Letter to the Editor: Dear Media Consumers

Retrieved+from+Brandignity.com

Retrieved from Brandignity.com

David Kubicek, Guest Reporter

Ten hours and thirty-nine minutes a day, one hundred sixty-two days a year. This is how much time the average American spends consuming media a day according to a Nielson Company Audience report.  This jaw dropping statistic shows truly how addicted our country is to mass media.

Mass media is effecting our lives in negative ways and we need to change our habits immediately. Young adults are the most effected group of people with ninety percent using social media. This is up from 12 percent in 2005 according to the Pew Research Center.

This boom in technology is being considered as good for our country but it is very unhealthy. We have come extremely egotistical as a people, only validating a person’s worth by their popularity on media. In a study done by the University of Pittsburg School of Medicine, these media habits are leading to lower self-esteem and depression.

But there are more physical effects as well. Over the past ten years, obesity and diabetes rates have skyrocketed. In a study published by Harvard, they point out the correlation in this rate and media usage rate.  You can regulate yourselves allow only a certain time for all technology.

There are many other alternatives to social media, such as exercising, reading, and face to face communication. There are also apps such as “Offtime” and Moment” that regulate usage.  We are statistically spending more time on media (162 days) than we spend sleeping (122 days).  This means that we only have 76 days out of the year that we are spending doing something besides media or sleeping.

We need to start self-regulating our media habits before they completely consume us. Let’s work towards being a social nation that uses less social media.