The End

They say all good things must come to an end.  I don't know whether I believe that or not, however, this study of mine must in fact come to an end.

This study has taught me multiple things, and many of them are contradictory of one another.  

The first is that I spend way too much time checking my phone.  I don't even want to know how much time I've accumulated just mindlessly scrolling through pictures and tweets.  

The second is that I focus my attention on the wrong sorts of media.  Well, maybe not the wrong sorts of media, but I definitely don't have my priorities straight when it comes to web browsing and channel surfing.  I pay ample attention to who wore what at the Oscars, or what beautiful face Adam Levine made at a Knicks game, however, I never think to watch the news or flip through a newspaper.   I think a healthy balance between the two is fair to ask of a twenty year old aspiring fashion guru/art history teacher, right?

Lastly, I've learned that the pervasiveness of the media is not necessarily a bad thing.  I do believe that my generation, (and probably most other generations as well) spends too much time mindlessly scrolling, liking, and posting.  However, I also believe that the advances in technology are for the better.  There are so many answers literally at our fingertips.  A very wise woman told me that my generation is lucky because we can access information from anywhere in the world at a moment's notice.  I think she might be right.

You're supposed to make the most of every situation.  That I definitely hold to be true.  Our access to the media should be no different. I don't think it's wrong to love twitter or to keep up with Lebron James or James Franco or whomever.  However I vow to start making better use of my time with the media.  Yes, I might check my Twitter feed a few times a day, but I should start paying attention to the really important news, as well.  And most importantly, I promise to stop paying as much attention to my phone, and more to the world around it.  

let the good times roll not scroll

xxoo

Win

p.s. I apologize for the above corniness.  

closing time

Well, the weekend has come to a close and so has my study.  This weekend was one for the books.  It was filled with good friends, good food, and good Fayetteville-lovin' times.  With that being said, I really didn't have much interaction with the media at all over these past couple of days.  I woke up this morning, realizing that I hadn't checked Snapchat, tweeted, or cheated by browsing Instagram once this weekend.  My roommates and I didn't watch any television, unless of course you count Youtubing music videos so we could learn the dance moves as well...

This weekend was proof that making memories is a thousand times better than scrolling through and "liking" everyone else's.

xoxo

Win

art for art's sake

Vincent Van Gogh was the first human to come up with the concept of an underwater warship.  However, he didn't release his sketches for this premature submarine because he didn't want war "to become any nastier than it already was."

Why is this relevant?  Well, I am minoring in Art History, and one day hope to teach the subject to a bunch of college kids that are too cool for school but secretly appreciate a good Titian as much as I do.  This bit of history about Van Gogh is one of my favorite things I've learned so far in my young adult years.

Van Gogh, like many of his peers, is a name that will go down in history, and one that will (hopefully) be remembered for forever.  Van Gosh is a classic.

As I observed my media interaction for my fourth and almost final day, I began to tie my observations into my love for the art classics.  I began to wonder what Van Gogh, Monet, and even Warhol would be creating if they were around today?  Would the Mona Lisa be taking a selfie?  Or would The Girl with the Pearl Earring be awaiting a text message from that cute boy with the pretty blue eyes?

If these artists were working today, they'd probably have a difficult time keeping their model still because of the need to check twitter or post on Instagram.

Today, Twitter has been my main interaction.  I've yet to watch any TV or be exposed to any sort of newspaper.  However, the night is young, and I'm sure there's more pinterest pinning and magazine flipping to be done.

It might be a blessing and a curse, but the media is certainly all around us.

stay golden, y'all

xoxxoxo

bye bye birdie

{day three}

Today in class Professor Purvis spoke about the mother of all social media sites.  (Well, in my humble opinion, at least.)  In 2006 that lucky devil, Jack Dorsey, gave birth to the tiny white bird sitting atop a blue background that allowed humans worldwide to express their ideas, feelings, concerns, etc in an (sometimes not so) easy 140 characters.  Over the past eight years, Twitter has grown to become quite the powerhouse.  Whether you're an eighth grade girl tweeting about your boyfriend and his "mega cute braces" or a sixty year old grandmother favoriting EVERY SINGLE TWEET that your granddaughter composes, or maybe somewhere in the middle, you've probably at least visited a Twitter page.  

It goes without question that Twitter is my favorite facet of social media.  My observations from day three show just that.  Today's interaction included on average a couple of Twitter checks every hour.  However, once again, I didn't reach for the television remote.  And surprisingly I didn't flip through single glossy page of a fashion magazine.  

If I were stranded on a desert island, and could only bring a handful of things, I would bring a Bible, a pocket knife, my sketch pad, some sunscreen, and my twitter account.  Because how else would everyone be able to keep up with my island adventures? ;)

xxoo

W 

do, re, me(dia)

day two of observations...

Today was a little better than your typical Monday - filled with classes and tests, the day saved itself by ending with pizza and snow cones with my very best friends.  

