Final Blog Post

My Relationship With Technology

Technology is one of the most important and prominent things in our lives today. It is something at this point that is unavoidable. It has become so necessary for everyone and in everything in life that to think of life without it now would be quite strange. It has become something that has the capability to help us with anything and everything. Like finding information, communication with others, speaking your voice, and many more helpful tools. It is fused into our daily lifestyle, and majority of people cannot go without and would not know how to function if they did not have the internet or technology. Along with technology, social media has become bigger than ever. It is a way for anyone to communicate with their friends or others online. Both technology and social media have become such important and influential developments in our lives. But they both come with their pros and cons. 

With all of life's complications, technology has been learning from it and evolving. Things such as wars, pandemics and new lifestyles has made technology have to adapt and evolve to fit with what is currently happening. A larger example of something good that came from technology when the world quickly changed was during COVID. When everyone had to remain home, it became a concern for those working when they needed to interact with their coworkers or bosses they did not know how they were going to do it. Thankfully, Zoom was created for large groups of people could get together easily and talk to one another. This is an example of something that was extremely helpful and necessary during tough times. However, there have been not so good. With the implication of search engines, there has been serious violations of privacy. People's privacy of their own information has been taken through Google and other applications. Every time you enter your email into something for information Google sees. In an article I read, it showed several ways Google is easily taking our information. This is complete invasion of privacy and it should be more talked about, but since Google is majority of peoples search engine, it is never broadcast. 

Social media also has its pros and cons. It has become one of the most popular forms of entertainment and as well as being one of the most used forms of communication. Social media has been great to find things you like, post and communicate with other online, and keep updated on what is going with friends, celebrities, or anything else. However, it has become more and more of places to show off what you are doing and see how much better other peoples lives are. The negatives of social media are starting to out way the positives as they get more popular. In an article I read about the negatives of social media use, there have several ways in which it has harmed the youth of today. It has caused people to have FOMO, fear of missing out, depression and anxiety, or has made them completely addicted to it that they cannot go a couple days without checking the app. There have been more and more teen suicides as well since social media became apart of everyones daily life. Feeling about your own life compared to other online and online bullying has made people feel that they are not worthy to be alive. I have definitely been off social media less and less as I realized how harmful it can be and all the information that I put online will be analyzed forever. 

  

With social media and the internet it has made mine and many others digital footprints larger and will continue to get bigger with how much more we use it and how much more important it gets. A digital footprint is "one's unique set of traceable digital activities, action, contributions, or communications on the internet or digital devices." Something I have really come to learn is how important privacy is online. I am really glad that my Instagram is private because if it was public anyone online could look at me and the things I post that are intended for my friends. It also gave me a sense of security because in class when we looked up our names online there was nothing of me online since all my socials are private. Giving away my information online is not something I want that accessible that easily. With the popularity and advancement of these technologies our information and digital footprint will spread. Social media has been great in some ways, and has evolved technology and the way we do certain things, but it has severe negative impacts on people. Technology has also been a great advancement in our society but knowing that my information is constantly being shared with different website and browsers is definitely something to not forget.

Blog Post 8

 Privacy, Online and Off 

Since watching Andy Yen's TedTalk about our digital privacy I cannot use my email, websites or search engines that same. He goes on to explain how websites has complete access to our emails. Being that our emails is a major way to communicate any of our information, it is not a good thing that these websites have access to them. Every time we sign up for something or send a message to someone, people know to who it was for, what we were sending, and what thing we were giving our email to. I do not feel safe using my email anymore, and I am definitely going to use it less now. 

Since we gave our emails to brands or companies, they are able to easily send us ads to our emails about "deals" or new products coming. While some may like getting these emails flooding their inboxes, the brand should not have been able to automatically send advertisements we should have had the choice to add additional emails about their brand. This also connects to ads when we are on search engines. If you are reading an article, for example,  you will get ads on it on a brand you like or a different brand that relates to something you would enjoy. Any advertisements are curated to your like based on what you add your email to, what you click on online or on posts, what you search up, and what you like on apps like Instagram or TikTok. All of these things are connected in order to see what you like and what you would be interested in buying. 

In this day in age, it is so important to keep your information safe since businesses and people in government constantly want to know what you are doing and liking online. People do not tend to think of their email being something that would not be private but it is one of the most public things about you. A way to keep your information private, we must be more and more careful with our personal information we are sending in our emails.  

