Portrait As A Media User

Due to the immensely broad spectrum which the term “media” encompasses, it is difficult to summarize my media use in brevity. Thus, in an effort to paint a portrait of myself as a media user, I believe it would be most appropriate to focus said portrait on a particular form of media that is largely substantial in the growing technological revolution we live in today, and subsequently the most prominent form I use, being that of electronic media.
In this realm of electronic media, that which I utilize most can be split into three primary categories centered on corresponding motives; knowledge, social aspirations, and entertainment.
The subset of electronic media I use in an effort to gain knowledge is composed primarily of my reliance on the Internet. The Internet truly embodies the essence of my media use. My usage of books and printed media to become educated in my younger years has gradually given way to this faster and more comprehensive item of media. In particular, I find myself frequently using resources such as Google to locate readily available information in an effort to become knowledgeable on a subject of interest in as quickly a manner as possible. For everything from class assignments, to the news, to independent research, my primary source of knowledge has gradually shifted to the Internet and its infinite resources.
On the subject of social aspirations in correlation to electronic media, my first and foremost usage is that of the cell phone. The cell phone provides me with a quick and readily accessible line of vocal communication to nearly anywhere, and is most commonly used in my case for keeping in touch with friends and family. Furthermore, several facets of the Internet come to mind; being networking services and electronic messaging systems. I use Facebook, a relatively new and rising networking service, to keep connections with a whole range of people whom I would otherwise probably neglect to keep bonds with. On that same note, AIM and Email, two electronic messaging systems, provide me with a variety of options on maintaining my ties with friends, family, and associates. These resources have, in many cases, led to a revamped form of relationships centered on a virtual tie with neglect to physical confrontation. Though I often find this to be a negative aspect of my media usage, it has become such a commonplace practice that the world itself has formed a degree of reliance on it from which I cannot remove myself.
My third and final subject of electronic media usage is based around the motive of entertainment. From waking up to my favorite radio station, to doing p-set’s while listening to my newest iTunes playlist, audio recording plays a recurrent role in my daily routine. Furthermore, my occasional usage of video games, and particularly online gaming, fall nicely under this category. Online gaming created a particular allure in its ability to satisfy both entertainment and social aspirations. Thus, I have dabbled in a few massively-multiplayer-online-role-playing-games (mmorpg’s), primarily World of Warcraft and Guild Wars. I find it fascinating to observe the way in which they pull you into what begins to feel like an alternate reality based within a form of media. This is metaphorical of electronic media itself, and its impact on my daily life.
I often find my media usage, originally divulged as resulting from the three motives of knowledge, social aspiration, and entertainment, to have become so entwined in my daily proceedings that to be without it would require a complete revamping of the way in which I fulfill basic needs and aspirations. Through this structure I have defined myself as both a media user and a member of the media dependent society we live in today.