Final Blog Post: Our Relationship With Technology

    A big part of my generation is technology. Growing up I always knew a life where technology was around. Starting in elementary school I had an iPod then an iPad which eventually led to getting a phone. Because of this I do think my relationship with technology is not the healthiest. Compared to kids nowadays though, there was still a time in my life where I did not have technology to use daily. It was not until second grade that I got an iPod and could only listen to music on it. My nephews on the other hand are in preschool and kindergarten and they have tablets that they love to use. According to Jason Dorsey, the statistics of gen-z are the highest when it comes to technology use. "Our State of Gen Z research studies show that 95% own a smartphone, 83% own a laptop, 78% own an advanced gaming console, and 57% have a desktop computer. 29% use their smartphone past midnight on a nightly basis." I am definitely part of that 29% who goes on their phone past midnight. Because of this I think that technology takes up too much time in my life. Most of the time when I am not doing something like homework or with friends I am spending my time on my phone just watching TikToks. 

    While I am spending a lot of my time on different forms of social media, it is not always a bad thing because social media can be informative on certain things. According to the Pew Research Center, "73% describe people being more informed about both current events in other countries and about events in their own country." For me personally, I find out majority of my news from social media because it reports things in a timely manner and it's right there in the palm of my hand. While not everything reported online will be 100% accurate and correct it is still a good place for information. It is important to do your own research when it comes to the information you are looking at to make sure it is accurate information. Even though it can be easy to just believe everything you see right away, it is just as easy to fact check everything. Along with being a news source for me it is also the best way to keep in touch with family while being away at college. Through different posts on social media they can see what I'm up to and vice versa. Being away from my sister and my nephews is hard for me because they are so young and without social media I think it would be even harder. My sister loves to post pictures of the fun things they do and getting to see that all the way from multiple states away makes me happy. 

    The downsides that come with technology center around the long-lasting effects it can have on people. If you are online too much and seeing pictures of people you can easily bring yourself down because you do not look like them. Even though social media is not a true representation of a person's life it can still affect people. When a person posts too much online it opens up the entire internet to comment and voice their opinion either agreeing or disagreeing. This can lead to cyberbullying which can be very damaging to one's mental health as-well.  

    One of the most important things to keep in mind with social media accounts is the digital footprint that comes with it. Many people love to show off their life through social media and do not think of who may see those posts in the future. For me personally, this is something I try my very best to be conscious about when posting anything on social media. When googling myself there is not anything that comes up because there are other people with the same name that have more of an online presence because they play sports in college. Therefore I can safely say that I have a clean online presence when googling myself.

  

EOTO #2

    One of the terms I found interesting in these presentations was Alternative Media. This was very similar to the term I focused on which was Mainstream Media but there are significant differences. In Mainstream Media the main sources used are television, radio, and newspaper. While Alternative Media uses things like websites and magazines. This is because on alternative media platforms they want the news being put out to be unbiased and give a different perspective. In Mainstream Media does not usually go beyond one perspective because it is owned by the government or corporations. Alternative media is a newer thing that did not become popular until the 20th century. 

    Once more people began to voice their opinions on things like race, religion, and lifestyle the platforms being used to talk about these would be Alternative Media. With the power of social media it has really helped this form gain attention and use. One of the biggest platforms is Twitter which allows everyone to voice their opinion like how Alternative Media is used. Some issues with Alternative Media is that some people may just constantly be creating theories on different topics and not really being informational to the topic. Typically the topics being discussed in Alternative Media are not as popular because when they do get to that level it becomes a story in the Mainstream Media. 

    In order to know whether it is Alternative or Mainstream Media there are a few questions you can ask yourself. 1. Is it Corporate owned? If it is corporate owned then it is Mainstream. 2. Is it intended to make a profit? Mainstream Media typically is profit-oriented so if it is intended to do so it would be considered Mainstream. 3. How is it produced and distributed? Alternative Media is most known for using the internet to put out their news. It is very easy to confuse these forms of media but by doing a little more research into the topic and where it came from you can figure it out.

Living In The Age of AI

    

After watching the video I learned many things. I did not realize how much more AI was other than the basic website on a computer or device. Now there are many more things that use this technology like supermarkets. The start of the disconnection between people actually going to the supermarket and buying groceries themselves was with programs like Instacart. You simply download an app, choose what you need to be purchased, then someone who works for the brand will go to the store for you and get everything. One of the first ways AI was brought into a grocery store was with Amazon Fresh. This is an online and physical store, in person all you do is scan the app to get in and scan your groceries then pay with the amazon app. This makes for a quicker checkout system and makes your trip as long or as short as you want.

