Blog Post #12: Final Blog Post

 

My Relationship With Technology

Over the decade's technology has evolved from being used for survival and hunting to being used for pleasure. As technology has changed, so has the way we communicate. Technology started with petroglyphs which are rock carvings made when you continuously peck at a rock using a stone chisel and a hammerstone. Technology has evolved into automatic cars, drones, cloud computing, Apple iPhones, flash drives, and more.

   Today, technology has become a significant part of our everyday lives; for some, it has even taken over. These little devices hold so much power over us, teaching us new information, connecting us to others, and being a part of our everyday lives. I have always found technology fascinating; it has been a part of my life since a very young age. From using things such as iPods, Netendo Switch, flip phones, Bluetooth, and computers to now Apple Phones and Alexias, ideas that were once expressed with words directly can be spoken through different media types.

    Growing up, I had access to various technology platforms; however, I don't necessarily perceive this as positive. My phone and computer are a part of me, they not only contain an abundance of information, but they hold essential information from almost every aspect of my life. Whether this includes my contacts, pictures, school work, passwords, money, etc., I would lose a piece of me if I lost my phone. A study taken in 2023 states that globally, the typical person averages 6 hours and 58 minutes of screen time per day; however, the average American spends 7 hours and 4 minutes of screen time per day. Not only is it crazy that almost 10 hours of our 24-hour days are taken up by looking at these little devices, but after reviewing my screen time, I was saddened to find that my average was 5 hours and 32 minutes. What makes it worse is that 95% of the time I spent on my phone did not do anything productive; it was just me scrolling through social media and texting with friends. 

    There have been multiple points in my life where I have considered deleting all my social media off my phone for various reasons. One reason is that it's not helping me in any way, whether as a student, a friend, or a person; it's holding me back. The hours I spend scrolling through social media or watching Netflix on my television could be easily turned into hours I spend doing homework or improving myself physically and mentally. However, I have not gotten rid of social media/ technology because it provides some positive aspects and has become such a significant part of our society that I would become so disconnected from our world and what it has evolved to.

    Although there is so much negative connotation connected to technology, there is even more optimism. With the help of technology, many of us can stay connected to friends and family who may not live nearby. We can further our knowledge or even learn fun and interesting facts we learned with the internet. It is more accessible when networking when looking for a job, or creating a company. Innovation and productivity have exceeded our expectations, it allows companies to save time on mundane tasks, and most importantly, it has created artificial intelligence.

Reliable or No?

It is measured that about 5.07 billion people use the internet daily. This is due to the abundance of information and the ease at which most of us can find said information. Technology has advanced so much that we are updated almost instantaneously when any news or information is released, both publically or privately, because when it comes to technology, there is no such thing as privacy.

    Although it is very convenient and helpful for all of this news and media to constantly be at our fingertips, it also creates the significant possibility for an abundance of manipulated or false information. Most of us believe the first thing we read on the internet is that we will find whatever you want on the internet, whether that is right or wrong. Due to the abundance of misleading or false information on the internet, it is essential to not only do your own research but also to enter the internet with an open mind. Go in knowing the information you are reading may be an opinion, but it may also be a fact on a topic they have done years researching. Check their sources and even do a background check on them. Learn about who they are and what their job is, whether they are a local soccer mom who is mad about her kid's favorite snacks being taken out of the grocery store or a nutritionist whose goal is to inform people about the healthiest snacks to send in your kid's lunch boxes.

Digital Footprint

An online footprint is a record of a person's online activity. It shows where one may have been online and any data they have left behind. An online footprint is constantly growing the more you use the internet or social media. For example, if you deliberately post online, create a website for your company, or allow your apps to track your activity, your online footprint will grow. When I googled myself online, I was shocked when I found very little information about myself; the only thing that immediately came up was my LinkedIn. This surprised me with how much I use the internet and because I use other platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram. Although this surprised me, I view it as a very positive thing. This is because if a business were to google search me, the only thing that comes up is what I want to come up with.

Videos

In the video FUTURAMA Ride, they are astonished at what the possible future regarding technology holds. Discussing topics such as underwater hotels, self-driven cars, the lunar rover, and moving walkways, the people in this video gawked over what the future held for our society when it came to technology. As many of you may realize, not only have we accomplished all of these, but we have used technology to create even more than was ever imaginable or talked about in this video.    

