Going into this project, I thought that I had a decent idea on what my smartphone usage consisted of. This was especially apparent in today's pandemic situation, where the one thing I spend the most time on is my iPhone. I found that I was actually wrong by the end of the first week of my Screen Time self-study project, where my predictions about my top apps and total time spent were different than the results I received. I also noticed a tangible correlation between the increased amount of time spent on my device and a personal decrease in wellbeing that week. This gave me the concept for my thesis, which I found worked well enough to keep for the rest of my Self-Study project.
I've enjoyed researching some of the topics of my project, as it not only has given me substance for my project, but also has taught me some extremely interesting information about things like the importance of sleep in young adults, mental health effects due to social media/phone use, and how my phone is (negatively) affecting how much I'm capable of learning while in college. David Roberts' article "Reboot or Die Trying" was one of the more pleasant assigned readings so far, as his experiences with technology and the Internet was one that I really felt I could relate to.
The project itself has been alright so far! I would like to say that I think that my thesis is one that both makes sense and is arguable. The overall paper is at a good length, but I feel like I need to expand more on one or two of my topics in order to fully explain my stance. I'm not sure how I should go about expanding though, because it might make my paper too long. It appears as if the optimal way to do this is to either 1) make some parts of my paper more compact/concise or 2) revise how I use evidence and anecdotes. I believe that I have a good number of outside sources to back up my material, but I also believe that I could include more information from those sources to further supplement my project. This would help the issue of expansion that I need to fix in my project. I also have a feeling that my paper needs to be scaffolded (for lack of a better word) and repaired, as I sense that some parts may be confusing to the reader. With the amount of writing I've done in the past week or so, I wouldn't be surprised if this were the case.
So, what are some questions that I have?
- How can I make my writing more engaging?
- Is there a way I can expand on the contents of my project without considerably extending the length of my paper?
- How can I tell if my writing is clear to the audience if unable to get feedback from others?
My smartphone usage was also a bit of a surprise to me as well. I thought I used my device much more than I actually did. My most used apps were pretty accurate to what I was imagining. My total use was a complete shock however. I did notice a correlation as well. I found the more I used my device the more I felt I was unproductive. It may make sense but was actually incorrect. I did about the same amount of work on days where I used my device more than the days where I used it less. The only actual change was just my feeling of productivity. Learning extra information you weren't expecting was a pleasant part of this essay and made it a lot more interesting. Whether it was personal usage, something near your topic or just something completely new it made the process a little better.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the process for the paper, I believe we both went down similar paths. I, too, was shocked to find my phone usage per week to be very high. When discovering this, I decided to focus my paper on the idea that people within the 21st century are growing an obsession and dependence on their phones (myself included). I also came up with this as my essay's main topic because of the "Reboot or Die Trying" article by David Roberts. I really enjoyed reading that article and also found myself relating a lot with Roberts has to say. Some personal things that I struggle with when writing a paper is also my word choice. I believe your word choice in an essay could have a great affect on whether or not you are able to get your ideas across to the reader. So, I can relate with you when you say you believe some parts of your essay may confuse the reader. Personally, the concision exercise helped pretty well! Good luck with the revisions on your paper and also love the Kermit the Frog gif you included!
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