Blog Post 11

 Online Influencers Reaction 

As the internet becomes more and more essential, majority of the internet celebrities or "influencers" become more famous. The first kinds of influencers were Paris Hilton and the Kardashians who essentially became famous for nothing and just being themselves. Nowadays the most popular influencers are Charli D'Amelio and Emma Chamberlain, who have gained their fame on TikTok and YouTube. The main reason they got this following is based on their personality which the typical celebrity does not do. This makes them seem more relatable and approachable to viewers. 

When it comes to working with brands, influencers are more appealable than other celebrities now since they have gained their audience by being themselves. So when they go to promote a product it seems more authentic and they can get them to believe that item is actually worth buying. Brands pay smaller influencers around five hundred dollars to five thousand dollars on a sponsored post, while larger influencers get payed around five thousand dollars to ten thousand dollars for a sponsored post. These are post that brands are paying them too post to promote their products. However, some platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok, pay influencers just to post something on the app. Kylie Jenner gets payed about 1.5 million per Instagram post and Charli D'Amelio get payed about fifty thousand dollars for posting, unsponsored, TikTok. The amount of money they are getting payed is insane and they are making a crazy amount for just posting a picture or video on the internet. 

There definitely pros and cons to being an influencer. Some pros include being able to work at home or wherever you are, and it is very simple "work" compared to having an actual job. Some cons however, is that your entire life is put online and will be scrutinized unlike any other job, also it is not a steady income. There is not a weekly pay check so influencers have to always be looking for brands to work with. While being an influencer is a much simpler job compared to the typical career, it does have its faults and stressors. Being an influencer in this generation is very important because they are put on blast and everyone is watching. They hold a lot of power and impact on things going on in the world like political view points or what in popular and what is not. Influencers are extremely important with what platforms and businesses are popular and good. 

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Blog Post 10

 Living in the Age of AI 

"Living in the Age of AI" is a documentary on PBS that go into that world of artificial intelligence. It looks into the work and privacy with living with AI. While watching the Age of AI documentary, it was extremely interesting, and yet concerning, to see how much technology has advanced and gotten even smarter. They showed many pros and cons that would come with having AI in our daily lives. It also showed how the AI is even smarter than some of the most intelligent humans in the world. An example of that was when they put the greatest Go player up against engineers new AI Go playing game called AlphaGo. The program ended up beating the man several times, which is crazy to think that the best of the best at Go could not beat AlphaGo. The people in the documentary said it best, "it was not that the computers beat the humans, it was that one type of intelligence beat another".  

While many amazing strides in technology have been made, there are some negatives that come with incorporating AI into our daily lives. Society as we know it would shift with the implication of AI, for example, many jobs would be taken from people. In some countries and cities, AI has already taken away jobs from people. This is happening at establishments such as McDonalds, Burger King and more fast food places like that. As well as vending machines selling high end products and establishment foods. These kinds of things are taking away thousands of job opportunities for people who need to be working. 

With artificial intelligence in our daily lives it will risk the privacy and livelihood of everyone. People not only will be competing with each other but now computers who are basically guaranteed to be superior. AI is definitely beneficial for certain things like medicine or discoveries, but for the public it would be a great concern.  

Blog Post 9

 Net Neutrality

Net neutrality is the goal to have Internet Service Providers, IPS, treat all of data within their network equally. There must not be any unethical discrimination favoring any specific apps, sites or services. The main idea of net neutrality is to keep an open internet for everyone.

 

Net neutrality has also faced several threats since its creation, such as IPS forging, IPS forging packets to mess with specific kinds of traffic and slowing down, or blocking, protocols and applications. However, net neutrality has been quite beneficial for the public since its idea to keep an open internet for everyone, but that does not come without its pros and cons. Some of the pros with having net neutrality laws include, protecting freedom of speech on the internet by restraining internet service providers from blocking or banning content. As well as shielding consumers from slowing, speeding or charging higher fees for specific online content by prohibiting ISPs. Net neutrality also encourages competition through providing an equal playing field for new companies. However, there are cons to having net neutrality laws and some include, that the regulations with net neutrality are unnecessary because the internet prospered greatly without it. It also generated a burdensome and overreaching of regulations that will control the internet. As well as creating less investment on other internet services which result in lower access and higher costs for the consumers. 