Although the FUTURAMA Ride video mostly discusses what the future or our present holds regarding technological advancements, the "Tears for Fears" video touches more on the concept of people in our society being addicted to our phones and the consequences attached to it. The video stated and even emphasized the idea that phones will always come first and that they will forever be the citizen's main priority, whether that is posting or communicating with others. I sort of agree with this statement. I say this because, yes, I agree that many of us are addicted to our phones, whether that is scrolling through social media or texting our friends. However, I also believe that there is a major positive side when it comes to technology. It helps us stay connected with our peers, meet new people, and even communicate as a community.

Thanks to technology, not only have we advanced as a society, but we have been able to bring attention to things such as news outlets, journalism, companies, and other concepts within this umbrella. Whether people like it or not, technology will always be around. Although there are many negative effects due to technology, we are constantly will be creating new technological advancements that not only benefit our society but also the way we communicate with each other. This means it is essential we not only create a positive relationship with technology, but we learn how to use it to our benefit. Many people are so focused on the negative side of technology that they completely miss the opportunities presented right in front of them. As I stated before, take advantage of these learning opportunities, but always go into them with caution.

Blog Post #11: What I Learned, EOTO Presentation

After watching and engaging with all of my peer's presentations, I gained knowledge on various unique topics. I even learned more about my own topics, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and Media Consolidation. A few of the topics my peers discussed that stood out to me were cancel culture, confirmation bias, and the illusory truth effect. These topics stood out to me for two specific reasons: the uniqueness they provide and how they have evolved and changed our society.

The first topic I am going to be discussing is cancel culture. Cancel culture can be defined as a group of people whose goal is to remove a specific individual, organization, or platform's power. It is when a group of people come together to reject or stop supporting someone due to an offensive slur, act, or behavior toward another individual. An example would be if someone were to tweet something online that was typically seen as controversial to the moral or social norms of the society. A group of people online would then enter the platform and "cancel" that person or attack them to make them aware that what they are saying may be wrong or offensive to some people. The goal of this act is ultimately to hold people accountable for their actions. It is a way for people to voice their opinions while also protecting certain groups or classes of people.

An example of cancel culture in the real world would be when the Swedish YouTube star Felix Kjellberg was canceled for using the N-word in one of his videos in January 2017. Not only was he attracted by viewers on YouTube, but he also lost thousands of viewers, and Disney even announced that they were going to cut ties with him even though, at the time, he was the world's highest-paying YouTuber. Not long after, he was dropped from the Google Preferred advertising program, and his YouTube Red series was canceled. Although he later posted an apology for using the racial slur, the damage was done, he was canceled from all platforms, and his reputation has been affected ever since.

The next topic that piqued my interest was confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is defined as the tendency to make a decision unintentionally based on our previous existing notions, beliefs, knowledge, stereotypes, etc. Even though you may perceive this as a positive thing at first glance, it can eventually lead to poor decisions due to the possibility of one distorted reality. I learned that typically, we as humans are bombarded with new information every day making it very difficult to differentiate the difference between true and false information, then making one's confirmation bias skewed.

The last topic and the main topic that stood out to me during my peer's presentations was when the Illusory Truth Effect was discussed. This is the theory or tendency for someone to believe something is true after constantly being exposed to it; the more times that individual hears the same statement, as long as it's plausible, the truer it may seem. This effect is amazing to me because not only does it affect every single person, but also it can persuade the smartest people to believe false information without even questioning it.

In the presentation, the quote "repetition makes a lie sound so true" stood out to me for various reasons. One main reason it stood out to me was because of how true it is. Many of these can connect the Illusory Truth Effect to social media. Thousands of blogs, tweets, campaigns, and news media are shared daily; however, within those thousands of posts or news sources, you will also find fake news. Due to the Illusory Truth Effect, even if you see those posts and know they are not true, if you continue to view them for an extended period of time, eventually, you will start to believe them. Many companies and political figures share inaccurate information over and over again, convincing their viewers of inaccurate information.

