Critical Analysis

1. By 2021 how much time was the average user spending on mobile internet every day?

2. According the graph above, what medium had the biggest change in media usage over the past decade?

3. How does the data from the chart impact American politics?

4. By the end of this year the average American will spend an estimated 650 minutes online everyday. Explain how Americans’ spending an average of 10+ hours a day on the media impacts American politics in general?

5. According to the graph above, how much time was devoted to reading pamphlets like the Federalist Papers in 2018?

6. Let’s not forget that Americans have always used the media. It was just different in the past. Describe what you imagine the numbers from this chart would have looked like if you tracked them all the way back to 1776?

7. How different do you think these numbers are by political party affiliation and by age?

8. Nearly a third of Americans said they are online “almost constantly” in 2019, a statistic that has risen substantially across age groups since the study was conducted the year before. Is that good or bad news?

9. In the 1990s with the advent of widespread internet usage many critics anticipated that we would become the most educated and knowledgeable generation in American history. Evaluate whether those critics were correct.

10. Imagine there was a nationwide power outage the month before the next presidential election (bear with my hypothetical). If power came back on right before the election allowing people to vote, explain how you imagine the outcome of the election would be impacted by this power outage?

Visual Extension

Learning Extension

Read (on the - GASP - internet!) this Vox Recode article about how much time Americans spend online.

Action Extension

Measure your media usage for one week and determine your daily usage by medium. Share your results in class or online (on the - GASP - internet!).