“Before we go into your observations: which two optional tasks did you pick (from 4–8), and why those?”

Listen for what drew them in. The choice is already a clue about where they feel the tension.

“Take me to ONE specific moment from your diary. Not the pattern, one actual situation. Describe it like I’m there with you.”

Try asking:

• “What did you see, hear, feel in that exact moment?”
• “Who else was there, physically or through a screen?”
• “Did the media connect you with someone, separate you, or both at once?”
• “What happened right before? Right after?”
• “What would have shifted if the media hadn’t been there?”

“Looking across your whole week: was there something that kept showing up? A recurring tension, contradiction, or surprise around how media sat between you and other people?”

Try asking:

• “Where did you notice this most? At home, in transit, with specific people?”
• “Did it feel different alone versus around others?”
• “Did connection and separation ever happen in the same moment?”
• “What do you think drives this pattern?”

“You documented media visually. But was there something happening socially around media that you COULDN’T photograph? Something unspoken?”

Try asking:

• “How did you notice it without seeing it?”
• “Who set the rules in that situation, even if no one named them?”
• “Was there a silent objection, a withdrawal, a permission given without words?”

“Did you observe someone whose relationship to media in shared spaces seemed very different from yours?”

If yes, try asking:

• “What were they doing differently?”
• “What do you think made that possible: habit, role, age, context?”
• “Did their choice connect or separate them from the people around them?”

“If you had to explain to someone outside this course what you learned this week about how media connects or separates us, in one sentence?”