For example, maybe you work at an events company and love your manager; however, after a few weeks on the job, you start hearing your coworkers complaining about how terrible she is and all their bad experiences with her. The following week, you then find yourself hating on and participating in the gossip about your manager, even though nothing directly has happened to you; once you start hearing these negative stories from other people, you begin twisting your own experiences, deciding she is a bad manager. 

In conclusion, I am astonished at how often and how easy it is to use the Illusory Truth Effect. Looking back on my life, I realize that not only is this happening on social media and in politics, but it also happens in schools, with friends, and even with family. Whether that is believing false information or buying something you really don't need, the illusory truth effect is all around us every single day. It is our responsibility as a society to make sure we educate ourselves and do our own research when learning or providing information, because as everyone always says, never believe the internet and never believe a rumor because 98% of the time, that's all it is, a rumor.

Blog Post #10: Living in the age of AI

Recently, it has been a major topic of debate on whether technology is good or bad. Some may argue that technology has improved their lives, making learning, communicating, and keeping up with the news more accessible. Others may argue that technology harms one's health or has taken away people's right to privacy. Both arguments are correct; however, many people are unaware of the gory details of what artificial intelligence really is.

Before I begin, what is artificial intelligence? Artificial intelligence is the ability of a machine to demonstrate intelligence that could be considered comparable to humans. In other words, it's an attempt for computer scientists to create machines that can think and act like humans. Some common examples of AI machinery are personal assistants, Siri, Alexia, robots, and self-driving cars.

From checking your phone when you wake up, to texting and checking social media throughout the day, to turning on a movie before bed, artificial intelligence has wiggled its way into being a part of each one of our everyday lives. Technology has undoubtedly made many of our lives easier and even saved lives. There have been features of AI that have and continue to help our society. For example, it is estimated that self-driving cars have the potential to decrease fatalities by about 90%. It can also do tasks that may be too dangerous or tedious for humans to perform. It has also reduced possible risk, injuries, or deaths in the workplace, increased efficiency, and productivity, helped doctors with medicine and finding diseases, and even assisted hospitals in getting their patients healthier faster.

Although the pros of artificial intelligence seem undoubtfully positive, there are even more intense negatives. Technology has undoubtedly made many of our lives safer, easier, and more efficient, but it has also harmed us in ways many of us are entirely oblivious to. In 2015, there was a controversy about people's invasion of privacy regarding Google; it was stated, "You'd be horrified if you knew how much we knew about you." As the "Age of AI" video states, "you may have thought you were searching Google, but Google was searching you." Hearing this statement from a professional and someone with first-hand experience is very unsettling. No matter what we do or how private we think we are being, we are being watched, every move, every step, every breath.

Not only has privacy been taken away in the states, but it has also begun to be taken away worldwide. In Japan, it is estimated that over 600 million cameras will be deployed by 2020 in the hopes of discouraging simple acts such as jaywalking, but even more daunting, as a reminder of who is really in charge and that they are always watching.

Not only has artificial intelligence also begun taking over thousands of human jobs, but it has raised the question of whether artificial intelligence or human workers is not only more efficient but more dependable. The impact of AI in the workplace, fast food restaurants, stores, factories, finance departments, law firms, and human resources has not only resulted in the loss of jobs worldwide, but it has also neglected how members of our society make money to support themselves and their families. Artificial intelligence has even separated the natural classes of our society even more. The rich have become more prosperous, and the poor have become poorer.

Technological surveillance has begun to pop up in places many wouldn't have imagined. Devices such as our camera doorbell or the Alexia sitting in our kitchen can spy on us daily and slowly gather information about who we are and our daily lives. These devices are powered by spoken interactions, and with each interaction, the device is learning how to recognize who you are and what you are like based on what you ask. They can ask you a simple question, and they will intensely listen to your response, listen to how you say it, and gain information. 

Identity theft also has never been easier for a hacker, thanks to the help of technology. These hackers can now access various people's accounts and almost every detail of information about them with just a few clicks on the internet. There have even been instances where hackers can watch their victims through things such as a baby monitor or the ring doorbell; that's terrifying! Overall, artificial intelligence has made it extremely hard for us to keep our information private and even for most of us to feel safe.

