tools of procrastination just keep getting better. I swear if I didn’t live in the dorms I would be trying every one of the recipes that pops up when I stumble. Like on this site http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/4VA6Ti/www.tastespotting.com/ , everything looks so good.

            StumbleUpon has been around since 2002 and was developed by Justin LaFrance, Garrett Camp, and Geoff Smith. They started to develop this search engine shortly after a drop in the market of dot coms. After many revamps and updating eBay bought the company in 2008. Like with any good idea there are many other similar websites such as Fichey and SpinSnap of course they all have their own gimmick to make them unique. 

(http://www.stumbleupon.com/)

Media Diet

Day 1

10am- alarm on phone

10-11:43- txt and Internet check Facebook about 15 min usage

12-1- internet/entertainment

2:15-3:20- class/ procrastinate

4pm talk on phone

9-3 on comp for entertainment

Total= 8hrs

Day 2

9:10- alarm on phone, use texting

11:40- Use smart phone to check Facebook

1:40-2:10 check email, Facebook, and use word

Total= 1hr

Day 3

11:30-txt

12:40- iPod for 30mins while working out

1:50-alarm clock on phone

3:40-4pm--check email, Facebook

7-10:30pm -check email, txt, Facebook (all while writing a paper and studying religion)

11-3am- watch TV on Comp, txt, Facebook, music video search on YouTube

Total= 9hrs

Day 4

9:20 – alarm on phone

11:40-11:50- checking email on phone between classes

1:40-3:30pm –Google searched, Facebook and entertainment

5-6 Watched entertainment TV, and Facebook

11-1:30am-Facebook, TV and iTunes searching, StumbleUpon

Total= 6hrs

Day 5

10:30- phone alarm

7-8- Facebook, TV shows

Occasional texting on the phone throughout the day about 2 hrs altogether

Total= 4hrs

Overall total= 28hrs

            Recording the amount of time I spend using technology and media was a difficult task, even though it seemed simple at the start. It was hard because using these technologies is second nature and so it was almost like I was using it subconsciously, plus it’s kind of embarrassing seeing how much of my day I spend unproductively and yet seem to complain that there aren’t enough hours in the day. The main sites I frequented were Facebook, sidereel, stumbleupon, and youtube. Facebook did have a monopoly on my time when I look back on my recordings.

In my Communication 2 class I did an assignment similar to this where we first filled out a survey of how we viewed our media use, and then we actually monitored our usage and found that we used media way more than we thought we did. I feel my media consumption is about par with the average 16-25 year old demographic. My average daily usage from the information of this five day period is about 5.6 hours, if I remember correctly from class the national average is about 4.5 hours. My personal media consumption on a broader tense is hard to pin point since one person cannot account for all of the American population but I do think it shows that not all American youths are con their computers for the majority of the day. Yes I might be slightly addicted to Facebook, but there are days where I spend little to no time on a computer.

I believe being a college student greatly influences my use of media and technology. We have to use it not only for school but for a way to relieve stress and stay in touch. It’s easy as a student to shut yourself off from the rest of the world all you have to do is stay in your room study and attend class, but we need to stay in touch and so we utilize the resources we have in front of us. Saying that I hope to cut back my media usage, when I say the total number of hours I spent in only five days on Facebook or surfing the internet I realized I could be sleeping or hanging out with friends. So my plan is to cut back on my daily intake of media to spend more time sleeping, hanging out with friend and since I must studying.

E-Readers

I always loved during winter vacations to cuddle up in my bed with a paperback and read. The feeling of the pages between my fingers and the satisfaction and accomplishment that comes with turning each page, so maybe I’m over exaggerating but still I loved having a real object in hand. The problem is that I go through book very quickly because when I sit down with a book that I’m really interested in I’m not putting it down till it’s finished. That created a problem for storage and budget. No matter how much I love sit down and read it’s hard when getting the next book in the series I’m reading means getting a twenty-five dollar paperback that takes up more room then I have on my shelf.

Then senior year after coming back from Christmas break my friend Hanna had a nifty new contraption that she loved. (Note: I attended a half day half boarding school and she was a boarder so space was a major factor along with her dad being a techno nerd (I mean that in the sweetest way possible)) I was very skeptical when I first saw a Kindle, it was really cool but wasn’t for me so I thought. Once starting college and moving into the dorms I realized I had little space, no way of getting to a bookstore easily, and no budget for twenty dollar books.

