As a fourteen year old in Bethesda, Maryland, I am surrounded by media. It assaults the senses. From the moment I wake up almost to the time I go to sleep, there are different types of media around me. The radio, television, computer, newspaper, Internet, sports, text messages, instant messages, telephone, music, downloads, streaming media - even textbooks and school work are forms of media. One of the difficult things in the twenty first century is selecting among these different media outlets which ones to use, and more importantly which ones to trust.

Its not uncommon to use many of them at the same time. While typing a blog entry, SportsCenter on the TV, the iPhone with text messages, and about 15 browser windows open to various sources. We use media to inform, entertain, distract. We also use media for propaganda and to mislead. While my favorite TV shows are things like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Scrubs, Futurama, South Park and just about anything on Sports Center, you can see that my tastes tend toward comedy and satire (and sports.) Through things like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, I use media to both entertain and inform. While I dont use these shows as my sole source of news, (I read the Washington Post in print and many other sources on TV and online), these shows do help me understand, analyze and reflect on the news I have learned. These shows also help me argue points with other people and be persuasive about current events. Satire IS analysis with humor.

I am not just a consumer of media -- I create it as well. For example, I play the clarinet, and use it as a form of expression - when I take the time to practice. I am first chair in one of the high school bands, and enjoy performing -- just not practicing. People dont realize that texting and IM is also creating media, as is doing homework!

My iPhone is one of my main sources of media. It is a messaging center for IM and SMS. I play video games on it. I read newspapers and articles on it. I use wikipedia to get answers to questions. I use the translator program to help with my Spanish homework. I download TV shows and movies onto it. I stream content through YouTube. I could even type this blog on the iPhone if you didnt mind LOTS of typos and a very very short blog!

Its hard to describe which types of media I use the most, because I am often using several of them at the same time. However, I think that I use the Internet the most. Right now there are about 10 browser windows open. I have one for handing in homework. One for listening to NPR's "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" (another satire show), one for buying a book at Amazon, one looking up the definition of "glutton" for a paper on Shakespeare, one looking up Matt Groeling's "Life in Hell" (the creator of the Simpsons and Futurama), one for Dotcom, one for this blog, one for the Washington Nationals baseball team, one for the Washington Post article I was reading this morning, and of course, ESPN. While the Internet seems like ONE media, it really encompasses all of the media. You can access all of them with one click of the mouse. On my desk right now are my iPhone, a grahing calculator, and a PSP, although I am not using them at this moment.

After Inernet, the next media I use it the TV. With Cable TV there are many outlets for news, sports and entertainment. Typically I watch about 2 hours a night but this is misleading, as I usually have the TV on in the background while I am doing other things. I try not to miss the Daily Show or Colbert, but they are on from 11PM to midnight, and I get up at 630 AM, so I sometimes fall asleep with the TV on. No problem, I can watch them online the next day, or TiVo them.

I have about 25 movies and 400 TV episodes on my iPhone, and about 1,500 songs. So I never have to be without some form of entertainment. I am NOT a big blogger, user of Twitter or Facebook, or even IM or the phone. I prefer seeing people in person -- hanging out with my friends -- and TOGETHER surfing the Internet or watching TV! That is when I am not playing baseball!

Jacob