For my generation this is very important law. Since GenZ has not gone a day without the internet or any sort of technology, we constantly rely on it and use it for everything that this point. Genz and Millennials use the internet the most out of any other generation, so having a safe and open access to the internet is very necessary. However the way GenZ uses the internet now is juristically different than other generations did a couple years ago. We are open to advertisements, self expression, and marketing yourself as a brand. So, according to an article I read, implementing net neutrality will "regulated and controlled beyond their control". GenZ's way of interacting online and with brands online will change juristically because it will cause the brands to redefine the way they interact online. Also, companies will have to adjust to the "digital challenges" with the more and more buying power and the more companies enter the workforce. 

Net neutrality affects society as whole in three different ways: freedom of expression, encourages innovation and competition, unrestricted access. Net neutrality helps with freedom of expression because it prohibits ISPs from restricting or blocking online content. Without net neutrality, ISPs could possibly block any access to online content that they do not want any consumer to view. This would cause a mass content censorship online which goes against our constitutional rights to free speech, press and assembly. While it endorses innovation and competition, it also stops "ISPs from slowing, charging high fees, or speeding up online content". Also an open internet allows smaller brands and companies to succeed and without having larger companies having an advantage. It allows for an equal playing field of competition. Finally, unfettered access to online content is critical for everyone online in order to retrieve the content. This limits other providers from up-charging users high fees to gain online content and services. 

Net neutrality is a crucial aspect for online use and without it there would be many dangerous and suspicious activity while trying to get your online content. 

Blog Post 7

 Diffusion of Innovations

The article stated that the Diffusion Theory is "the theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread". While reading the Diffusion theory article, I found that there were five key elements in diffusion research: innovation, adopters, communication channels, time, social system. These elements have all lead to new innovations becoming what they are today. An example of a present innovation is the iPhone.

 

The iPhone is the most used smartphone in the world. At first it was not that popular but as the years have gone on it is the most notable and popular smartphone on the market. It brought so many new innovations to the table, like the first phone to have an all screen display. It also implemented the use of Apps, which is now something majority of smartphone users cannot live without. The first adopters were the individuals. Younger people who could understand, learn, and adapt to this new form of technology. Majority of younger people adopted this new innovation because it was something personable and easy to use and communicate with others. Majority of people who are late adopters, or some who never adopt, are the older generations. Majority of them have lived their whole life without having a smartphone, so why change things and have to learn something completely brand new when they have been fine without it. 

However, while the iPhone has been an excellent help to the everyday person and an amazing stride in modern technology, it does have its downsides. Nowadays everyone is completely addicted and cannot live without their smartphone. Majority of people these days can not seem to put their phones down. We have also become so dependent on our phones because, essentially, our entire lives are on the device. The way we have become so addicted to having a smartphone and made us be so codependent on them that we struggle and freak out when we do not have it. However, I do believe that the positives out weigh the negatives. It is the best resource of communication and has helped many people throughout the years. 

Blog Post 6

 Antiwar Voices 

During the Progressive Era, which was a time of extensive social activism and reform that lasted from the 1890s to the 1920s, tried for a time of our nation to become better. Many important reforms were made and other movements such as women's right to vote, thus making this era an extremely important one. However, during this era it led to many people voicing their opinions on whether or not the United States should enter the war. 

In today's world, people who voice their opinion's on certain topics may be subject for their voice to be silenced. If you watch the news or read it on a major website, there is little to no reports on how the United States should not went a war. Those reporters who are anti war are constantly silenced and never published in a major news site. 

While looking into Antiwar, that was rather difficult considering how confusing the site was, they had hundreds of articles published about every major country and their war stance and situation. I had never heard of this website before and while it was not the finest site to look at they had many interesting articles about subjects that are not posted in mainstream media. On the other hand, while looking into The American Conservative, it was more refined and had very well written articles. But again these are not published in mainstream media or news which is very upsetting because some of these posts are extremely important and educational. For example, in The American Conservative I read an article about Realism and the Ukraine War, which was written by someone who was actually there. These kinds of pieces should be published on major news sites and it a shame that they are not. 

I do not believe war is ever the answer, but some people in higher positions believe it is, so many journalists who disagree are not published in mainstream media because they are not agreeing with them. Voicing your own opinion should not be considered bad and people should not be silenced for doing so.