Final Blog Post

 My Relationship with Technology

My relationship with technology has always been rocky. As we all have seen and know... technology while it has all of its positives, it has equally as many negatives. It has caused many teenagers, including young adults mental health issues due to how social media portrays what the normal body should look like or how we should all act (not in a positive sense). Social media rarely ever portrays anything good... yet knowing that, all young adults still go on it. Why is that? We all are addicted to it. Technology alone has molded itself into many peoples everyday routines. So many people go on social media or just their technology devices multiple times a day, sometimes without even realizing it. 

I checked my phone screen time (The feature that tells you how much time you have spent on your phone a day or over the past week). My daily average for this week has been a whopping 6 hours everyday. It has gone up by 47% from last week. It is quite literally insane to me... when I saw this I thought to myself what was I even doing? Thankfully, the feature tells me how much time I have spent on each app. Snapchat, instagram, and tiktok were my top apps that I go on. I was not surprised, however I was surprised by how much time I spent on each one. It is scary how much of my life has become wrapped into these apps. An even scarier part about it is that Idk if I can stop using those apps, I keep thinking to myself "you need to delete it". I don't think I could delete it. I would feel to disconnected or left out in a sense from my peers or society as a whole. It is very sad that it has molded itself that much to me where I feel as if I can't delete it. 

My top three app usage and the time spent on it:

Snapchat: 8 hours

Instagram: 4 1/2 hours

Tik Tok: 3 hours

The future is personally terrifying to me. I could not imagine where my life or mental state would be right now if I grew up in the age of technology that kids now a days are growing up in. I mean kids are now getting phones by age 9. I don't think I even knew how to operate a laptop or phone at that age. A scary statistic I found is that there is a higher rate of mental health in kids under 12 just due to their use of technology. 

Privacy within technology

Is our information really private? Do we know what is actually getting posted out there about us? These are questions regarding privacy that we don't always think to worry about or to even ask ourselves. We are not cautious with our personal information or lives at all. All of us young adults are very naive when it comes to what the internet really knows about us. In the article about the 14 year old who quit technology given to us in the directions that i had read she said that once her parents allowed her to download facebook the first thing she did was go to her moms profile. She was baffled to see what her mom had put out to the world on her profile of her and she was deeply embarrassed. She expressed her disdain about it to her parents and even her parents were shocked. This being because no one thinks anymore before they post something. Even a picture of yourself could potentially be harmful in the long run. 

She had heard horror stories at school about the dangers of having an online presence, therefore, that is why she acted the way she did. Amazingly, at age 14 she feels as though she isn't really missing out on anything by not having social media and staying sheltered from that world. She stated "I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything because I am being spared from the potential dangers for her at such a young age". He has a social life outside of the digital world. She has had the time now to join more extracurriculars and clubs because she doesn't have any social media. She says her friends consider her a goody-two-shoes. Thats one of the biggest things I am scared of. I'm afraid of missing out with my friends if I were to delete social media. It sounds silly, but when you're in High School, especially college, you feel a need to see what your friends are doing. You have fomo (Fear of missing out). 

This girls story has definitely influenced me not only to be more aware, but also to be more cautious with my social media usage. I went back on all of my social medias and realized that people could find out so much about me even by the little I post. People could figure out where I go to school, what state I live in, hell people could probably figure out my actual address. 

My Digital Footprint 

What is a digital footprint you might be asking? Its definition is "Digital footprint or digital shadow refers to one's unique set of traceable digital activities, actions, contributions and communications manifested on the Internet or digital devices". 

