ARP1 Totally Wired

Totally Wired: Autoethnographic Case Study

Reflection

The Totally Wired autoethnographic study was the first time I had ever conducted a case study or research paper. Since I had never done it, I learned many things throughout the process. Learning how to collect, analyze and reflect on data has provided me with important tools for my future. Before this report, I did not know how much effort an experiment would take even if it was small. The most important conclusion I made is that having a plan and sticking to it is crucial to proper and accurate data collection. Before the project, I thought that data analysis was just a rewording of your results. Later on I realized it was actually an in-depth look at trends, habits, and smaller details that could be overlooked. Analysis also helped me learn how to explain my ideas in a more comprehensive way. 

 

The report presented a few big challenges. Getting all of the data down in a way that was organized and easy to understand was very hard for me. Another big issue was trying to organize my thoughts and make connections. After doing the revisions I realized a few common habits I have that are detrimental to my writing, particularly when doing reports. When talking I often use many word tenses and embellish my story. When writing a typical essay it is not too much of an issue, but because this is a case study embellishment took away from some of my main points. 

 

One thing I learned is that my revision skills need some improvement. This is because even after my initial revision I had some errors that I continuously missed. I tend to leave out certain key details to declutter the document, even if they are important. The conclusion was my favorite part to write. It allowed me to finally voice my opinions that were not shown in other parts of the project. It also provided me a space to reflect on my technology use and bring big ideas together. This project taught me many important things. I learned to plan my data collection and to think outside the box about unique problems. This will be useful not only for  future research papers, but for my future career as a teacher. Analyzing data in detail was something I had never done before. This enabled me to think critically about the data and the possible effects, as well as see other perspectives. Being able to see the whole story and draw my own opinions is crucial not only to future papers, but also as a human being.

A Teenage perspective on technology interaction

By Caleigh Emerson

Introduction

According to a study conducted by KDA engineering, a power and utilities company, in August 2018, 66% of people believe they touch their phone 100 times a day or less, but the typical user actually touches their phone 2,617 times a day. Technology has become so integrated in our everyday lives many of us do not even pay attention to our use. Paying attention is key to seeing how it really is affecting our lives. Are we losing touch with reality and becoming trapped in a cyberspace as many people fear, or are we building communication? Questions like these are key to improving our futures. We live in a culture where digital detoxing is a real thing and where people even claim to have technology addiction. Are these things truly issues or are they  constructed by the media? I set out to find the answer by observing my technology use over the course of 24 hours. I took my data and broke it up into different sections to find out where my main issue really was. Touching my phone 2,617 times a day seemed ridiculous at the beginning, but early on in the survey I realized how small the number really was.

Methodology

I collected two types of data on two separate days. The first type of data I collected is quantitative data. I collected it on Wednesday, 29 January.  Wednesday was a fairly typical day. However, I use less technology than normal on Wednesdays because I have a shorter break between classes. On this particular day I went to sleep later than I normally do so this might affect the results. I used my phone’s screen time tracker to track my phone use and I used a stopwatch to record my television use. After I watched television, I recorded the total time in my Notes app on my phone. Multitasking was a big obstacle during the data collection process. Luckily my days are fairly structured and I only use certain apps when multitasking so I was able to record the time I multitasked along with the individual apps pretty easily. I feel as if this is an accurate representation of a typical day as I tried not to change my routine at all.

The second type of data I collected was qualitative. This data was collected on Monday,3 February . This was an average Monday for me except for one of my classes got let out a little early so I had more break time. I used the Notes app on my phone to collect my data, and occasionally pen and paper. My biggest issue was remembering to record the data after I used my technology. This was a big issue in the morning because I am so used to mindlessly looking at my phone or laptop and then just moving on. I tried to overcome this by always leaving the Notes app open either on screen or in the background. However, there were still certain times I forgot to record it immediately and had to go back later in the day. Towards the end of the day my data is definitely more accurate because it was more routine to record that data. The only moments I really felt frustrated were when I forgot to record the data. Even though it is not totally accurate, both types of data show my digital presence and engagements throughout a typical day. 

Results

The charts below help illustrate my technology use over 24-hours on a typical day. On this specific day I was awake for 14 hours and 27 minutes so the data is calculated as a percentage of my waking day. 

Out of the time I was awake,I spent 65.05% of it on digital technology. This was not super worrying but I was still a little surprised. However, when I looked at my results compared to my peers, my shock eased because my use was 65.05% and the average was 59.98%. 

 My main reason for using technology is to help myself focus. As a perfectionist with OCD, the way all of my technology is organized is very specific. Each app has its place and its order for which they are checked. Out of the time I was on technology, a majority of it was on my phone. Since I use my phone while watching television my total phone use added up to 45.10% of my waking day.  My phone holds all of my everyday stuff from my notes, to emails, to my credit card so this was not super shocking to me.

The app I used the most was Snapchat which took up 53.46% of the time on my phone. When I use Snapchat, I use it to feel connected and included in my friend’s lives. On Snapchat I am an extremely active user so I am always talking to someone. I usually use snapchat before and after I finish a homework assignment as a way to destress. When no one is on Snapchat I turn to Instagram which was 19.67% of my phone use.  On Instagram I am usually more passive unless someone private messages me. I usually use Instagram when I am very bored or before bed. I also use it when I need to procrastinate and stay up so I stick to my sleep schedule. Although the numbers can seem alarming when I put all of my data into perspective it was not too scary.       

Most of the time on my phone I was actively talking to my friends or looking information up on the internet. This causes my phone use to not seem so bad. My only shock is if this continues then in one year, I will have spent around 60% of the entire year, or 7 months on technology! This is definitely a little surprising, but it is not an exact measure because my technology use fluctuates greatly on what is happening around me. I knew I had a close relationship with my digital technology but I did not realize how much. My habits with digital technology may seem bizarre to some but to my peers or other control freaks they may not seem so random. My daily life is scheduled out and my digital technology is often just another tool to keep on top of the schedule and the standards I make for myself.

Conclusion

No matter who you are, your life has been affected by technology. I know my life is drastically different since the invention of iPhones. If you told me 3 years ago 60.05% of my life is consumed by technology I would have laughed but, we are in a new era. This is prevalent not only in my life but in the lives of my peers. Most of my time was spent on Snapchat actively talking to my friends, or on Instagram scrolling through posts. While the numbers may initially seem shocking, when I looked at the actual breakdown of my day the numbers seem more reasonable. Sometimes I am worried I am losing human connection, but then I realize that I use my phone at times when physical connection is not possible. For generations, we have looked down upon the next generation, and their behavior. Before it was iPhones, it was rotary phones and prior to those, the radio was the problem. With technology it is important to find your balance, and I feel I have found it. I can go days without looking at my phone but it would be pointless. Everyone feels differently about technology and some people may think I’m just making excuses to cover up an issue. Many people are but the most important thing I have learned over the course of this study is how one uses digital technology can make a huge difference. The main reason I am not worried about my use is, I use it to improve my life and build on my connections not to mindlessly waste away. 

Works Cited

“Smartphone Etiquette Statistics: KDM Engineering.” KDM, 27 Aug. 2019, kdmengineering.com/smartphone-etiquette/.