Final Post

After reflecting on my relationship with technology, I believe that it is unhealthy. I know “unhealthy” can mean something completely different to another person because everyone has their limits and strengths of addictions to technology, but, personally, think I need to step back. I do agree that technology is a very useful tool that allows us to answer questions but most of the time, people are not using their phones for education but entertainment. There is very little education but more boredom. The constant need to be entertained is sickening my generation. 

My generation can’t spend a single minute not doing something. It is like boredom has become a fear. Any second a person has while they are waiting in line, going to the bathroom, or even having a conversation with someone, a person will take out their phone. I love listening to stand-up comedy and I remember hearing this interview with Louis C.K. about technology. Although there are many allegations against him, I thought the conversation that he had with Conan O’Brien was very interesting. He talks about how this new generation is impatient and ungrateful of the easiness of technology. Although I do not believe that this generation is terrible, I agree that our attention spans make diminished. Here is the video:

A part of me wants to delete my social media, especially Instagram. I have had an Instagram since I was 12 because that’s what was cool to have in middle school. Instagram has felt like a trap for me at times and as years go on, technology has become smarter and smarter, knowing how to catch your eye with “stories” and “reels” (which are basically small videos that are highly addictive). Don’t get me wrong. I love to see what my friends post and they like to see mine; it allows people to feel involved in my life even when I haven’t seen or talked with them in a while. I just have found that when I am waiting in line or relaxing, I will randomly watch meaningless videos. The videos are interesting but I waste so much time staring at this screen when I could be doing way more productive things. It’s precious time I could be learning and living.

Just today, I was on Snapchat and realized that I had streaks (when you snap someone every day, creating a streak) with people I barely talk to. Yes, they are my friends, but I went out of my way to snap them even though I didn’t really care. I am tired of being tricked by my phone. I know people who will stalk their exes and crushes on snap chat. It’s too easy to know too much about someone nowadays. I could go on snap maps and find out where they are. I could go on my Spotify a see what the last song they were listening to. I could see when the last time they were active on any social media platform. It’s too much. I don’t like that power. 

I don’t think I am as obsessed with my phone as some people, but to me, I want to lessen my media time. Sometimes I worry that I am using it as an escape so I don’t have to think about stuff. I know a lot of people who do that. I checked my phone about three times while writing this blog. Not because it buzzed, but because my brain thinks I need to check. I think it's because the serotonin that I get from a notification is addictive. I think if we all didn’t have our phones for a day, some people in my generation wouldn’t know what to do with themselves. I think I need to find some time away from my phone so I can breathe, think, and absorb life. I don’t want to waste my time here staring at a screen as my emotions slowly turn numb.

Citations:

(Photos)

Correspondant, Free Press Journal. “How Technology Invades the Human Mind.” Free Press Journal, www.freepressjournal.in/cmcm/how-technology-invades-the-human-mind.

Zielinski, Lisa. “Louis CK Everything Is Amazing And Nobody Is Happy.” Youtube, 16 Nov. 2016, youtu.be/nUBtKNzoKZ4.

Blog 13: Digital Footprint

As I reflect upon my own online footprint, I think that I have a decent amount of social media apps that I would say is pretty large. The applications that I own are: 

 Instagram

I normally post every three months. These are usually photos of my friends and me on vacation. The photos I post are nothing scandalous and show nothing of bad behavior. My account is private so that only the people who follow my account can see. These are mostly friends but I also let an acquaintance from school or a friend of a friend follow me. I have a little over eight hundred followers so even though my photos are private, it is still a lot of people who can see my stuff. 

Snapchat

I use Snapchat to communicate with my close friends. I do not add anyone I do not know or even acquaintances. I have about a hundred people on Snapchat. I will post funny things on my stories but because it’s people I trust, I feel comfortable sharing the more adventurous part of my life. I got a Snapchat in the middle of my senior year of high school. That was quite rare to get the app so late but I thought I was slightly sketchy and intrusive that the company could possibly save the photos I take (not that I would send something odd) as well as that I knew my friends were addicted to it. Now that I have it, I have realized how often I use it, making me possibly addicted as well.