I looked up my name online to see what would come up and none of my social media profiles came up. You would be surprised at how many Kaitlyn Fishers there are out there. The one thing that did come up about me that required some digging was an image taken of me and my old competitive tennis team from ten years ago at a tournament. It was a picture of me and my team after we competed and won the title we were playing for. That picture was at the very bottom of the first page of pictures probably because it was taken so long ago. Part of me is thankful that that image was the only thing about me I could dig up right off the bat, however, another part of me wished there was nothing about me posted there for anyone to see right away. What happened once I looked deeper? Once I looked deeper and put in my username for instagram and tik tok (the two social media apps I use most) I was shocked at how easy someone could pull up my profiles. Now since i am private on instagram they would have to request me and it would be my choice or not wether to let them follow me or not, but tik tok was just available for anyone to see. Frankly, that scares me more than i thought it would. I didn't think it would be that easy. I post a lot of tik toks some being with defining things in the back round... such as; The High Point University sign, my neighborhood sign, or the beach I am at at the time. People could find out where I live or where I am located at any given point. I wouldn't say i have a fairly large digital footprint because it did take a lot of digging to find my social media profiles, but I did have somewhat of one which terrified me and honestly made me consider deleting them. 

My final thoughts?

All in all, I truly believe that technology is a very addicting part of our society today, like I previously stated it has molded itself into our everyday routines. It truly impacts how we feel about ourselves or see ourselves. It shakes me to the core knowing some of the statistics that i have found while writing this blog post. I will defiantly be more cautious when using social media because of the dangers it has physically, but also emotionally. Some of my body image issues i have struggled with are most certainly linked to technology. As for my future with technology, I will be limiting my screen time everyday and be more aware of what I am posting and whats in the back round of the frame just so I can make sure I am being spared from all of the potential dangers that could come from posting. Technology is looked at as something that could brighten our future... but theres a question that we should all start asking ourselves... What if we're wrong about that? 

Links 

https://www.fastcompany.com/90315706/kids-parents-social-media-sharing

https://www.fastcompany.com/section/the-privacy-divide

https://www.fastcompany.com/90359992/an-ad-tech-pioneer-on-where-our-data-economy-went-wrong-and-how-to-fix-it

Blog Post #5 - Anti-War voices

    After being on social media for many years I have only heard so little about anti-war voices, much less about what it is. Someone who is anti-war is someone who opposes the mere idea of any specific war or riot. For this assignment the directions instructed us to look at these two websites (http://antiwar.com/ & https://www.theamericanconservative.com/) to really get a deep understanding of what anti-war voices are. 

These websites both are made up of news that you will most certainly not find on the main stream media. These websites post the truth about what is happening in the world that the main stream media is afraid to talk about or don't want citizens to know. These websites are also not censored, meaning that they don't hide anything. They tell the full truth, and nothing but the truth. Some examples of this include; The left mines for votes in American prisons, Filling out the China grid, and a new ceasefire fails in Sudan. None of these subjects I have heard on the news and I am an avid news watcher. I like to be informed and educated on everything going on in the news. However, after reading these articles it has made me question... Do I really actually know whats going on?

The mainstream media never showcases or reports on these truths because they don't want it to negatively impact the citizens thoughts on or about the government. Essentially, the media makes sure to only showcase the positives or glories of the government or political world. If they reported on the actual truth they know for a fact that the citizens could revolt. 

The fact that I have never heard about either of these websites that were given to us to look at for this article is incredibly saddening. We as citizens living in America have a right to know the actual truth about what is going on in the world. We should have an understanding about everything going on in order to be prepared for whats going to happen or what could happen. These websites can only be seen if someone specifically searches for them... What kind of freedom is that? Freedom of speech is what this country prides themselves on and these anti-war voices are being silenced. That isn't the country we live in. We don't silence people for having an opposing opinion. The government wants the citizens to be fed the happy side of what they're doing, therefore, letting the mainstream media report on the good things that are happening or glorifying a certain subject matter or topic. 

All in all, after reading the truths about many different topics that I have not heard about in the mainstream media I feel very disheartened and frankly very scared. I now am wondering what else I don't know because of how the mainstream media really censors this kinda stuff. This just goes to show how much the government and media care about the citizens well-being. 

