Media Diet and Data Information Mod 3 Blog Post

My media diet in 24 hours. On Jan 27, 2026

5:30 A.M. — Ground News, Reddit, and took off my Apple Watch

I woke up, and before I jumped in the shower, I checked the Ground News app to see if any major breaking news had happened overnight. I also looked at Reddit, as is my habit. I don’t feel I gave much data. I did take a screenshot of the Reddit post, which I thought was pretty clever. It was political, so maybe that data I fed to Reddit was based on my political beliefs. I know on Reddit I put some security measures in place where other people can’t see what I’ve posted. 

I removed my Apple Watch before I got into the shower, which stopped my Apple Watch from tracking my sleep. This sent health stats to the Apple Health app. This tracks my Biometric data

5:50 A.M. — Apple Watch

I put my watch back on my wrist and continue monitoring my biometric data, which sends to the Apple Health app. I have noticed that I get a lot more targeted ads for running since I have started running more to work out. 

6:00 A.M. — Paylocity, Klayvio, Figma

I clocked into work, which sends data to my job showing when I punched in. I also signed into Klayvio as well as Figma. 

6:15 A.M. — Insight Timer

I did my morning meditation using Insight Timer, an app on my phone. It does track my days that I’ve meditated, but I’m not sure they use this data for anything. I do not get any sort of mindfulness-type targeted ads. 

6:30 A.M. — Called Capital One

I had to resolve an issue with this bank. I gave my name and account number to them. I also had to give them my new account number so they could pull money from my new bank account in order to close this account out. 

6:45 A.M. — Figma

Worked on email designs for my company. Making notes and redoing some designs that a coworker was working on as well. This is a desktop app on my Mac and it saves to my company's cloud server. I don’t give much personal information about myself. 

7:30 A.M. — Pimsleur

I opened up my Spanish practice app to practice. I believe this also sends some data, and I get other targeted ads for different languages ads on Instagram. 

8:45 A.M. — The New York Times

My mom sent me a text with a link to a New York Times article. It was about how cracks are starting to show within the Trump regime. As well as how narcissists, as they age, get more deranged. 

9:30 A.M. — Instagram

For the first time today, I opened my Instagram app. I watched some Aaron Parnas and found out some more news stories of the day. There was a reel by Aaron in which he mentioned that the “Doomsday Clock” has ticked a minute closer to midnight. I’ve removed my location from Instagram and set my account to be visible only to people I follow and who follow me.

10:15 A.M. — YouTube

On my lunch break, I watched Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and a little bit of The Daily Show. This is also a daily occurrence. YouTube knows my viewing preferences, so these shows appear at the top of my For You Page (FYP) on the platform. 

10:30 A.M. — Instagram

I scrolled on Instagram and liked some left-leaning political reels I saw. This data feeds the algorithm that I am left-leaning. Shows I like cat videos and reels about politics, which I “like” in order to feed the algorithm so I get more of the same type of content. 

11:00 A.M. - 2:30 P.M.  — Teams, Klayvio, Figma

I was working on calls with my teammates using Microsoft Teams and creating email campaigns for Valentine's Day.  

1:45 P.M. — My Verizon, ID.me

I am traveling to Mexico this weekend and wanted to ensure my phone will work in Mexico. So I was looking on the app for the answer. I gave them personal information about me such as my name and phone number. I also needed to reapply for their student discount. So I had to sign in to ID.me and provide my email, name, phone, and address to verify my information. 

2:25 P.M. — Apple News, Ground News

I looked at a few articles on the Apple News app on my phone. There was an article on Ground News about US House Democrats threatening to impeach Noem. This feeds data that I like political commentary and news related to the political climate of America and the world. 

3:00 P.M. — Spoitfy

I went to the gym and listened to my Spotify playlist while I worked out. 

4:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M. — Canvas 

Started working on some school assignments, signed into Canvas, and completed some modules for my classes. I don’t know what data Canvas collects or shares with others. I hope it sends only data to the school. 

4:00 P.M. — NYT Article through Reddit 

I found this article from the NYT Wirecutter about disappearing from the internet. I searched it up due to my growing interest in those data removal sites and the information from this week's module. 

9:00 P.M. - 10:00 P.M. — Disney Plus

While lying in bed, I turned on Disney+ and relaxed with some Schitt’s Creek. I have not read the privacy policy, but I’m sure it knows when I log in. It's aware of the shows I like, and it does recommend others that “are similar.” I know it probably knows me better than I know myself. But my husband also sometimes watches his shows on my login, so I’ve always wondered if that would throw off the algorithm at all. 

My media intake was slightly different from my previous example. I do have some consistencies, as I am a creature of habit. Especially my morning routine with quick checks of the news and Reddit before the shower, my meditation before I dive into work, and my lunch break YouTube watching. I was more cautious about what I clicked on, including ads and even just content I would “like.”

I'm rethinking the media I consume and the information I share by considering who would use it. I want to be more conscious of super-personal things, such as addresses and phone numbers. I’ve even been debating whether to sign up for those data removal sites. But even that seems a little suspicious to me. I will do some more research and see if that is right for me.