Final Post - The Effect of Technology

Different generations have had different relationships with technology. I look at my granda, who today I had to help her download something as a PDF, and then I look at my 5 year old sister, who has to watch videos on her phone to eat dinner. It's interesting to see how technology progressed through each generation. As time goes on, I think people will be completely dependent on technology, if they aren't already. 

My generation uses technology regularly. Millennials have the second largest presence on social media, after generation Z. We use snapchat, instagram, twitter and tiktok like it's part of our religion. It passes the time, entertains us, and gives us something to look forward to. We also use technology in our classrooms, having online textbooks, homework, and tests, using the internet for researching things, and writing blogs for classes. Technology use has become essential, not a choice. 

Personally, my relationship with technology is very wishy-washy. I love the internet, my laptop, my phone, and my tv. I love being able to research different topics and find different recipes at the tips of my fingers. I love listening to music, being able to control what comes next and the list of movies I’ll be watching. I love reading funny tweets, watching stupid videos, and listening to interesting podcasts. I love being able to facetime my friends all over the country. Technology can be a great friend, but it isn't. 

When it glitches, messes up, is slow, or unresponsive, I tend to get super frustrated. It's like having a friend you're supposed to always count on, and they let you down. It gets so frustrating to the point where sometimes, I get mad. How can I get mad at something that can't even talk back to me, and isn't making the conscious decision to glitch? I realized that it's unhealthy to depend on something so much that isn't even a being in itself. Not to mention, the internet knows more about me than I’ll probably ever know about it. 

When I think about how much time I spend on technology, I laugh. Technology is being used when we aren’t even aware of it. My phone tracks the amount of time I use it and I don't use it, my apple watch tracks every step I make, and I rely on my phone alarm to wake up everyday. Sometimes, using technology isn't a choice, it's a given. 

When it is a choice, I find myself definitely choosing it. I can sit on tik tok and not even realize that 30 minutes has gone by, or push off my homework until after just one more youtube video. Sometimes I do it without even realizing it, but I think that's because of how normalized technology is in today's society. When I get lunch with my friends, I put my phone away to be present in the conversation. Sometimes, I find my mind wondering who has texted me and what notifications I have. How crazy is that! 

Technology is also necessary in some aspects, making the time well spent. Writing this blog takes up some time, but for a good reason. School and online classes count on technology, having us spend out time looking at a computer screen. 

Because of this, the internet can be very useful. Using the right websites, you can learn to cook, organize, and pick up a new hobby. Quarantine has me taking online workout classes and trying new recipes. Without technology, especially during a pandemic, we would all be bored out of our minds. We have a whole world of new hobbies and online classes and informational sites at our fingertips, ready for us to take advantage of it.

With every positive, there's almost ALWAYS a negative. If people are only using twitter and facebook as their source of news, they're bound to receive false information. This causes online fights, bullying, disagreements, and public shaming. It's also so much easier to do all that over the internet instead of face to face. There's so many rumors out in the world, and they can blow up and trend on twitter like nobody's business. 

It is also ridiculously easy to believe fake news, especially on the internet. Twitter specifically can make fake news look SO real. But I think it's our responsibility to pay attention and notice these things. The internet isn't able to monitor information people put out to determine if it is real or not. If we have the resources to find out the truth, we should use them, and not just believe the first thing we read. 

I think the scariest thing about all of this is how dependent we all are on technology. As I said earlier, we use it even if we don't realize it. What if one day, everything crashes? What will schools, businesses, and households do? My sister HAS to watch her videos when we eat dinner, and if that goes away, what then? If that's all she's known her whole life? We type letters, send memos, and record our voices, but what if we can't do that? Taking technology out of society will completely change the society we live in. The one we once knew, the one we are in now, won't exist. To avoid this, it's important to acknowledge the bad and take advantage of the good. Technology is so useful to us, it's important that we respect what it can give and be aware of what would happen if it was taken away. 

https://www.matrixres.com/blog/millennials-technology-good-bad-and-awkward

https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/06/17/technological-change-millennials

Positive Effects of Social Media

Social media can't be all bad, right? Our parents tell us that it rots our brains, lowers our self esteem, and lets us set unrealistic expectations for ourselves, which is all true. But using the internet the right way, and benefitting from all the resources it offers us, can help us grow and educate us on topics we did not know before. 

Social media like Youtube allows us to learn so many things. From cooking, organizing, and at home workouts, we have the ability to improve our lifestyles at the tip of our fingers. We have endless options of recipes, endless workouts, available to us for free. And it's not even limited to this. We can learn how to get better at public speaking, how to do hair and makeup, tips on training a dog, and more. 

Social media also gives us the opportunity to connect with those not close to us. Whether it's a simple like or nice comment, we’re able to build community and connect with one another. We are able to have interesting conversations, debate topics, and speak our mind. Social media can be like a public journal, that allows comments and sparks interest in conversations. We are able to connect and build character, and help learn how to love ourselves better and improve our lives. 

https://curatti.com/social-media-positive-effects/

Negatives of Social Media in a Pandemic

Today, I got a notification on my phone, looked at it, and laughed. It was my screentime from the past week, telling me my time went 10% down as now, my average time is 7 hours and 41 minutes a day. To think that I spent more time on my phone in one day than I would have spent if we were back at school in classrooms is crazy, and it's insane to think that I am not the only one. Middle schoolers, high schoolers, college students, and adults are spending more time on their phones and social media than ever. 

