mco 427 – blog post #1
During the average day, unless I am actively scouring the web seeking out something in particular, I tend to (inadvertently) allow my algorithm to do a lot of the thinking for me when it comes to the media I consume on a daily basis. I can imagine this is the case for many of us; lest we admit we allocate as much power to the platforms we utilize as we might, it’s quite challenging not to get swept up in their capabilities when blind dependency on these features has grown so widely accepted and normalized within the conventional functioning of modern society.
Yesterday, per assignment guidelines, I tracked a full day of media consumption as a 23 year old female college student with a full time job in order to analyze the amount of questionable content I come across. Saturday was a great day for it, as nothing too out of the ordinary occurred and the day was more or less reflective of an average day in my life, given I work weekends. Let’s take a walk.
2:15 a.m.: My first morning alarm sounds. I hit snooze two or three times. I have worked open shifts at Starbucks for the past three years, but a rising hour like this never gets easier– not matter how many of my coworkers may try to claim otherwise.
2:45 a.m.: Finally, I resignedly (and begrudgingly) roll myself out of bed. I have to be at work by 3:30, and I have a nearly half hour drive. Thankfully the blinding illumination from my phone screen coupled with the deafening volume of my alarm helps me ultimately come to. (Have you ever seen that comparative meme of iPhone ringtones versus androids’?) Did I mention I’m not exactly a morning person?
I respond back to my mom, who had replied to a message I’d sent late last night regarding the metabolic effects of less invasive alternatives to bariatric surgery (it’s a long story). Meanwhile, my brother has sent me a recent reel addressing the hypothetical third launching attempt of the Titanic II ocean liner, intended to set out on the very route and voyage of the historically (in)famous original. Which can’t possibly go wrong. Although they do say third time’s the charm, I guess. Perhaps I’m simply too superstitious to indulge in such an idea. I am not certain of the authenticity of this reel as its visuals strike me as carrying semblance to AI generated content (you might say, obviously!) but also because the last I was aware of Clive Palmer’s motivations to revive the Titanic was quite some time ago.
Upon opening Instagram, on which I am unfortunately pretty chronically online, I am greeted by several swooning tabloids commending the recent(?) marriage of actors Tom Holland and Zendaya, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, along with a supposed prenup they had signed.
Of course, upon further investigation down the figurative rabbit hole, Zendaya herself has evidently cleared the air on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that the wedding photos that have overtaken the Internet, despite surpassing 10 million likes, are AI generated— giving me reason to maintain some skepticism regarding the authenticity of these two popularly circulating pieces of news the actors seem to be cleverly sidestepping in spite of it all. I did notice one of the accounts wasn’t verified, and neither appeared to provide any reputable news sources affirming their content.
5:00 a.m.: Following the start of my shift, my first break falls at around 5am. I have my usual: a trenta sized ice water and peanut butter Perfect bar. It is still pitch black outside and the bleary, drizzly weather– a typical Washington morning, indeed– makes it all too easy to kill it doomscrolling. By this point, the day is still so young, yet I’ve already had my fill of celebrity gossip, plus some. So I open up the New York Times.
Which may have been worse.
Naturally, I am inclined to look up Kirsty Coventry, as I am pretty poorly versed in the legal affairs of athletics; my last stint of awareness of transgenderism in the Olympics started and ended with the Lia Thomas controversy. Coventry’s decision has received a wide range of reactions from enthusiastic support to bitter backlash, and articles by USA Today and the Washington Post have released publications on behalf of the White House and well as directly/indirectly affected Olympic athletes, respectively. While obviously stemming from political biases, none of the articles appear to be reporting outright false information, given they primarily speak on the responses of others and in doing so prove Coventry’s resolve to be a ‘simple decision with wider spanning consequences’. Before I know it, my ten minute break has ended, and it is time to resume work. I find myself wishing I had spent my break reading or listening to something enjoyable or innovative, like a podcast or an audiobook, but instead I fall down rabbit holes because I’m flaky with the attention span of a goldfish. But silver lining: at least I am somewhat more enlightened on national affairs?
6:30 a.m.: Work, work, work. Sticker the cup, scribble a greeting, queue the shots, steam the milk. More customers are beginning to trickle in, although far more gradually than they would if it were a weekday. While weekend shifts tend to drag a bit more due to this, I appreciate having slightly more time on my hands to have more engaging conversations with the customers. (That is, until roughly 9am hits and everyone and their mothers and grandmothers and sisters and brothers are here with their aunts and uncles to feed the entire rest of their families breakfast and coffee after Saturday morning mass.)