Diffusion of Innovations - blog post 8

Rodgers, Diffusion of Innovations theory is a very robust theory that I have learned after reading I can not only be useful in this class, but in a couple of my classes moving forward. The main definition for this theory that explains how, why, and the rater of how new ideas and innovations spread. Rodgers explains the Diffusion of Innovations theories "five main elements that go into this theory as well as help the spread of new innovations; the innovation itself, adopters, communication channels, time, and a social system". Diffusion_of_innovations

The one innovation that I chose to look at through the eyes of Rodgers theory is the infamous app... Instagram. Society loves to read about instagrams success story. "Instagram was launched in October of 2010. At the time the app was seeing about 10,000 downloads a day. However, by April of 2012 the app was seeing about 100,000 downloads a day" https://techcrunch.com/2012/04/24/the-rise-of-instagram-tracking-the-apps-spread-worldwide/. I believe this app caught on and spread widely throughout the US because it was one of the newer social media app that kickstarted sharing our lives and what we were up too. Our society is addicted too sharing our lives and maybe even trying to one up one another using the app. 

I believe that so many people became early adopters rather than later adopters of this new technology because of how new it was having to do with the topic of social media. Back in 2010 we had only newly been introduced to twitter and Facebook. Therefore, when instagram came out it was an exciting new app that people could latch onto. Another reason why I believe so many adopted the app early on was because famous actors/actresses, athletes, and online influencers at the time jumped onto it... so we as fans wanted to see what they were up too. Also, naturally those famous people being our idols or people we looked up too we wanted to follow along with the trend of the app. If you really think about it if no famous people joined this app it probably wouldn't have grown in popularity like it has in the past decade. I believe there are many late adopters as well. However, the late adopters are more so the older group of people such as our parents or grandparents. It took them longer to join the app because when they were young they didn't have anything like it. Us however being young when it came out we quickly jumped to it for our own entertainment in a way. 

The negative effects that come with this fairly new technology app is what most people would come to think of when they think of the main negative affect social media more specifically instagram has on people that are on it. The main negative effect we can all agree is that it causes anxiety in all aspects. According to the research published by the American Psychological Association "studies have linked instagram to depression, body-image concerns, self-esteem issues, social anxiety, and many other issues that occur within our mental state of mind"(APA). These negative affects mostly will affect the younger population rather than the older population that are on the app. I believe some people don't join instagram for these reasons... it really does take a toll on peoples mental health when they start comparing themselves to instagram models/actresses. It has been proven that people that have never downloaded this app have had a better, happier, and healthier life by just not being on this. Their mental health is 10x better than someone that go on instagram constantly everyday. At some point we have to admit that the positive of this app do not outweigh the bad. Some positives of instagram include that it; improves communication with people/friends, artistic ability, find connections, and exchange information with friends and family in a very original way. However, at what cost? The cost is how suicide rates in America has been rising since the launch of this app because of how it causes people depression and social anxiety etc. We're losing kids as young as 10 years old because of what they're being exposed too. Kids are being exposed to too much being as young as they're. They're learning things that they should not know about or develop a way of thinking that they have to be the stereotype of a "pretty girl"... skinny. 

Therefore, looking at instagram through the diffusion theory of innovations I have learned the how, why, and why it was created. By looking at this app through this theory I truly believe that this is an app that should have been made better and should be censored to hopefully make young kids/teens on this app feel more confident instead of more sad or insecure. 

Eight values of free expression - Blog post

 Eight Values of Free Expression

When we went over free expression in class I found this subject most interesting. I believe freedom of expression goes along with our most simple human rights. We have learned all about freedom of speech/expression through learning about the first amendment. There have been a lot of controversy when It comes to the topic of freedom of expression because not everyone's beliefs are the same on the topic. 

As I read through the eight theories/value of free expression I resonated most with what is known as self-fulfillment. Self-fulfillment is a type of free speech that enables individuals to express themselves, create and identify, as there true self. As I was reading this value I realized that I can relate to this value within myself. Self-fulfillment is different for every individual. Self-fulfillment means to be satisfied with yourself not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well, which are just as important as being physically pleased with oneself. 