Come Christmas I had myself a Kindle, it was really nice to have the ability to read as much as I wanted. I chose the kindle over the IPad for a few reasons the first being I HATE reading on computer screens the backlighting really hurts my eyes and makes it hard to concentrate. Also having internet connection for me is kryptonite, I always feel I would be playing games or surfing the internet instead of using it for what it was for….reading. Those are the main reasons I personally chose the Kindle over the IPad. Something that was amazing when I was searching through the available free books was finding classics like Jane Austin, were usually the Jane Austin Collection is about thirty to thirty-five dollars at least.

Even though there are great advantages to having E-Readers I am worried about the affect it is having on the publishing and therefore bookstore industry. With the paperback sales down the long term effect of E-Readers is still uncertain. The loss of the printing industry would be a cultural failure on our part as consumers. I may love the convenience of my Kindle but I still want to be to go to a bookstore and search the shelves for an interesting looking cover or be able to read the back flap of the book. It’s those silly little things that I don’t think should be over taken even though it has slowly moved in that direction after the shutting down of so many Borders books.

Technology and Social Interaction

I feel a disclaimer is necessary when it comes to this topic. I am not very good with computers and technologies and feel that the best way for someone’s personality to get across to others is by body language, tone of voice and the look in someone’s eyes.  Plus I’m also just really bad with technology and don’t take part in any other types of social networks besides facebook and youtube (just to look at funny videos mainly).

Social interaction has taken on a different meaning from when we use to play on the blacktop during recess.  Where it once was a solely face-to-face interactions or the occasional phone call to see if your friends were home. How, when and the frequency of our interactions have changed drastically. Technology has greatly influenced the way we interact with people. Since the invention of  the telephone technology has been improving to make it easier for people to connect. The recent innovation of texting and social networking  sites have made this task of  connecting easier but at the same time more distant.

I remember in the second grade we had a homework assignment that was about phone etiquette. There was a polite and proper way to answer the phone and start the conversation I miss that. Its so hard to get people on the phone these days, they would much rather text email , bbm or any other depersonalized medium. That’s one of the negative affects of these technologies, it’s made it easier to connect but harder for people to interact face-to-face. Even I’ve found myself, depending on the person I’m talking with, preferring to use texting so as not to feel as if I’m encroaching on that person’s space. It’s hard to believe we call that “Social Interaction”.  There are definitely upsides to these technologies as well. One of my favorite new social interaction technologies is Skype.  It’s extremely useful to me because I one of my best friends is going to school in Scotland it not only allows me to talk with her for free but also see her.  These advancements keep people in touch and bring them together.

Internet based connections that are formed on common interest sites such as gaming and message boards allow people from all over to meet others that are similar to them. This type of interaction is close but in a superficial way. I can’t see this type of interaction being as satisfying as a “real” interaction. These technologies are a great way to stay connected and share thoughts and ideas with people around the world. But they should never replace or monopolize people’s day-to-day interactions. It would be a good thing to setup ways for more “real” interactions so people can find a healthy balance in their lives. People need to feel connected as well as physically interact. These technologies allow for us to feel the connection but its up to us to do the rest and it seems a lot of people are having  hard time finding that balance.

Social Networking and Privacy

            Social networking is a wonderful thing as is chocolate and other favorite foods. As with anything there can be too much of a good thing. Facebook is a fantastic tool that can be used for so many things personally I use it to keep in touch and up-to-date with close and far away friends. Sometimes it feels like I’m slightly addicted to checking Facebook. If I’m bored, procrastinating, or trying not to look awkward (you know you all do it) I am on facebook. By having laptops , Smart phones and other devices always at hand its almost impossible not to check what everyone is doing. That right there can lead to major problems because people are on these networking sites so often people have seemed to stop thinking about what they are putting out in the world.

I am not one to over share be it in person or on the Internet the way I was raised was to be cautious of how you are affecting people around you. To put it basically to not say or do things that would come to bite you in the butt. That’s why its hard to thing of a time of a time I “over shard” on the Internet but I definitely have  text messages that I have sent and wished I hadn’t. What allowed me to even send them was the feeling of disconnect between the receiver and me. Because I couldn’t see or hear the reaction it was easier not to think of the consequences.

It’s hard to say that social networking is having a purely negative affect on society because I wouldn’t want to stop anytime soon. The overall problem is that a society we are choosing to only see the instant gratification and not the long term damage. Some major effects that are starting to show even now are on the disregard of privacy and the utter lack of personal interaction skills that one acquires when having to speak on the phone or in person. Personally privacy issues are not something I solely worry about when on social networking sites but anywhere on the Internet.