To make it an even better day, the media wasn't very present in my day.  Yes,  of course I checked Twitter when I woke, but other than a few Twitter scrolls and a little bit of Facebook, this day has been substantially media free.  

However, I must admit...the closer we get to Easter weekend, the harder it is to stay true to my Instagram-fast.  I gave up the photo site for Lent, but cheated today, once, maybe twice....

I know I've still got a few more days of noticing my habits, but this study has already taught me a thing or two.  The first being that I mindlessly check my social media accounts.  I might be working on a paper, or walking to class, and I'll just scroll because I'm bored.  The second being that I rarely ever watch television.  I honestly don't remember the last time I sat down and watched any sort of TV program.  I think this is because my day (and I know most around me would agree) is so fast paced, that I don't have time to sit down for thirty minutes to an hour and watch Corey fall for Tapanga, but I've got all the time in the world to check my Twitter feed multiples times a day.  Hmm..

bring it on, day three 

xoxo 

W 

me(dia), myself, and I

Day 1.

"Allllll aroundddd youuuuu."  If you've been to any movie theatre lately you've heard an ominous child-like voice deliver those three words through a sound system.  A sound system so powerful that the words boom through the entire theatre like a gigantic storm.  Well that voice isn't the only thing that's "all around us."

Today was the first day of my media experiment.  And though I've only been keeping a tab for the past twenty-four hours, the media has already proven itself to be all around me.  My day began at eight a.m when I woke to the sound of our obnoxious washing machine.  The kind of mechanism that sounds like it's giving birth to a donkey as it washes our delicates and linens.  Anyway, my alarm wasn't supposed to sound until nine forty-five so needless to say I was a pit perturbed by the unnecessary noise.  So, what's there to do at eight a.m?  Check my Twitter feed, of course.  (1)  I finally fall back to sleep and all was well.

Nine forty-five rolls around and I actually begin my day.  I check my Twitter feed twice, Snapchat once, and log-in to Facebook all before getting out of bed.  That marked my 2,3,4,5, and 6th number of media interactions for the day and the clock hadn't even reached ten a.m.

Ironically enough I skipped my Media & Society class (Sorry, Professor Purvis) in order to attend a lunch meeting with Anna Taylor, the girl I'll be interning for over the summer.  She and I shared ideas via Pinterest boards, (7) but that was the only source of media used during our lunch.

Immediately after my meeting I hustled to work where I modeled for an Instagram shot, but I technically was not the one accessing the site.  However, we flipped through a gazillion fashion magazines for inspiration and ideas.  It's easy to forget that "media" covers more than just social networking sites.  So my hours spent on the job brought me to interactions number eight and nine.

The hours since work have been spent catching up with my fabulous roommates.  I'd rather laugh, dance around the apartment, and dive into huge bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch with them than scroll through Instagram on any given day.

Granted, while writing this piece I've checked both Twitter countless times...

Day One, you've taught me well.  Here's to four more...

xoxoxo

@windomgrace

school girl

Howdy, folks.  Much to my dismay, spring break has come and gone.  Though short-lived, my week could not have been any better.  It brought new friends, new tan lines, and new memories to make my days that much brighter.  I would give you more details, but I don't spring break and tell... It wouldn't have been spring break without one of my girlfriends, while executing the perfect "Wobble," falling and breaking her ankle, right?  Well don't fret, that was the plot for night two.  Despite the broken bones, the week was perfect.

However, it's always good to get back to Fayetteville.  And boy, did I hit the ground running as soon as I entered the 479?  I've been back for a total of five days, and so much has already happened.  The most exciting of news is that I've settled my plans for this summer.  I will be interning for Anna Taylor, the dazzling U of A grad who founded the Judith & James organization.  (Don't worry, you will hear much more about Anna and her company on a later date.)  I will be working from Fayetteville but will get to spend a good chunk of time in New York City, and fingers crossed, Kenya as well!

But being back in Fayetteville means being back in class.  Don't get me wrong, I love my classes more than your average twenty year old girl, and I really enjoy being a student.  However, sometimes class plus work plus friends plus sorority plus Easy Mac can get really stressful, and girlfriend just needs a bubble bath and a bar of dark chocolate.

Anyway, my being back in class has brought on a new project.  As a journalism student, I'm taking a course entitled "Media & Society."  The class is really neat, and we study the impact on media in our society both back in the day and in the present.  A new word that's joined the bandwagon which is my vocabulary is "pervasiveness." Webster defines this word as something that exists or spreads everywhere.  In class we use the term to describe the influence of media and how it is literally all around us.

For the next five days I've been asked to keep an online diary of my interaction with the media - how often I find myself subject to it, what kind of media I turn to the most, and my reactions and feelings now that I have to take note of how many times I scroll through my Twitter feed in an hour.

With that being said, my next couple of entries will stray from my normal posts.  Stay with me people, I swear to add a little Windom flavor to each and every entry.

Although I feel like I'm back in the seventh grade competing in the dreaded science fair, I think these next five days will be kind of fun.

let the good times roll.

xxoo

W



behold the spring break highlight reel...