This aspect is very important to free expression because free expression has to do with individual beliefs, but also how we express those beliefs. Self-fulfillment means something different to every single person that embraces this topic. This right gives people the basic human right to be who they're and/or who they want to be. If someone is struggling with their identity this right gives them the chance to express themselves with however they deem fit.

This value is as important to free expression as it is to me. I have known many people throughout my life that were afraid to express themselves because they weren't sure if it would be "socially acceptable". They didn't realize that it was within their own rights to express themselves however they like free of the consequences that would come without this right. People want to feel like they can be themselves while also feeling like they belong. In todays world that feeling is a very hard one to grasp. As much as we try and implement the value of self-fulfillment, unless people choose to embrace it... it will never be fully in action. 

Out of all the eight values that I read up on I have came to the conclusion that self-fulfillment and promote tolerance were the most used/prevalent in todays world. Promote tolerance is when you promote the idea of free speech/expression, it is commonly used in all forms of media/news networks. This is commonly recognized because the media like to present us with ideas such as society should tolerate anything and everything. Therefore the term promotion of tolerance comes to mind. 

All in all, the eight values of free expression serve as very important values to our basic human rights. I believe everyone should learn the eight values of freedom expression and read up on them. Reading these values helped me get a better understanding of free expression within society as a whole. I also believe many people go their lives without knowing these I believe it should be required in lower levels schooling to teach.

The age of AI/15 minute city - Blog post

 Privacy & or security?

The age of AI gives us descriptions on camera and government spending having to do with building a surveillance state. There has been multiple facilities with very high surveillance for Turkish muslims obtained by the Chinese. They have been subjected to political re-education, some even have faced torture and death. People have fell victim to high surveillance especially in china. 

There are many low-level security systems all over the world especially outside of the U.S. There are 58 countries that are starting to plug in to Chinas vision of artificial intelligence.  Many people are worried the world will split in two; The United States tech sector and the Chinese tech sector. Countries then will have to choose which side they want to be on. It is worrying that they would choose the Chinese tech sector. There is a lot of American distrust in American technology. 

The Chinese believe that they're more advanced than we're. The US government fears that as Huawei supplies other countries that were falling behind. We believe we can have a backdoor opening into their supplies. However, it is not confirmed. Huawei can claim they're a private company and they don't take orders from a communist country... and maybe they aren't yet. However, the pentagon and the United States is convinced that they will adopt that mindset and way of thinking soon when it comes to private surveillance in technology. Technology has become a tool of control. 

Chinese engagement is coming into question. Technology is becoming something countries don't want to share with another. We are also questioning if China and the United States are antagonistic against each other. The world is being dominated by the Age of AI superpowers; China and The United States. 

After Thoughts

All in all, I believed the facts on what China is doing is super scary and will be very scary for our future as they continue to progress in private security. The fact that people are even considering to adopt their mindset with technology is horrifying considering the facts of how they basically have a concentration camps imprisoning a bunch if Turkish muslims and are utilizing harmful technology within these camps is for lack of better words crazy. I believe within the next few years different countries are going to take one of two sides; China's or The United States. It is up for debate which country will have the most support for their modern technology having to do with modern security... my personal hope is that we all decide to follow the lead of the United States. That being said there are Cons to both countries. We're afraid that China will eventually fully adopt the communist way of thinking. 

The government in all countries in my opinion have way to much control over their citizens private security and the way that its going I believe within the next two years the age of AI's superpowers will be dominating the world which is a scary thought. The commuting power of AI, the technological breakthrough, that gives the government the power to track our movements, our searches, even what we text. 

