Blog Post #12

 My Relationship with Technology

    Technology is a huge part of our lives. A lot of people think that technology and social media is a great thing but they also don't know how many negatives come with it. It is very easy to get addicted to it and it can consume many people's lives. 

Am I Addicted to Technology?

I think there are a lot of components that go into this question. Because you may have to go on your phone for many different reasons. Also, if you base this question off of screen time it may add up when you listen to music or watch a movie. But no I don't think that I am addicted to technology. If I have a really busy day and a lot of stuff to do I can turn off my phone or not go on it. But when I am just lounging around and am very bored I am going to go on my phone. I also think I should and can be on it less than I am now. It's the little five minutes I go on it while I am doing something and it always turns into longer that I need to stay away from. I also tend to go on apps that are just unnecessary for me to go on so much. 

Technology definitely makes me more aware of what is going on in the world. But I also know that I can't trust everything that I see on social media apps. I try not to trust things I see on Instagram or TikTok and if something does interest me I will go to a more reliable source. But most people do believe everything they see on TikTok and other platforms and it is really concerning because people can say whatever they want on those apps. People who have no qualifications share information that they know nothing about and it leads to different people having misleading information. I think about this topic a lot and in this class, I have learned a lot more about technology and how a lot of our data is being stored. I do not think that many people are aware of these issues though and they don't know that people and companies are spying on them through different apps. I think people are very unaware because technology is such a big thing in society that they think it is safe and normal. 

Friends and Family

My parents are very much not addicted to technology. My dad isn't on any social media platforms except he goes on YouTube sometimes. Other than that, he uses his phone to text or call because that is really all he knows how to do. My mom has Instagram that she goes on maybe once a day. She goes on news apps on her phone and uses it mostly to text and call. They barely go on their phones but they always have it with them so their kids can reach them. My brother and sister I would say are the same go on technology just as much as me. We all have multiple social media platforms and we are on our phones for a good amount of time but we're all not addicted to it. Some of my friends are definitely on it more than me and some are on it less than me. Some of my friends definitely believe everything they see on social media and others don't. 

Technology has pros and cons in my relationships. It is great that I can communicate with my friends and family on a daily basis. Especially being away from my family and most of my friends I feel like it helps continue to keep my relationships close and I haven't felt a strain on them considering the distance. It can also be used negatively and people can take things the wrong way through social media. This hasn't happened to me specifically with my family but it has happened with a couple of my friends. Where they just assume things through social media. For example, if I leave someone open on Snapchat they will think I am mad at them when that is not the case and I just don't feel like taking a picture at the time or I am just busy. People also tend to take things the wrong way because they can't hear your tone when you text something. My friends have questioned what I have said before if I meant it in a mean way or not because they read my text in a different way than I meant it. 

Online Presence 

Online presence is very important and crucial when you are looking for jobs and starting to enter your career. I believe that my online presence is good and I think a future employer wouldn't find anything surprising. They would find out things I would have probably already told them. I never searched for my name on the internet before this class. I didn't find anything surprising, all I found was a profile that I made on a sports recruit website when I was in high school. It doesn't have any surprising information or anything that I would be embarrassed by. For images when I search for my name, it just has my profile picture for that same website and it is just a headshot of me. 

Effects of Social Media 

Social media has had many negative effects, especially on my generation. It has left many people with mental health issues. People isolate themselves and just hide behind their phones and then it turns into many people having anxiety when they are out in public and have to talk to people in person. It also sets standards for most girls but also guys as to what they have to look like. It leaves many people feeling bad about themselves and that they're not good enough when that shouldn't be the case. Not everything you see on social media is real. People pose, and use filters, and Photoshop to make themselves look better. Social media also leads to many people having FOMO which is fear of missing out. They see their friends hanging out, and doing fun things and they become sad because they aren't there. Studies show many people feel lonely and depressed when they have high usage of social media apps. 

In one of the videos we watched in class, it showed a girl who was very happy on the screen and then when she got off of it she was sad again. That was an important part of the video that stuck out to me. A lot of people show that they are happy and they are doing good through social media but in real life, they are sad, lonely, and depressed. I feel that this happens a lot and that is why things you see on social media aren't real and everything is not perfect in real life. Overall, social media and technology have a lot of negative effects that more people need to be aware of. 

Blog Post #11

 EOTO Presentations

During the EOTO presentations, I learned more about social credit score. I already knew of this term but didn't know much, and some of the information really surprised me. Social credit score is a broad regulatory framework intended to report on the 'trustworthiness' of individuals, corporations, and governmental entities across China. 

China's social credit score is still in its early stages but continues to develop into a unified record for entities to make good business decisions. The US citizens might be freaked out to think that the Government is watching all your moves which they already are but most people in China actually approve of this. Only 1% of people disagree which is a very small percentage. 