In conclusion, when it comes to artificial intelligence, there are many pros and cons to this growing technological advancement; however, we need to be careful. Although many of us enjoy using things such as our smartphones, Google, and Alexia, it is essential to use these types of devices sparingly. AI is just as smart, if not more intelligent, than most of us, and with it continuing to grow, it can take over the world. As silly as that may sound, it is unsettling how close we are to that being our reality. So next time you go to pick up your phone right when you wake up, ask yourself, how important is my privacy?

Blog Post #9: Sherman Anti-Trust Act & Media Consolidation

In 1890, the first Federal act that outlawed monopolistic business practices was established, known as the Sherman Antitrust Act. Before this act was implemented, there were only a few companies in each industry which caused them to dominate their industries. By putting the Sherman Antitrust Act into place, the government finally had a way to control the economy and avoid eliminating competition, which would eventually harm both American consumers and the American economy.

President Benjamin Harris was the president that signed this bill into law on July 2nd, 1890, with the goal of the Sherman Antitrust Act to protect consumers' rights, control the economy, and eliminate monopolistic business practices. Additionally, its purpose was to restore competition and end possible trade and commerce with unlawful restraints and monopolies. Before Benjamin Harris put this act into place, although monopolies were legal, they were highly frowned upon. This allowed both good and bad monopolies to be created. You might be thinking that no matter the law or the situation, there will be some good and some bad, but the continuous creation of monopolies was crushing our economy.

This act was not only able to save our economy from going under, but overall, it prevented other industries from obtaining too much power in one place. Although this was a great idea, the Sherman Antitrust Act was less efficient than most would have liked. The vagueness and the lack of specificity in this document regarding words such as "trust," "combination," "conspiracy," and "monopoly" made it very easy for many companies to find easy and legal loopholes to create their monopolies.

Code #1 in the Sherman Antitrust Act:

"Every contract combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared illegal."

Code #2 in the Sherman Antitrust Act:

"Prohibits monopolization or attempts at monopolizing any aspect of interstate trade or commerce and makes the act a felony."

Five years later, in 1895, the Supreme Court dismantled the Sherman Antitrust Act in the United States V. E.C. Knight Company case due to the lack of success. Then, even later, in 1914, since many people still agreed the Sherman Antitrust Act was essential, they decided to try again and create a modified version. This was known as the Clayton Antitrust Act. This act specifically "defined it as illegal for certain business practices that were conducive to the formation of monopolies or that result from them." It also addressed specific topics that the Sherman Antitrust Act did not ban and closed possible loopholes.

Like most other laws, the Sherman Antitrust Act has pros and cons. Some of the pros of this act were it allowed its consumers or citizens to feel as if they were protected in the economy. This is because before this act was passed in 1890, many consumers struggled with unfair pricing, unsafe work environments, and a lack of available jobs. The antitrust act supporters believed this law was necessary because to have a thriving open marketplace, you need protection from the Sherman Antitrust Act and protection against monopolies. Many even believe you must have healthy competition to have a healthy economy. This is because it gives the possible consumers the option for lower priced products, higher priced and higher quality services, a wide variety of selections, and the opportunity for higher levels of innovation,

On the contrary, some believe that the opportunity for competition within businesses allows the consumer to get the best deal or price rather than regulating the competition. Some critics also pointed out, like I stated before, its lack of specificity with certain words made it unclear on both the goal and the purpose of the act. Another adverse effect that came about because of the clause was narrow judicial interpretations regarding what could be considered trade or commerce within the states.

There are also possible penalties for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. Although these cases would be considered civil cases, the Department of Justice would prosecute people who violated this act. Things. For example, anyone who monopolizes tries to monopolize, or even conspires with another person can be found guilty of a felony. This felony will consist of a fine between 1 million dollars and 100 million dollars or the possibility of being imprisoned for up to 10 years.

Media consolidation is not only linked to the Sherman Antitrust Act, but it is also related to it. Media consolidation, simply defined, is the concentration of ownership of our news sources into the hands of fewer corporations. The goal of the common cause is to help stop the spread of media monopolization by pressing for possible innovative reforms. The goal of these would be to put the people first and second to help ensure more diverse voices and perspectives in our society.

