SM Definition Assignment

I see media as a means of involvement and communication, and social networking as a way to connect with others in order to communicate with them. The sites I use to accomplish this are YouTube, Pinterest, WhatsApp, and LinkedIn. Pinterest and YouTube are typically outlets for me to consume content on. I use them for both entertainment and educational purposes, but typically enjoy viewing content I find interesting or fun. I use LinkedIn for professional and career purposes, like when I am looking for a job. I use WhatsApp primarily to stay in touch with my friends and family. I typically use the app informally, but will sometimes use it if we have a group for work or school-related purposes. Overall, my most used media are YouTube and WhatsApp in that order. 

According to my phone, I use WhatsApp for about 1-4 hours per day in total, and Youtube was about 2-9 hours in total daily. My YouTube usage typically varies, but I like to have background music or sounds on when I'm doing other tasks, so that adds to the drastic fluctuation of times it is used for. I typically don't use Linkin or Pinterest at all unless I need to. Seeing the Whatsapp usage time made me laugh a bit because there were days when I only used it for about half an hour and days when I used it for several. It was fun to see that I typically used it longer when I talked to a specific friend of mine, and less when I didn't. We help each other out with assignments and other things, so the timing makes sense to me. 

I realize that I don't usually use social media to communicate with people I am not that close to on a regular basis. But with people that I am comfortable with, it becomes a means of continuing my interaction with them. Typically, I become even closer with the people around me as a result of this. It can be hard for me, however, to use social media to introduce myself to others or build a relationship with them. I don't think this is inherently a bad thing, but as the world becomes more technologically dependent, I think having the ability to make online connections can be an important skill, and I hope I can be more comfortable doing this in the future.