In my media literacy class, we’ve been learning about our privacy online and how easily it is for others to take personal data to benefit themselves. For today’s 24-hour media diary, i will still share the media I consumed or took part in, yet I’m going to be more mindful about the information I choose to share online.

I’m not someone who minds my data being used for targeted ads. However, I am very uncomfortable with my data being used by third-party companies in ways that could potentially harm others.

7-9 am — I woke up to my phone battery being dead! Kind of a bummer, but I used this as an opportunity to get some schoolwork done. I checked what readings I needed to work on before getting started. I read a short story and it took me quite a while because I was annotating. I frequently referenced the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary to look up words I was unfamiliar with, as well as googling a few things that piqued my interested.

10-12 pm — After my phone was sufficiently charged, I went for a walk and finished listening to my audiobook. Although I was disappointed in the ending, I enjoyed the overall story and my walk! And, of course, I had to update my Goodreads after finishing the story.

It’s weird to think about how Amazon is very in tune with my reading habits. Amazon owns Goodreads, so they know what books I’ve read or marked that I’m interested in and what books my friends are reading. I read a lot of books on my Kindle or using audiobooks, and even if they aren’t from Amazon themselves, I still download them to my Kindle, which is connected to my Amazon account. Yet, they still recommend terrible books!

1-3 pm — I watched a movie for one of my classes while working on my crochet project. It wasn’t something I typically would watch, but I enjoyed it nonetheless!

6-8 pm — My fiance and I travelled to an event for the evening. As the passenger, I got to be the DJ and navigation! I played various playlists from Spotify throughout the drive. Although we made good timing on our drive there, parking was a nightmare! I constantly looked at Google Maps to see where we were. Once we found a spot, we learned the parking meters were no longer operational. I had to download an app and input my personal information (name, address, license plate number, etc.). AND we had to upload $25 into the app to pay for the $2 parking! Outrageous! All I could think after that, was how whoever has our data from this app, can now see where we came from and where we’re going and for how long we stayed.

It’s silly to think so much about this parking app when I used Google Maps to get directions, and they are undoubtedly doing the same thing. Yet it feels more personal when it’s done by a major city. What will this local government do with my data? How are they going to analyze it, and what effects will it have?

8-11 pm — I was pretty much off of my phone during the event, however I did use it a few times to upload to Instagram.

11-11:30 pm — On our way home, I again used Google Maps to direct us. It didn’t need to use it for the entire drive. We were both pretty tired and had a nice conversation for our ride home.