Media consolidation continues to happen frantically fast, causing a horrific impact on our local news sources. The purpose of the media is not only to keep its citizens informed but also to show its citizens essential issues going on around the world, such as healthcare, economic justice, immigration, and politics. This is why it is essential to have a diverse array of opinions and voices in our news and our everyday conversations. This becomes more difficult when our traditional media and social media platforms are owned by fewer, if not the same, corporations.

This narrowed the possible perspective and restricted the variety of journalism our democracy depends on. As this continues in our society today, places such as local newsrooms are shielded, and thousands of journalists get fired. Additionally, investigative reporting diminishes, and millions of Americans begin getting left out of the democratic process.

Blog Post #8: Diffusion of Innovations

New innovations are made every day, whether it is something as big as Netflix or the Internet or something as simple as Bluetooth or headphones, innovation is around us every day. Diffusion of innovation can be defined as a theory that follows a pattern and spreads new ideas, practices, or products spread through a population. The diffusion of Innovation theory was created by a man named E.M Rogers in 1962 and is known for being one of the oldest social science theories ever created. When creating an innovation, there are five different stages to focus on that are used to appeal to the different adopter categories. These are innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggers.

To explain this theory, I will use one of the older inventions, but one still highly prominent in our lives today, the telephone. The telephone was created back in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell; little did he know that it would open a whole new door to communication and change the way people act today. Before Alexander invented the telephone, many people used postal service, carrier pigeons, newspapers, and telegraphs to communicate with one another and learn new information going on in the world. Although Alexander was not the first to come up with the idea of communicating with one another via electronic devices, he was the first to truly perfect it.

The invention of the telephone was one of the fastest-spreading inventions ever due to it allowing for much faster, more efficient, and more reliable communication among citizens. Once it was perfected, it became the dominant form of mass communication. Before the telephone was invented, people would wait around for not only hours but days to get a response or learn even to learn about what was going on in the world. Telephones also made it easier for businesses to communicate with one another, significantly cutting down the time it took to send each other messages. Along with this, it allowed businesses to expand their reach and even the possibility of becoming international.

The telephone was not only more efficient, but it was significantly cheaper. With the telegraph, it was unnecessarily expensive to send such a short message to someone far or near, hoping they would receive the message sometime in the next two to four weeks. Although the telephone may have been expensive to purchase, it was much cheaper in the long run due to the consumer being allowed to talk as much, and for however long they wanted at no additional cost.

Although many were early adopters of the telephone, many were hesitant initially; I mean, who would blame them? Before the telephone, there was nothing remotely similar to this. There was even a huge debate shortly after the telephone was released on whether this type of technology could have physical and mental harmful health effects; this debate is still a hot topic for smartphones in today's era. Due to this, there were many late adopters and even, although very rare, some non-adopters.

This year in 2023, it was recorded that about 7.33 Billion smartphone users, also meaning 90.04% of the world's population, own a smartphone or some type of feature phone. Although this number is enormous, about 10% of the population still does not own or use any type of smartphone for feature phones, which means, although rare, there are some non-adopters. Whether this small 10% is concerned with the possible health issues I discussed earlier or they are concerned about their privacy, the possible adverse effects of owning this device clearly outweigh the positive.

Although the telephone has many positive impacts, there are definitely some negative consequences that come along with the telephone. This includes things such as since it is so easy to contact anyone at any desired moment, nowadays, it can cause distracted driving and sometimes even car accidents. It has now been found that telephones now have the possibility of causing stress, anxiety, depression, and even a lack of face-to-face communication. The telephone can cause issues or disrupt learning environments and cause a lack of focus or drive when it comes to your job or school work.

Although there are many possible consequences and even some people who believe you should not use a telephone at all due to the side effects, I believe the telephone changed our world mainly for the better. It created jobs, allowed people to stay in contact with loved ones, and facilitated communication worldwide. Without the telephone, things would be different, and I don't mean different in a good way.

Blog Post #7: EOT Reflection on Netflix

Most, if not all of us, already knew what Netflix was, it has been a part of our everyday lives for as long as most of us can remember, but it had to start somewhere. Netflix was founded back in 1997 by two men named Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph. Many of us know Netflix as a way to watch television shows and movies on our TVs, but that's not how it started.

