Resource reference: Media Studies 1.1B
Resource title: How we use it
Credits: 3
Achievement criteria
| Achievement | Achievement with Merit | Achievement with Excellence |
| Demonstrate understanding of how individuals interact with the media. | Demonstrate in-depth understanding of how individuals interact with the media. | Demonstrate comprehensive understanding of how individuals interact with the media. |
Introduction
This assessment activity requires you to demonstrate understanding of how individuals interact with the media. You will record and compare your own media interaction with the media interaction of another individal.
This information will help you to identify and describe key patterns in individual media use and explore the differences in people’s interactions with the media.
You will be assessed on your comparison of your media interaction with that of the other person. This comparison will be presented as a slideshow. In your slideshow:
· describe the key patterns you have identified
· describe the similarities and differences you notice
· provide reasoned explanations for these patterns, similarities and differences, linking to ideas around audience reception, interaction, and participation with media products.
· explain the significance of the identified patterns for the individual and/or media.
Note that you are not required to present your slideshow to the class. Hand in your notes, any information gathered, your hypothesis, and your final slideshow to your teacher.
This assessment is an individual activity. You have three weeks of in-class and homework time for this activity.
Task
This task includes the following steps:
· Decide and predict
· Gather information
· Identify patterns of use
· Present your findings.
Decide and predict
Select an individual to interview about their media interaction. Choose someone whose media interaction is significantly different to your use, in order to make in-depth comparisons.
CHECKPOINT ONE: Show/tell your teacher who you are going to interview.
Write a profile for yourself and your research subject. This profile should include information such as:
· Age
· Gender
· Ethnicity
· Hobbies/interests
· Occupation
· Where he/she lives.
Include any other relevant information, for example religious or political views. Refer to the example below:
Name: Michelle Tan
Age: 26
Gender: female
Ethnicity: NZ Chinese
Hobbies/interests: yoga, reading, travelling, shopping
Occupation: Political analyst
Where she lives: Wellington
Write a hypothesis (what you think you will find out) for your research. Consider your predictions about:
· the media products you and your research subject will interact with
· the time of day they will use this product
· the length of time they will use the product
· the way that they will use it
· the levels of engagement they will have with the media product.
You may also want to consider what media products you and your research subject will not interact with and the reasons for this.
State clearly your rationale for making these predictions. Refer to the example below:
I think that Michelle will have a high consumption of media products because of her age and interests. Her age means that she will be familiar with a range of media products and feel comfortable using them. One media product I think Michelle will use will be The Dominion Post as she is a political analyst and so she will be interested in finding out about how people she works for are shown in the news. The Dominion Post is also Wellington’s newspaper, which is where she lives. I think that she will also read the travel section of The Dominion Post as travelling is one of her interests. She will read the ‘Life’ section on Thursdays, as that is all about relationships and the latest fashion and targeted at people who have an interest in shopping and lifestyles. I don’t think that she will read the sports section as she is not that interested in sport. I think that she will read the paper regularly, maybe in the morning when she gets to work, or over her lunchbreak. I think that she will be fully engaged with this media product.
CHECKPOINT TWO: Submit your hypothesis to your teacher and have it approved before you proceed.
Gather information
Keep a log of your own media use for one week. Ask your research subject to keep a log of their media use for the same time period. Use the example below as a guide for how to set out your log.
| Date | Medium | Duration | Setting | Involvement (What you were doing at the time) | Purpose (Explanation of why using media) |
| Monday 18/04 | | 9–10pm | In the lounge on the desktop at home. | I updated my status, then chatted with my friend Mike. I looked at some of my friends’ pages too. I was also watching YouTube clips, browsing Trade Me, and sending emails during this time. | I like using Facebook because it lets me chat with friends while multi-tasking. My friend Mike lives in Germany so it’s an easy way of keeping in touch. |
| Tuesday 19/04 | Magazine | 8–8.30am | I read this magazine while waiting for and travelling on the bus to school this morning. | I was listening to my iPod while flicking through the magazine. I read the article about the 10 best beauty buys and the 10 essential wardrobe buys. I also read the feature article that went behind the scenes on a film set. | I like reading this magazine because it keeps me informed about the latest styles and trends. I’m interested in film-making. |
Using the logs as a guide, develop a list of questions to ask your research subject about their use and interaction with media products.
When writing the questions, keep in mind that you will need to identify patterns of media interaction, for example, location, time, and levels of engagement.
CHECKPOINT THREE: Get your questions signed off before you complete your interview.
Answer the questions about your own media interaction, then conduct your interview with the research subject. Make sure that your information is accurate.
You may wish to research one or more of the media products used by the research subject. Consider the purpose and target audience for the media products, for example, to inform, to entertain, or to promote feelings of community.
Find patterns of interaction
Read the logs and the answers to your interview questions. Look closely at:
· preferences for a particular medium or text type
· preference for use at a particular time
· patterns of levels of engagement
· patterns of setting for interaction
· patterns of purpose of interaction
· patterns for length of interaction.
What trends and patterns do you observe? What similarities and differences can you find? Organise this information in a Venn diagram, table, or chart.
Refer to the profiles you created for yourself and your research subject. How does this background information affect how you interpret their interaction of media products? Does this individual fit the profile of someone you would expect to be using this product?
Compare your findings with your hypothesis. Were your predictions accurate? What was different? What conclusions can you draw from this?
Present your findings
Use the information you gathered in the first three steps to create a slideshow presentation.
You should aim to make at least three statements of a reasonable length, which compare and contrast your media interaction with the interaction of your research subject.
These statements should describe and explain the patterns you have identified in your research, as well as the comparisons you have made. Give an explanation of the significance of these patterns for the individual and/or the media.
Include links to wider media theory, including research about media consumption and demographics.
Resources
None.
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