Facebook

I go on Facebook about two times a year. One, to thank the people who wished me a “Happy Birthday” and, two, to figure out what the name of my cousin’s girlfriend is. I have only “posted” three times when I changed my profile picture. I don’t really like Facebook and the only reason why I have it is because my high school soccer team posted information through it.

   LinkedIn

I use LinkedIn a lot to connect with my peers and companies. I do not post often but I enjoy reading other people’s posts. I update my LinkedIn at least once a month.

 Youtube

I have a YouTube channel where I post videos. They are mostly school projects. I am on YouTube every week for HPU’s entertainment news (Point Blank). 

 Spotify

I wouldn’t call this a social media site but Spotify allows you to connect to friends to know what songs they listen to where it be on a playlist they made or liked. If following them, you can even see what they are listening to at that moment.

This blogger site is another addition to these websites. 

If a visitor were to view my social media pages, they would find out a good amount of information about me. They would know that I run, I make videos, who I’m friends with, my relatives, and the kind of music I listen to. Although this does tell a lot about me, I do not believe it’s information that is not too private. The “private” information that can be accessed through my social media is probably my email, my birthday, and my address. This is mostly because of LinkedIn wanted employers to have some way of connecting me. 

After reading the article Is Facebook Making Us Lonely? by The Atlantic, I do have to agree that the internet can make some people feel lonelier than they actually are. I can see how Facebook induces fears, “interfering with our real friendships, distancing us from each other, making us lonelier.” When I was younger, in middle school, I remember people would post things on social media and I would feel a bit lonely. I would question the worth of my friendship, wondering if they liked me as much as I liked them. Now that I’m older, I don’t feel it is much but I do feel that a lot of Instagram is “fake.” A factor is that people only post happy things, promoting their “gorgeous” lifestyle, creating an artificial life that doesn’t truly exist. I have days that I could get rid of my social media apps. They can stress me out at times and feel like I’m not living when I’m scrolling on my phone for hours. Unfortunately, people use these apps as their primary way of communicating, causing me to be out of the loop. The serotonin that a person gets from Snapchat notifications is a poison that dives me even deeper. “According to Burke, the passive consumption of Facebook also correlates to a marginal increase in depression.” This is understandable because seeing people’s lives rather than talking in person can cause you to feel lonely. 
Sometimes I wish I was able to live in a time where people could to get to know me in person before they looked at my page online. I feel like I would rather have someone learn about me through me rather than my Instagram.

Citations: 

Marche, Stephen. “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 21 Jan. 2020, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/05/is-facebook-making-us-lonely/308930/.

(Photos)

By: HIV.gov | Published: May 29, 2017. “5 Things To Know About Instagram 2017.” HIV.gov, 17 Apr. 2020, www.hiv.gov/blog/5-things-to-know-about-instagram-2017.

“Snapchat.” Twitter, Twitter, twitter.com/snapchat.

“Log In or Sign Up.” Facebook, www.facebook.com/.

“Timeline of LinkedIn.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Oct. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_LinkedIn.

“YouTube: A Guide for Parents.” Net Aware | NSPCC, www.net-aware.org.uk/networks/youtube/.

“Spotify: Listen to New Music and Play Podcasts - Apps on Google Play.” Google, Google, play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spotify.music.

Blog 11: EOTO

After watching many fascinating presentations on awareness, mediasphere, and policy in the media, I have learned a lot about privacy and bias in the media. A group that I was very interested in was the Mediasphere. One that stood out to me, in particular, was the Echo Chamber. "An echo chamber is an environment where a person only encounters information or opinions that reflect and reinforce their own." It can cause misinformation on a person's perspective and a lack of knowledge on opposing viewpoints, due to unfairly distributed information. As seen in the picture below, when a person is given information on their side on an argument, social will feed more information that leans toward your side.

This causes people to struggle with hearing opposing viewpoints. This is seen especially in politics. If someone uses a social media app like TikTok, the app will recognize your political party based on the videos you watch and will begin to only offer you information on a specific party. 

Without having an equal share of different opinions, people can become bias toward their group and segregate people from others due to their opinions. People become less open to views that are not like theirs, not because they are bad people but because society has never exposed another view besides their own.

I really enjoyed learning about the effects of social media and made me more aware of how I'm educated through the media.