8:00 a.m.: Before the chaos ensues, I am sent on my lunch break. I have half an hour to grab a bite, get started on some schoolwork, and answer some texts. Before signing onto Canvas, I check both my school and personal emails for any announcements and/or shipping updates for a new pair of jeans I’d ordered a few days prior. In accompaniment, I begin listening to Episode 155: What’s Up With Hollywood? of the Brotherly Love Podcast on Spotify. As a long time Boy Meets World fanatic who grew up watching reruns of the show, receiving debrief on some of the more taboo, perverted experiences actor Matthew Lawrence (Mrs. Doubtfire, Cheats) has personally witnessed within Hollywood has my stomach in a twist, and it echoes many of the industry experiences I have heard actors like Corey Feldman and Drake Bell famously vouch against in the past. Informative, absolutely, but not exactly what I’d consider ‘enjoyable’ (although the dynamic between the Lawrence brothers is as endearing as ever). I return work slightly more downcast than earlier.
10:30 a.m.: I opt to spend my final ten minute break of the day studying for a future quiz on pregnancy/lactation nutritional requirements and like terms.
12:00 p.m.: After a long workday, I am finally free from the siren’s wrath. Because I still have some schoolwork I’d like to complete before the end of the day, I order myself a large iced shaken espresso and some egg bites to power through the commute.
12:30 p.m.: I return home in about half an hour. Because it’s a Saturday, there isn’t too much traffic on the roads. I swiftly check my phone upon parking my car, and again when I head into the house. Now that I’m hyper focused on this attribute, I resent the fact that I instinctively feel perpetuated to check my phone so frequently, like something could possibly happen within that two minute span I absolutely cannot afford to miss.
1:30 p.m.: I record an audio discussion for an assignment. This takes a little while, as I have to write out and perfect the recordings of not only my own initial response, but my responses to other peers’ responses.
4:00 p.m.: Once I’ve finished all my recordings and have studied some more, a few more hours have passed. I heat up some leftovers for dinner and begin to scroll on Instagram and TikTok. Eventually I run into an article by the Washington Post claiming TSA lines are so long due to staffing issues that travelers are hiring ‘line sitters,’ which actually made me snort milk at the absurdity of such a situation because what?
7:00 p.m.: By this point, I am pretty drained from a long day that both starts and ends extremely early. Before I finally head to bed, I come across a couple blaring red articles newly published by the New York Times and Los Angeles Times regarding the notorious ‘looksmaxxer,’ manosphere influencer Braden Peters, aka “Clavicular,” arrested on suspicion of battery warrant somewhere out in the sticks of Florida.
…That’s enough media for me for one day, I think.
I think the workings of our social media algorithms are phenomenally, and scarily, accurate. I tend to come across content that my friends/those I follow also do on occasion, but more often than not, the material is clearly and meticulously curated towards my own interests in whatever fashion that may entail. While the context certainly wasn’t impressive, I wasn’t overly surprised to see Clavicular appear in my feed as I started following him online relatively recently. Following the incident, while news articles are still being pumped out and it is still incredibly early, I have noticed a handful of inconsistencies as to where exactly he was arrested, and what exactly he was doing. Perhaps the true answer is a little bit of all of the above. Perhaps journalists are still toying with methods to ethically inform the public.
I have also discovered from this assignment alone I can alter my entire algorithm with a single semi-consistent string of common search material. The trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day was just released by Marvel and Sony a little over a week ago, and I have been primarily using my device to converse about it (given my family, friends and I all live on opposite ends of the country) to send and receive articles and reels– likely perpetuating the hype surrounding Tom Holland and Zendaya amongst my feed. However, while I am certainly aware of the (albeit clearly private) nature of Holland and Zendaya’s relationship, the state of it does not concern me so much as film itself, nor as much as it imaginably concerns the ten million other social media users who liked/reposted the AI-generated photo(s) depicting their wedding.
I do think much of what I consumed Saturday contains elements of the truth, but I do not doubt that certain misconceptions are somewhat heightened by means of bagging a clickable headline. Or perhaps said misconceptions are first blown far out of proportion organically, and then played up by the very outlets reporting on them in an effort to ride out that shock wave for profits. Social media pages and their headlines always seem to find ways to effectively pull on our heartstrings or prey on our emotions in order to garner clicks and gain societal traction, especially as a hefty majority of them do not have the reputable pull that more major news sources and platforms such as the New York Times or the Washington Post are able to bank on. I think a majority of the time, reels tend to be more consistently unreliable than general posts and are also harder to fact check. Consequently, reels also statistically tend to occupy our attention for a longer rate of retention due to the movement, audio, and fast-paced editing style most trendy amongst TikToks and Instagram reels, so it is important to be diligent.
I found this assignment to offer a very valuable introspective glance into my social media usage and content prevalence, and I appreciated the opportunity to gain further insight on the way(s) I am naturally inclined to perceive the media I am regularly consuming– as well as how I can and perhaps should evolve my outlook to more efficiently (and healthily) mediate my daily intake within the current demands of my lifestyle so I don’t get too overwhelmed.
alyssa d'amato 
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