I chose to do my 24-hour media diet on Sunday because I figured I would use my devices more on a weekend rather than a weekday. Throughout the course of the day, I not only learnt how often I was looking at my phone and laptop but also how much information I consumed without a second thought.
9:00 a.m. – Wake up and check my phone immediately. I scroll X and Instagram to check if there’s any sports news that occurred in the early morning but nothing in particular. I opened an email from my local newspaper, the San Mateo Daily Journal, recapping some headlines from this past week and read an article about the city’s main library celebrating its 20th anniversary. I interned at the SMDJ and got into the habit of reading more local stories over the summer.
10:00 a.m. – I quickly scrolled through the New York Times page, reading an article regarding President Donald Trump’s claim that the US has a deal in place for Venezuela’s oil and another quick read about the “Stop Nick Shirley Act” targeting the right-wing YouTuber titled “A MAGA Uproar Ensued After a Bill Was Given a Nick Shirley Nickname.” I didn’t research either story further, although finding other sources highlighting the practical effects of the US-Venezuela oil deal or clicking on the links in the Nick Shirley article would provide a more comprehensive understanding of both topics.
11:30 a.m. – Scrolling through X again and see this post from NFL insider Adam Schefter concerning Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs being placed on the commissioner exempt list. Read this corresponding article from ESPN providing more context on the NFL’s plans with Jacobs following his arrest earlier this year on charges of misdemeanor battery and the Packers backup plan by trading for Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson.
12:15 p.m. – Check MLB scores on MLB.com on Google and US Open scores as well for the early matches.
1:00 p.m. – Get another notification from Schefter about Los Angeles Rams superstar Aaron Donald coming back from retirement to team up with newly acquired Ram and reigning DPOY Myles Garrett. See a plethora of posts and videos surrounding Donald’s return since it’s been rumoured for months now, including this video from Rams practice and quotes from his press conference.
4:00 p.m. – Began listening to the Acquired podcast’s episode on Disney while driving, covering the famed company’s tumultuous journey across the decades. Went and did more research after completing around 45 minutes of the podcast and came across this Time article titled “How the Walt Disney Company Made It to 100.” The article, similar to the podcast, focused on Disney’s creative renaissance in the 1980s and 1990s through innovative animations and captivating performances.
6:30 p.m. – Scrolling once again on Instagram and X. Lots of fantasy football content, which made sense because I was watching a lot of statistical videos in preparation for my draft. These included posts from creators like Joel Smyth who I follow on both YouTube and Instagram.
8:00 p.m. – Went on a run and continued listening to some of the Acquired podcast episode. I also listened to this YouTube video from another fantasy football creator, Flock Fantasy, detailing some underrated picks to add to your team in light of recent news including the potential Jacobs suspension.
10:00 p.m. – Watched some of the US Open match highlights, including Novak Djokovic’s shocking first round defeat. The post that stuck with me the most was this collection from ESPN showing the physical and mental struggle Djokovic was going through as he lost in the first round of a Grand Slam for the first time in over 20 years.
11:00 p.m. – Worked on MCO 427 blog post for my site before sleeping
After monitoring my media consumption over the past 24 hours, I wasn’t surprised by the majority of content on my feeds being sports related. It’s the news I react to and connect with more than anything so noticing more sports than politics for me wasn’t anything new.
A pattern was how much of my news was coming from social media. While I did check the NYT, I didn’t look at the Washington Post or any other major newspaper today nor did I go to major sports websites like ESPN or The Ringer. As we’ve read in modules 1 and 2, social media has widened the reach of the average person so news spreads much quicker on X or Instagram compared to an article.
I did notice that I’m much more inclined to fact-check or search for additional sources when reading a news article compared to a sports article. This may be due to political biases different sources have compared to legal or news-breaking sports but that’s also an assumption with nothing to back it up. X’s recent addition of community notes has helped give additional perspectives to intentionally inflammatory statements but X and Instagram are still the websites that I’m most wary of when it comes to misinformation.
Leave a Reply