China will monitor basically everything and decide if you have a good social credit score. The Government will have a lot of power and know what people are doing.

The Effects

This system gives China's government a lot of power and knowledge where it could be used against people. Especially to discriminate against certain groups of people, ethnic groups, political, or religious. Sources say that this system is also coming to America soon and will share information about "white supremacists." 

This system in America will block people from certain apps where they might be suspicious of your activity. Certain apps such as Facebook, Instagram, Venmo, or PayPal. For example, if you have a suspicious Venmo transfer to another person they might block you and you are now unable to use that app which then leads you to get another app such as PayPal. Another example is my friend got blocked from Snapchat she doesn't know why but her account just completely disappeared and she was not allowed to log in again. She was finally able to create another account. But it is so weird how one day it is fine and the next she is completely blocked for no reason. 

Blog Post #9

 News Deserts

  News Deserts is a community that is no longer covered by daily or non-daily newspapers. This term came to the United States when some weekly newspapers closed in the 2000s and 2010s. People and communities do not have the right resources for local and trustworthy news on important issues. 

There are 70 million Americans who live in a News Desert and 202 counties that are in danger of losing their local news. By using this website, you can see if you live in a News Desert or not. North Carolina has six counties without newspapers. Massachusetts has zero counties without local news. Barnstable County located in Cape Cod, MA has nine newspapers! California only has two counties without newspapers. San Bernardino County has 27 newspapers! 

How to Make a Change 

By identifying areas in each state that do not have access to local news or will soon lose their local news. It will help realize how much funding is needed to make those changes. Adding more funding to these companies will help them provide local news and information to local citizens. 

More people tend to trust and pay more attention to local news rather than Global. News Deserts will have more people confused and frustrated. It will also cause more corruption in our society. People will feel lost and not know what is happening in the community that is closest to them. Some people would not even bother to look at Global news anymore because it is so far from them especially if they do not have local news.

How will it Affect the Generations

News Deserts will affect the older generation rather than the younger because the older generation reads and pays more attention to the local news. The younger generation looks at their phone and different sites to find out news but it would still just be Global. Eventually, I think it will affect the younger generation as they grow up and want to pay attention more to the community that they are living in. Some people do not care to know the local news and just want to live their lives and so News Deserts won't really affect them. The local news won't be an outlet for all people no matter if you are male, female, gay, or straight. 

This is a very crazy world and I think it is good for everyone to be aware of what is happening around us but also globally. I think News deserts would affect my generation tremendously. It is a way to keep us filled in on all of the news and information but it is also a way of keeping us safe in a world that is always changing. 

How will it Affect My Family and I 

I tend to look more at local news rather than Global news just because I like to know more about what is happening in the community closest to me. I will look at Global news more if I want to know more about politics but Global news does not affect me as much as local news. My family also turns to local news rather than Global news so I think it would affect my family very much. I think we would definitely feel lost and in the unknown if we did not have local news. I think having both local and Global news makes us more aware of everything happening around us but it also makes us realize how crazy this world is. 

Blog #10

Diffusions of Innovations

Snapchat was first developed in September 2011 by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown.  I think this app caught on so fast to the younger generation because it was a different way of communicating daily with your friends. There were a lot of early adopters because it was a very new and different social media app. Many of the younger generations loved how you could just send pictures instead of constantly texting. 

The younger generations sort of grew into the app and technology so they could really pick up on it fast but the generation where they were already in college when Snapchat first came out was less intrigued by it. The later generations didn't feel the need to get Snapchat and communicate through pictures every day with their friends. They felt that texting and calling were enough. My friends and I sometimes only communicate through Snapchat because it is easier for us. As we get older, we are slowly starting to text and call more. 

I think social media has many consequences, but I still continue to use them. Snapchat and other social media platforms have just changed our society. In a way where a lot of people are very sensitive and take things the wrong way through social media. For example, if someone leaves you open on Snapchat, someone might take it as they don't like me or are mad at me. And that may not be the case it could just be they are busy or don't feel like sending you a picture. 

I also think Snapchat has changed our dating world and how people communicate. People are afraid to talk in person but will say anything over a screen and that is not how real life should be. Instead of asking people for their numbers, people are always asking for their Snapchat instead. It has changed our culture tremendously. 

Joining all of these social media platforms is a way for people to collect more data. You may feel that you are more with society but you could also be given and taking in the wrong information. Social media platforms advertise you into thinking things you may not actually believe in. 