Netflix began when Reed and Marc were curious if there was a way to rent a DVD by mail instead of physically going to a store such as Blockbuster to avoid potential issues such as not having the movie you want, late fees, etc. Marc and Reed had recently had a poor encounter at one of these movie stores with a late rental fee for a movie they were renting. They both ended up getting very frustrated and wanted to figure out if there was a way that they could mail themselves a DVD instead of dealing with the hassle of going to a movie store. They ended up testing it and sent themselves their first DVD, it arrived in perfect condition and timing, and this affirmed them to continue rolling with their idea called Netflix.

Then, in 1998, Reed and Marc launched a website called Netflix.com. This was where customers could order DVDs online and have them shipped directly to their front door. They could keep the DVD for as long as they wanted and re-watch it as often as desired, with no rush to bring it back before a late fee was initiated. The pair even created an option for a subscription to the Netflix service, where you would have one monthly fee with unlimited access to rental movies.

In later years, Netflix became even more advanced with a streaming option so subscribers could stream movies and TV shows from their couches instead of ordering a DVD. From there, it slowly evolved into what many of us know it as today; it even started becoming a worldwide platform, found in not only the United States but also Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, and over 130 other countries.

I not only learned how Netflix came about but also about some of the positive and negative impacts it currently has on our society. Some of the positive effects it has brought about are that it has made it easier for people to find and watch whatever they want, whenever they want. Thanks to the new algorithms, Netflix provides a section called "based on what you've watched" to help viewers find shows or movies they might enjoy. This recommendation section has even started becoming the main section that viewers choose from, meaning that Netflix does an excellent job at creating an algorithm that will intrigue their interest and marketing their new media.

With the positive comes the negative. Although Netflix has provided nothing but convenience to its consumers, one of the significant drawbacks of Netflix is that it started causing other movie companies, such as Blockbuster, to go out of business. Due to Netflix becoming so popular each coming year, many other companies have either started going out of business or losing money because many of their consumers started transferring to Netflix due to its convenience. People even started getting rid of their cable subscriptions due to Netflix providing so much more.

As many of us probably already know, Netflix has begun to take over the entertainment industry providing easy access to our favorite moves and television shows whenever we desire. However, although Netflix has many positives, we as consumers need to be aware of the possible negatives that come along with it; just like I stated before, with positive change comes adverse effects.

Blog Post #6: Anti-War

 

Anti-war has always been a topic of controversy in America, whether that is because the government is suppressing citizens' voices or because they are censoring what we are allowed to do and how we are allowed to act, it is typically very hard to find opinions that don't agree with the United States governments point of view.

Our country was supposedly built around the first amendment, but if that's the case, why, for example, have I never heard of the websites Antiwar.com or Theamericanconservative.com. Maybe because these articles share opposing ideas from those shared on mainstream news outlets. 

It is very apparent that if our government doesn't want us as citizens to know something, even though it is our right, it will somehow be disregarded; that is why many of us never hear about anti-war because our government does want us to. A prime example is, after exploring deeper into the websites Theamericanconservative.com and Antiwar.com, I learned about things such as a Rage Against the War Machine Rally in Washington DC that happened THIS MONTH, the same Rage Against War Machine Rally but in San Francisco, and I even learned about where our military aid comes from and how much it is costing us.

Topics like these are hidden from the eye of Americans because it can be very unsettling to hear that the U.S. government approved expenditures of $113 billion on aid to Ukraine. This means that, since there are about 131 million households in America, the average household just throws away $861 every year just for this to be possible; that's CRAZY!

Thanks to the First Amendment, the government cannot take down or prevent websites such as Antiwar.com and Theamericanconservative.com from publishing due to prior restraint; however, they have found many ways to suppress the information, so it is not a hot topic of discussion. Although we do not know precisely how the government keeps this information from us without stopping it from being published, we do know why. I believe that the government does this because groups or topics that oppose the government have the ability to not only weaken the government's power worldwide but it also has the ability to turn essential allies against them. The government wants to be the powerhouse worldwide, so it will avoid anything that could weaken its reputation, such as anti-war articles. Since they cannot stop us citizens from speaking our minds, they only have the ability to suppress the information from being heard. That is why if you are interested in learning about these topics, it is essential to do your own research and find your way to make yourself heard because although it may be difficult, it is possible.