Sunday, February 8, 2014
I wake up to my alarm clock at 8:45am.
I receive text messages from a friend in the Netherlands and from my family. These texts include words and images; the phone also tracks the date and time that these messages were sent and read.
I take my daily birth control pill; the empty slots in the case demarcate which pills have already been taken.
I jot down my to-do list for the next few days, and mark items as I complete them.
I read and write emails. Gmail archives these sent messages and tracks the date and time sent and who received the emails.
I write a cover letter on Microsoft Word. My computer tracks the last time this document are saved.
I read many articles on the internet. Various websites maintain analytics about my visit, including information such as timestamp, my location, length of visit, and IP address.
Through out the day, I blow-dry my hair, turn light switches on and off, power my laptop—just some of the many ways I use electricity. My apartment’s electric company keeps track of electrical expenditure in my apartment.
I go to a coffee shop and pay for tea. The cashier hands me a receipt, which is a record of the amount I spend (and pay in cash) and the time and date of my transaction.
Back at home, I check my email and see an alert that my bank has charged me for an ATM fee from two days ago.
I transcribe interviews for my thesis, making sure to include periodic timestamps in the transcript.
I browse on Twitter, marking certain tweets as “favorites.”
I call a good friend who lives several states away; my phone keeps a record of the date, time, and length of our conversation (57:26).
I input recent shared apartment expenses into Splitwise, a website that allows for easy tracking of bills amongst roommates and friends.
I update a few upcoming meetings and events in my calendar, noting time, date, location, and brief description of each engagement.
I write up this blog post, recording the happenings of my day. As soon as I click “publish,” WordPress will generate data about visits to this post.