There are many negatives and positives to being on or off social media. I only have Facebook to check in on my relatives who live far away from me because they all post there. But I could do the same thing through text. I talk to my friends daily on Snapchat but I don't on iMessage and some of my friends don't answer their texts but answer their Snapchat more. I feel like if I didn't have Snapchat I might lose contact with some people. 

I don't think I necessarily need to be completely off social media but I would definitely benefit from being off of it less. And I also need to look at other reliable sources to find out about news and information. I think it would help me be more present but I might feel a strain on my friendships because I wouldn't talk to them as much. 

Blog Post #8

 EOTO Technology 

    During the presentations, I learned about the Typewriter. The first Typewriter was granted by Queen Anne of England on January 7th, 1714. An English Engineer, Henry Mill created the typewriter and there is no documentation or record of this invention. 

The first United States typewriter was created by William Austin Burt in Detroit. It was developed in 1828 and his patent was approved by President Andrew Jackson that year as well. He first called his invention the "Typographer." The only model of this typographer was later destroyed in a fire in 1836. 

The first working typewriter was made in September 1828. The inventor of the first typewriter was Christopher Latham Sholes from Milwaukee. His typewriter was patented in June 1868. The typewriter was invented because Christopher Sholes was creating an invention that could number book pages. Then he later decided to make a machine that could type words and numbers. He also invented the keyboard that we still use today. 

The sales of the typewriter became extremely popular in 1908. The business world changed forever with this invention. It created a new way for people to communicate and also how they get their information. There are many ways the typewriter has changed our lives today and how we work. It helps fill out forms, type envelopes, and create checks. Those are just a few examples, it also helps us do more work on computers, which most people use in today's world.

Funeral Parlors are still using typewriters today; that is just one well-known business that continues to use them. Prisons also continue to use them. Prisoners will use typewriters for many different reasons, one being to share their feelings and use them as a way of communicating. Some senior citizens also use typewriters instead of switching over to computers because that is what they are comfortable using. Local and federal governments use typewriters because it is a better and safer way to protect important information. It is much easier for someone to hack into a computer to steal information than it is to hack into a typer writer.

Blog Post #7

 In the Age of AI

    It is crazy to think that companies do not need as many people to work because they have these robots that will do it for them. It is causing fewer people to be employed. Artificial Intelligence is a driving force for inequality because there are two sides, Capital and labor and AI has its finger more on the Capital side. How they react too will impact our society for the future years. 

Computers are trying to adapt the world to you. They collect data on everything that you do and personalize things. So everywhere you go and everything you do online is creating a cloud of data about you. That will actually outlive you. People have no idea that we aren't using social media it is using us and were not searching Google it is actually searching us. I think that is very important to know and be aware of because it can change your perspective and your future actions with anything online. 

National Security is very serious and we could potentially be in a completely different world. The national security topic is very important but I think they know a lot more than we think. Seeing the videos in China where they just know each and every person and the data shows up on the screen, is just crazy to me. 

Online security is another serious topic. They know a lot about you and are continuously collecting data about you. That makes me feel unsecured because they know so much just by having all that access and you aren't even aware of it. And security is very poor because there hasn't just been identity theft but discrimination, and bias. Identity theft is more common now with all of this data on the internet and it is also easier to do. Most jobs will be threatened by AI in the future years and that is very concerning to hear at my age. It was also very interesting and informative. 

Blog #6

 Antiwar Voices 

People speaking about Antiwar is not something you hear every day because the Government does not want you to hear about it. There are many websites that have strong voices and opinions that should be a lot more popular than they are. I think you really have to search hard for these voices because the Government doesn't want you to see them and side with them. The mainstream news doesn't show these voices because of the possible side effects it could lead to. 

I have heard of The American Conservative before from my sister and I think she may have seen something on Instagram from them and then looked into it. But it is definitely not something I see and hear about every day and that also goes for the Anti-War website. I have never heard of or seen the Anti-War website and it has a lot of good information posted there too. 

One headline that stuck out to me on the Anti-War website was about TikTok, China, and data privacy. The article shared how American lawmakers were sharing concerns about China and TikTok but at the same time, United States social media platforms are consuming just as much data. This is a side of this topic where this is my first time hearing about it. And this is something everyone needs to read about but they won't because it is not on a head Newsline. 

Another topic I have not heard about is how Country music is now political and the article shares some really interesting and different thoughts. The article talks about how country music is not how it used to be, "This is not the first time country music has gone dark. In fact, unlike most of its radio hits of the last several decades, the subgenres of folk and blues from which country music sprung are known for dealing with such heavy topics." I actually really enjoyed reading this article and I learned a lot from it. 

These websites share real, hard facts that some American people do not want to hear but need to hear. It will turn people's perspectives on certain topics. It will also open them up to actually seeing the real issue. These are the websites that need to be published more but they won't be and that is an issue.