By George L. Ortiz, Jr.
One thing that sets me apart from most other students in my class is my movie-star looks! Ok, that was a joke. I tracked my usage over 24 hours for an assignment in my Digital Media writing class. My findings surprised me only when I compared them to the rest of my peers. As you can see to your left, there is a whopping 20 minutes average per day, down 67% percent from the previous week. I asked five people in my life to show me their times; they were all significantly higher in usage.
To have a baseline, I did some research of my own. I came across a site, “Tech-Jury,” that tracks usage, and I found some interesting information that I will share:
- Most Americans check their phones up to 63 times per day
- We spend 5.4 hours on average on our screens
They also stated that social media accounts for half of the usage.
So we already know that my numbers are way lower than the average. Let’s take a look a look at what look at what I spend my time on.
MY USAGE
YouTube is where I spend most of my time. I listen to interviews and food videos when I travel in the car. Second was all my work apps like Outlook, Parking, and Messages. In comparison, a Stanford University Study found that college students spend up to 50.2% of their waking hours on their screens. That was down from 77.6% during the pandemic.
“Digital presentation is just television in public; we’re all just getting together and watching TV without pointing the remote control at the screen.”
— Quentin Tarantino
MY TRAVELS
I visited several websites in my 24 hours. They were, in no order, RI Monthly, Movoto, Providence Journal, Gayot, and East Side Monthly. These sites offer the best restaurant reviews in the state and help me learn about new ones. I seldom use my computer or tablet for anything non-school or work-related. My surfing (do people still say that) happens on the mobile phone.
THE DINOSAURS
It is my honor to be older than most of my professors. That is something that I am willing to accept. What is hard for me to swallow is that my numbers are slower than my parents, the Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964). They spend five hours on their phone daily, compared to my whopping 20 minutes. I am Generation X (born 1965-1980).
THE MILLENIALS
Thirteen percent of Millennials (born 1981-1996) spend over 12 hours daily on their phones. Forty-eight of those minutes are spent texting.
CONCLUSION
The title of the post asked the question as to whether I was “out of touch” due to my low usage. My “low usage” means that I may be out of touch with the world but in touch with the people in my house. Each person must decide whom they shall serve. As for me and my house, we will choose to speak more, laugh more, and enjoy each other’s company while the world scrolls away.
College Foodie in Providence 