    There are both pros and cons about this new way of life. One of the biggest cons is privacy goes away. Using technology all the information being put on there is somewhere stored forever. While things like what you buy from the grocery store are not anything too personal that having that information is too concerning, adding it on top of things that may have previously been stored is not great. Using different technologies that also use Artificial Intelligence are taking away job opportunities for people. Now when you go into a place like a fast food restaurant you have the option to either order at the cashier or on a tablet. According to Forbes, more than 65% of customers said they would visit a restaurant more often if self-service kiosks were offered, and 30% of customers prefer to order from a kiosk versus a cashier if the lines were of equal length. The more people choose to order at a self-service kiosk, the less inclined companies will be to keep those regular cashier positions. The intent of these AI systems is to create a more personal feed curated to the user. This can be seen as a positive aspect because the things you are constantly seeing peak your interest so you see more and may purchase more. 

    Some bigger issues can come with this like identity theft. Identity theft can occur easily by simple things like the password you use for a website. If you do not create a strong password, hackers can easily guess it and get into that account stealing any and all information they want from you. Along with this you should be cautious with what you are posting online always thinking what someone could do with it having all access to the account. It is very important to be cautious with yourself and the things being put online because as AI gets more technical the easier it will become for the system to use any information found to create anything they want. 

Blog Post #9: Mainstream Media

    

Mainstream Media is known as the traditional, established broadcasting, or publishing outlets. Some of the biggest examples of this would be Fox News, ABC News, New York Times, etc. Beyond this there are many different forms of media that could be considered mainstream. The most commonly used things nowadays are digital news and television/cable. Some of the good sides to this is how it helps keep everyone informed on important things. Before the world of TV News Broadcasts it was not as easy to get the word out there. Nowadays the second something happens like a hurricane, it is being broadcast around and everyone is hearing about it. It also helps in spreading news about different businesses or arts. This is the prime way of marketing now for many businesses. Using things such as social media and television ads help businesses get their brand out there. The bad sides to this are how easy it is for people to lie. It is very easy for a person to report on a specific issue but still get things wrong. Not always is everything being published 100% accurate and it is something important too think of when hearing of things. Another problem is some people get too involved in looking at news that they slowly disconnect from the world around them. 

    Society as a whole can be affected very easily. There are equally different parts to the positives and negatives of the mainstream media. Since society is so easily influenced it does not take much from the media to do anything. One major way media, specifically social media, influences people is through trends. Fashion trends are one of the things that is constantly changing and evolving, many users want to keep up with these so advertising clothes to them through different media sources is one way to get the message out there. This does not just focus on news sources though. Mainstream media can also be seen as entertainment through different things like movies and music. Many people learn more things about politics through the media therefore it affects their ideas and mindset when it comes to learning about different topics.

    Different segments will be influenced differently because everyone receives and looks at different media daily. The younger generation may not watch the news all the time and see political stories everywhere but they are seeing what is trendy in fashion. Therefore younger generations will be more influenced by trendy things whereas older generations tend to focus more on stories like government issues. The way the older generation would be influenced is by things like healthcare and vaccines. Economic status can differ based on the simple thing of where the media is coming from. Those of a higher economic status possibly could be receiving news from many different sources to then retain the information and come to a conclusion based on the many sources it came from. A lower economic status may not have all the same sources so they may be receiving information from one source constantly that may not always be true. The way gender is perceived in the media can affect those who are hearing about it. 

    I think my generation can definitely be affected by mainstream media. With the constant use of social media from everyone any news or information being posted there will reach those looking. It has become such a habit for people to check their social media everyday that whatever news is being put out there someone is taking it in and believing it whether it is true or not. This generation is part of the reason for a change in the way media is being put out. Slowly less and less people are watching the news everyday and instead rely on their smartphones. The ability to influence others through an app is not something people used to do back when apps like Instagram first started. For me personally the only form of mainstream media I use when it comes to news is social media apps like Twitter or Instagram. My feed is not constantly showing me news stories but when they are it is usually something that has to do with my interests in pop culture not as much political issues. 

       

Blog Post #8

    In the video where Catherine Crump is speaking about police tracking, the issues she is speaking on do not effect me or my family much. Most of my family would agree that they think it is important that the police force has access to certain weapons and equipment. When it comes to police tracking license plate numbers which then can be traced back to more details about where the driver has been, I do not think this anything too crazy because the police have so much access and if there is nothing to hide it should not matter. At the end it is helpful for the police when a serious issues occurs and they need the data. I do not think there is much the government can do because they are collecting data as well along with the police with these issues. They have access to many more devices that have to do with collecting data that we may not even know about yet. 

    Christopher Sighoian talks all about the surveillance that comes with your phone and other devices. For me and my family we all have a phone and different things like Amazon Alexa so this is something we all can relate to. Many times when I talk about products or search for them on google I will be scrolling on social media and see an ad for the item I was just looking at. According the video the government is aware of this and does not support it. In order to stop this they could make it a law that companies cannot automatically turn the feature on without the users consent to do so. To protect ourselves from our privacy being invaded this way we could just not buy products such as the Amazon Alexa or Google Home. This way we are limiting the ways companies can do this to us.

