A new Media User

A few days ago, I had to get an MRI of my knee after a soccer accident. I made my way to Lechmere where the company that the MIT medical center contracts for MRIs was located. Their office was situated in a building in right the middle of a construction area where a squadron of men wearing orange hats was actively working, where an army of trucks and bulldozers drove back and forth, where the noise of clinging metal, rowing engines was unbearable. I could not believe that an MRI center was located in such a place. I found it funny and at the same time sketchy. My first reflex was to pull out my smart phone, take pictures, write a short accompanying message, and share my interesting experience with my friends using MMS. This is a succinct example of how media and the new communication technologies now integrate in my daily life.
However, this is a recent change in my life. Thinking about sending picture in SMSs would have been and is still a dream for a person living in Kenya. Therefore, my coming to America was a turning point in the relation I have with media. Besides the cultural shock phenomenon, it was also about becoming digital or at least becoming more digital.
The first stage of this process was to adjust to the new dimension of email communication. Before coming to the USA, the only reason I would use email was to communicate with my family living in Europe, as a telephone call would have been too expensive otherwise. This contrast significantly with the use I make of email today. The email is omnipresent in my college life and is involved in a broad range of my daily activities. These can be academic, like requesting a meeting with my advisor, or professional, like asking for a job interview, or social, like forwarding one of those chain messages to a friend. I cannot imagine a day without writing an email or at least without checking my inbox. Furthermore, these tasks have become almost automatic and are deeply inscribed in my routine. The first thing I do when I wake up is turn on the computer and open my email client the same steps invariably repeat when I come back from classes.
Another factor that largely contributed to the shift in my use of media is the Internet. Not to say that the Internet was inexistent in Kenya but the difference in speed, ease of access or price was so important that I had the feeling of discovering something new. There was simply no comparison. Ten times faster, wirelessly accessible from anywhere, and free, the Internet literally opened a window to an unforeseen realm of possibilities: video streaming, multi-player gaming, file sharing, and much more. I remember that the first thing I did when I got access to MITnet was to download the playable demo of Half-Life 2.It was something I had dreamt of for a long time but had never dared to do. I remember seating there in front of the computer screen, gazing amazed at the progress bar flashing across the screen. Since then I have learned to use and enjoy the new power of the Internet. I spend a great deal of my time online. In average, I spend between 30% and 40% of my life connected to the internet. Out of this, I would say I waste 60% playing online multiplayer games, 20% instant messaging , 10% social networks website, 5% “googling”, and 5% file sharing.
Overall, since I came to America, most of my media use gravitates around the Internet and this at the cost of traditional mean of communication. Honestly, I would be unable to say when the last time I wrote a letter was.