During this time, we spend so much time on social media. Regularly, social media causes us to be insecure, lonely, and depressed. We spend so much time staring at the screen, we mess up our daily routines and our sleep schedules. Being home and with school coming to an end, we now have the time to spare spending more than the average time on social media. Not to mention, the content is changing and adapting to the pandemic as well. Many are tweeting about their negative thoughts and feelings being stuck insight into the house and not allowed out, so it's causing a world of online negativity. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/06/30/a-run-down-of-social-medias-effects-on-our-mental-health/#35f5c88a2e5a

Spiral of Silence

Have you ever publicly spoken out against anyone? If you have ever disagreed with your mom, felt differently than a teacher on a topic, or even argued with your best friend, for some it's not easy to speak your opinion if it causes issues or disrupts relationships. Sometimes, even if it's uncomfortable, you have to stand up for yourself and speak your truth. This, in my opinion, was the most important value in the eight values of expression. But what if you speak out against the government? What if you disagree with what they're saying? Well, it couldn’t be that scary. The Framers created a system of government that citizens would have a say in, to prevent this from happening! Duh! 

But I'm sure the Framers did not plan on a 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. They didn’t realize what the world would bring, and I'm sure they couldn't fathom the idea of social media. They sure didn't know about the “Spiral of Silence” theory. This is a theory that because people are scared to speak out against the government, they hold back their opinions. In today’s society, many citizens fear the government. After sporadic online stories and social media posts of government conspiracy theories, such as Area 51 and the Mandela effect, many are scared to have to witness what the government is truly capable of with the power they have. The government, specifically the NSA, has a scary stigma of being able to make people disappear, or alter their life in a way that it doesn't threaten the federal government. During a time of chaos, such COVID, many stay silent in fear of the consequences. 

This has also been more evident on all forms of social media. The creators of these platforms had hopes that social media would be a place to create discussion, and for minority groups to feel like they had a voice. Multiple people have reported that some of their content has been removed and taken down because of a political opinion. It's interesting most of all because our current president has a strong presence on twitter. He uses twitter the way it was intended to be used, to express our opinion and spark discussion. Many have noticed that tweets in response that are offensive or are of different opinion have been taken down, or the entire account has been deleted. 

Mass Communication Theory explained that “fears continually build within the minority opinion holder, hence the minority opinion is never voiced”. How is it that an entire nation of citizens can fall into the category of “minority”? Did we fail the Framers in letting the government consume too much power, or was it inevitable from the moment they created the system they did? During a time like this, it's important to be able to trust the government. If they invade our privacy, cause us to be silent, withhold information and infringe on the first amendment, can we trust our government to uphold our constitutional rights as a whole?

https://masscommtheory.com/theory-overviews/spiral-of-silence/

Privacy on the internet

To pretend that any account you have or any presence you have on the internet can be kept private is laughable after watching these Ted Talks. Whether you like it or not, the internet collects your data and keeps it either for producers and the government, and the scary part is that it's LEGAL. That's right, it's legal to obtain data involving you and your internet accounts for data. 

The Harvard Gazette explained that “being monitored by corporations and even governments is just a fact of modern life”. How scary is it that someone is watching your every move online, and documenting it without your consent. I wouldn't be surprised if someone from google isn’t watching this being typed right now. 

Not only are we watched on the internet, but if you own a car in the US, its more than likely they have a digital map that has documented your whereabouts for who knows how long. Those poles with lights and radars? Not speed traps, just the police tracking your location “incase” it's needed in the future. Sorry, but I just don't understand how that is legal. While it makes sense to prove you weren't or were somewhere if need be, it is highly unlikely that the majority of this data will ever be used. That's why I think it's unnecessary. 

Many say that our presence on the internet is like a tattoo, it can fade with time but it'll never go away. This can be a good and bad thing, but proves we really have no privacy on the internet.

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/08/when-it-comes-to-internet-privacy-be-very-afraid-analyst-suggests/

My Internet Footprint

I do feel like I have a big online presence, but I'm not sure how much of an impact it makes. I have almost all of the big social media platforms, about 7 total, but I feel like unless you have a million followers and a blue check mark. 

I have accounts on twitter, facebook, snapchat, tik tok, linkedin, pinterest, vsco, and more. I’ve had most of these counts since I was around 13 years old, and check them daily. I don't post as often, but I am definitely kept up to date on others posts.  

I don't put much of my life out on social media, but mostly people would see two things. First they would see cool places I’ve been or fun events, as I only post when something special happens. My feed is full of formal pics, cruise stops, adventures in DC, and fun memories at HPU. It's fun to invite people to look into the fun memories and events that have happened in your life.

In today's society it's normal to give out your information over the internet. It's very common to give out instagram handles, snapchats, and phone numbers. It's common to make “internet friends” and bond with those you have never met, making it common to give out your personal information. My generation is very internet friendly, and feels more comfortable sharing their information than other generations. I personally don't like to give out my information. I give out my snapchat sometimes, but rarely give out my number.

While it's easy to meet people and be friends with them through a screen, it's important to remember internet friends and internet standards do not define you. Many people often lose themselves trying to meet the standards the internet sets, that is almost impossible to achieve. This causes many to feel lonely and isolated, having an effect on mental health.