   

Darieth Chisolm discusses how she had explicit photos of her posted online without her consent. This is not something that me nor anyone I know can relate to but it is something very important that should be discussed. When sending pictures of yourself to someone it is very important to make sure these are not getting saved without your consent. People can do anything they want with them which includes posting them online to a website. The process to take these down is not easy and is something that should be easier for people. The government should not be allowing anyone to post photos of anyone online, it should only be allowed that you can post pictures of yourself online and on websites. With a certain verification system making sure only those that approve of the images have the final say. In doing so we should be more careful in who we send pictures to and what those pictures are of.  If it is not something that we would be ok with putting on certain websites the images should not be sent. 

Blog Post #7: Diffusion Theory

    The innovation I chose to look at is Instagram. This is currently one of the biggest apps with around 2 billion users. There have been updates since it first was released but even with those the app stayed popular while others like Twitter saw a decline of users when certain updates were introduced. 

    The first element to the Diffusion Theory is innovation. In 2010 Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger launched the platform. The idea first came into play when Systrom learned how to code and decided to create an idea called Burbn. This app would focus on different whiskeys and bourbons. Once he met with venture capitalists about the app they gave him the go to start his own team to focus on this. Then Krieger joined his team and they decided to switch the focus of the app to sharing photos taken on mobile devices. The next element is the adopters. During the initial stage of the app the adopters of the app were people with the iPhone 3, therefore the quality of the images being posted were very low. The way it was possible to add filters to the low quality images was part of the reason for the apps success. The next element is communication channels. The communication channels used on this platform would be the posts being made informing users either by other users or the brand itself. The next element is time. In this instance, the time for the growth on the app was instantly. Within the first day 25,000 users signed up. And the final element is social system. These are the influences that can strongly influence the user. On Instagram these would be seen as social media influencers that post about a certain product and makes their followers want to go out and buy it.

    This was one of the first photo sharing apps to come out since Facebook. Since it came with different features than Facebook like getting to edit the photos you took then directly share it many people enjoyed that. Once more features came out people began to see it was something more unique. In 2012 Facebook bought the app and began to make more changes. Some of these changes included posting videos, going live, and direct messaging. With these features added it made the app a form of all different platforms combining like how Snapchat had the story feature as well. 

    Some people choose not to join the app at all. For many social media has become a toxic place that they do not enjoy anymore. Constantly looking at pictures of people that can be highly edited to make them look like the best version of themself makes users feel worse about themselves. Many people realize that social media is not real life but that does not help the negative effects that come with it. Another reason people do not like this is because they find themself constantly scrolling through their phone. While it is a good way to keep up with family you may not see all the time it can also be a problem arguing with them over things like politics. 

    While there are some negative sides to this there are also some positive benefits. When it comes to brands and companies Instagram is one of the best ways to get the brand out there and connect with people. Having that engagement with other users is a good look for a company that many people like and look out for. It is also a great way to advertise products. Sending things to people with large followings is very helpful and many times their followers will go and buy the product. From a personal standpoint you can create your own type of brand and your own image.  

   

Overall I would say the positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to this. The positives for this circle back to careers that some people have gained from this. The average pay of a person who has 500,000+ followers is anywhere from $3,000 - $10,000 a year. At the end of the day a person getting an income from the app can be more beneficial compared to a person just being able to delete the app whenever and not lose anything. It can also depend on the person but for me personally I say the positives outweigh the negatives.

Blog Post #6

    In my opinion, I think the reason we must do research ourselves on things about antiwar, is because the mainstream media likes to keep the important things hidden. There is a lot of stuff that the news, and big media outlets like to conceal so that we can stay in the dark. If you go on ‘antiwar.com’, there is so much information on things no one has ever heard about. Before I went on this website, I never knew that Egypt and the U.S. were allies. I also had no idea that Egypt uses child soldiers to fight their battles.
Some of the tasks that they are assigned consist of spying, delivering food to military checkpoints, disassembling bombs, logistics, and combat fighting. The Sinai Foundation for Human Rights stated that between the years of 2013 and 2022, kids as young as twelve years old were recruited as soldiers. What would you do if one of your younger family members was forced to be recruited into an ‘army’ at any age under 18? The article says, ‘Under international law, governments are prohibited from recruiting children under the age of 15… recruitment by either a government or armed groups is listed as a war crime’ (MEE staff 2023). To me, this shows me that any country associated with Egypt as allies, either turns a blind eye, or has no idea what is going on.

     Now why would mainstream media not want us to know this? Most likely because we would not want to be associated with a country that makes preteens fight their battles for them. Until I read this article, I had no idea that Egypt was even in any type of combat. The only things I hear about today are the Biden Administrations new policies, Trumps indictment, or natural disasters. Stuff like this needs to be talked about more, because we can’t expect everyone to just go on the internet and look for it themselves.