Blog #9 - Key concept and terms - Mainstream Media

For this EOTO I chose the topic of Mainstream media. Mainstream media can be defined as a traditional or established broadcasting or publishing outlet. Some examples of Mainstream media include; NBC, Bravo, E!, Golf channel, Syfy, or NBC sports network. Those are just a few examples of the many mainstream media's. Along with Mainstream media we also have establishment and corporate media. There are many differences between those three medias. I will be going into those differences later in the blog post. 

There are many implications when it comes to any type of media, however especially with Mainstream media a lot of implications arise. There are not only bad implications, but good implications as well. There have been major disconnects with mainstream media and their audiences. Different age groups, races, and classes will interpret mainstream media in a different way. The biggest implication is bias. Every mainstream media news source has a form of bias within the network. Depending on you demographic that will determine what news source you watch and why.

How might this affect society as a whole? This affects society as a whole with how we interact with one another. Depending on which mainstream media source you watch it will always conflict with a different media source. Therefore, this will start many arguments, riots, and many other implications come out of this in society. For example, everything that was happening in 2020 and even into the year 2021. There were riots and society could not not matter what get along due to the implication of media bias. 

How might these implications affect different segments differently - rich/poor, old/young, male/female, etc? This affects different segments of society based on values and belief. Society as viewers to mainstream media feed into the frenzy so to speak, but it really depends on your demographic how you interpret the mainstream media. Starting off with the first differential pairing of rich/poor. Rich people tend to benefit more from the mainstream media when the economy is booming because the mainstream media portrays the rich as the people who are benefiting the most. Poorer people hear from the mainstream media that when the wealthy people benefit from our American economic boom that they should go along with what the rich are doing. The news today tells poorer voters that when the rich are benefiting that means the economy is much better. Therefore, the mainstream media basically only benefits the rich rather than the poor. Now going into the difference between old/young... "Younger audiences are different from older groups not just in what they do, but in their core attitudes in term of what they want from the news. Young people are primarily driven by progress and enjoyment in their lives, and this translates into what they look for in news". While older audiences tend to go for the more traditional mainstream media that only confirm their viewpoints. Gay/Straight is the next pairing I will be depicting for how the mainstream media acts. The research that I did came to the conclusion that the mainstream media doesn't really affect the straight/gay category. I believe that they don't really target that audience as a minority. mainstream media targets society as a whole. As for majority and minority... as I said for the gay/straight they target the majority of society, not as much any sort of minority. 

As for how it might affect me or my family... I feel like any sort of news or media will affect the population as a whole including my family and I. There are always certain subjects that could implicate my families viewpoints or standing/idea of society. 

Mainstream media has many implications, however I do believe that none of them really affect me and my family.

Blog Post- Review of presentations

I learned a lot about old and modern technology not just from my group, but from others as well. I learned from my fellow group member about the first creation and events of the newspaper. I was surprised to find out that the newspaper was invented in 1604. I did not know it was created that early. I also learned that back then just like now a days the government tried to silence these newspapers because they spoke about the difficulties the government was having at the time. 

The one thing that I found most interesting from another group was group 1. The one guy chose to do YouTube. I was shocked to find out that originally before it became what it is today it could've possibly been a dating app. 

Another thing I found interesting was from group 3 when Alayna presented about the radio. I didn't know the radio was made as early as the 1850's. I believed that the radio came to be in the early 1900's. Radios apparently seemed useless when they were first invented, then not even a few years later radio's started to boom and become very popular. Another fact that I found interesting also came from group 3. The VCR cost $50,000 in the 1950's. Only the rich could buy a VCR then. 

The next piece of information I found interesting came from group 4 about google. I learned that google plays a bigger part in our life than I have previously thought. The google effect has been linked to cause "amnesia" we don't take in information the same way we would before google was created. Netflix was another technology I was surprised by. I am a Netflix fan, I watch it all the time. I didn't realize that Netflix was subscription based by using DVD's. I have just always believed it was an app and also it was more modern and more new than it actually was. 

I am glad I learned more about not only these specific technologies, but all technologies that were presented about. I have always been interested in the history of inventions. So this project/presentation was right up my alley!