Citations: 

“Digital Media Literacy: What Is an Echo Chamber?” GCFGlobal.org, edu.gcfglobal.org/en/digital-media-literacy/what-is-an-echo-chamber/1/.

(Photos)

Toledonews. “How Our Political Echo Chamber Works.” The Blade, 15 Sept. 2017, www.toledoblade.com/opinion/editorials/2017/09/15/How-our-political-echo-chamber-works/stories/feed/index.rss.

Elizabeth Dubois and Grant Blank. Published on Mar 9, 2018 9:16am. “The Myth of the Echo Chamber.” IPolitics, 13 Mar. 2018, ipolitics.ca/2018/03/09/myth-echo-chamber/.

Blog 10: Spiral of Silence

The Spiral of Silence is "the theory that people's willingness to express their opinions on controversial public issues is affected by their largely unconscious perception of those opinions as being either popular or unpopular" (Britannica). According to the theory, most people have a natural fear of social isolation that is unconsciously controlled.  This fear can cause a change of behavior to adapt and gain approval from others, and most importantly the majority opinion. To avoid criticism or isolation, people will refrain from publicly stating their views on controversial topics. The Spiral of Silence Theory should not be taken lightly, in fact, people affected by this isolation may fear losing their job, status, or loved ones. That said, the people who are in popular opinion are more likely to speak about topics, belittling others simultaneously.  

This theory was developed by researcher Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann who studied this throughout the 1960s and 70s. She was attempting to "describe collective opinion formation and societal decision making" regarding controversial and moral issues (Britannica). By collecting information about people's opinions and decision-making, one can see how society affects the answers to moral and controversial questions. 

The theory arose through a study in the German election of 1965. In September 1965, Noelle-Neumann along with her staff at the Allensbach Institute for Public Opinion Research produced surveys designed to track the public's political opinions of the election. In the beginning months, voters' intentions stayed the same. When the two major parties, "the governing Christian Democratic Union-Christian Social Union" and the opposing "Social Democratic Party of Germany," were in "dead heat" with 45 percent going to each party, the survey began to change (Britannica). There was a sudden swing cause a leader for the CDU-CSU party. This was caused by some members of the opposing party (SDP) and the independent party to switch to the person who they thought was going to win, instead of who they wanted to win. SDP voters felt discouraged from publicly stating their views due to fear of backlash from the popular party.

This experiment is also relevant more than ever because of social media and the current election. Social media allows people to freely promote their own opinion about topics; however many people feel afraid to voice their opinion in fear of people unfollowing and bullying them. Minorities including people of the LGBTQ+ community, color, women, and people in poverty feel hesitant about making their voices heard. Sharing one's opinion or coming out to others is something that makes them feel part of the out-group. The reaction that comes after can be detrimental to these communities. The 2020 election has been one of the most intense debates in American history. With the parties going neck in neck, it almost feels that the US has been truly divided. There have been threats and accusations against parties and friendships have been broken from differences in preferred candidates. 

The advantage of having this theory is that it helps to "raise questions about the role and responsibility of media in society." This can help improve society knowing where it encourages and discourages minority opinions.

Citations:

"Spiral of Silence." Encyclopœdia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/topic/spiral-of-silence.

"Spiral of Silence." Mass Communication Theory, 21 May 2014, masscommtheory.com/theory-overviews/spiral-of-silence/.

"The Spiral of Silence Theory." Communication Theory, 10 July 2014, www.communicationtheory.org/the-spiral-of-theory/.

Blog 9: Privacy Through the Phone

In class, we discussed the importance of privacy whether that be through social media, through the phone, or tracking through our web browsers. In the video "How to Avoid Surveillance ... With the Phone in Your Pocket," Christopher Soghoian discusses how for more than a hundred years, telephone companies have been wiretapping assistance for governments. As technology has progressed throughout the years, surveillance has been wired to the core of our telephones. This means that anyone, not just the government, could tap in into our telephone conversations. Luckily, Soghoian does talk about how silicon valley companies have made surveillance very difficult to wire tap. Although this may be more difficult for the police to find criminals through telephone records, it keeps others safe from having our conversations recorded for data collection. These encryptions save our privacy.

References:

Soghoian, Christopher. “How to Avoid Surveillance ... with the Phone in Your Pocket.” TED, www.ted.com/talks/christopher_soghoian_how_to_avoid_surveillance_with_the_phone_in_your_pocket?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare.

Blog 8: Rogers' Diffusion through Radio

The Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation bell graph presents important information on how the public adapts to new innovations. 

As seen in the graph above, each colored section a certain time in history for the production as well as a group of people who became involved. For this example, I will be using the radio. 

Innovators: When Marconi invented the radio in 1894, it was a time of experimenting. The radio was not built for the public and could not send signals very far distances. This was a time for inventors. It wasn't until 1899 when he created the Marconi Telegraph Company in 1899 and successfully sent wireless signals across the Atlantic Ocean in 1901.

Early Adopters: In 1916, the first radio became available. This was a time when people were finally able to buy their own radio. The public was able to use the tuner model to switch stations in AM or FM. Although many people were going out to buy their own radio, this was still the beginning. The people who bought this product were more likely wealthy folk.

Early Majority: The Golden Age of Radio began in the 1930s. This was the best source of entertainment whether it be listening to the news, music, or the blocks of time made for storytelling. This was a time of comedy shows with Ed Wynn and even horror shows with Richard Widmark. Whatever style a person wanted, the radio had it. This was great for middle-class homes who needed to stay updated. Radio also became available in cars. 

Late Majority: The Golden Age of Radio ended in the 1950s and by this time, it was a common household object. This changed the way people heard music by introducing them to genres like rock n' roll. This was a time when the people who were hesitant (lower class citizens) about radio began to buy them because the radio became cheaper and the most common way to get the news. This was also around the end of President Roosevelt's "Fire Side Chats" which would update the public on government decisions and able to have a deeper connection with the American citizens.

Laggards: The radio continued to be a very popular source for music and news along with sports and radio shows throughout the 1960s and on. The people who waited to buy a radio were more likely the elderly who preferred records for their music and newspaper for their news. 

After reviewing history through the Diffusion Theory, one can see that there are a few positives and negatives through these outcomes. The radio has definitely made the communication of important news easily accessible. Music has allowed artists to present their work through mass media, by offering different styles of music to different people. It has also entertained families for generations through storytelling, sports updates, and talk shows. A negative impact on the radio is its damage to newspaper sales. After purchasing a radio, it becomes more cost-effective; buying fewer books and records to entertain. Radio, however, has also had a downfall in the past decade due to music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. Although radio is still available and used in this day and age, its golden years have passed.

Citations:

Skretvedt, Randy, and Christopher H. Sterling. “Radio.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 15 Nov. 2018, www.britannica.com/topic/radio.

“Guglielmo Marconi.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 25 June 2020, www.biography.com/inventor/guglielmo-marconi.

Photos:

Bertsch, posted by Bob. “Assumptions of Basing Our Work on Diffusion of Innovation.” Military Families Learning Network, 7 Nov. 2019, militaryfamilieslearningnetwork.org/2017/01/11/assumptions-of-basing-our-work-on-diffusion-of-innovation/.

Blog 7: Reflection of EOTO

After watching many engaging presentations on the Evolution of Technology, I was amazed by the abundance of information I learned through this project; not only through my research but through others' reports. One that really stood out to me was the first Emoji icons. The first emoticon was created by Scott E. Fahlman who began with just using a colon and a closing parenthesis, producing an image that looked like a happy face. One of the interesting facts that I learned is that ":)" is actually recognized by the Webster Dictionary as a happy face. As she skimmed through the emoticon timeline, I was fascinated to find out that "E" means "pictures" and "moji" means "character". The first emoji was created in 1999 by a Japanese artist named Shigetaka Kurita. By making faces to represent emotions on a screen, the faces began to spread to texting and used every day. It adds emotion to text and helps send messages across in moods that would be miscommunicated without it. With only a few minutes of my time, I was able to learn so much about our technology's history. Although I am grateful for the time I live in, I think it is important to review the evolution of technology. The journey to our modern-day technology and appliances have truly shaped society through inventing and improving.

Citations:

“✂️ Copy and  Paste Emoji No Apps Required.” Get Emoji - All Emojis to ✂️ Copy and Paste , getemoji.com/.