Final Post: Technology and Me

 

Photo: Propmodo

Technology and social media have always been a useful tool when it came to finding information and staying connected to people. Personally, with my plans to become a journalist social media has helped me tremendously with keeping up with current events.

Although I still believe in the wonders of technology and the many ways that we as a society can benefit from it, I also think there are many ways we can be victimized by it. 

For starters with the privacy infringements that go along with using social media and being apart of the online world. Especially when using social media apps such as Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. 

Apps like these allows people to see your location at any given moment unless you turn it off. One of the most interesting things I learned from this course was that companies like these also reserve the right to use the content that you post. 

Photo: Mamba Online

Through having this knowledge it has changed the way that I use technology. Though I am still active on social media I see it though a new lens. 

I now try to make sure that I do research on websites before I give them personal information such as my email. Along with clearing my cookies so that the website can’t save any paswords I don’t want it to. This has helped me protect myself as well as my digital footprint. 

Photo: Safe Sitter

Through this course we have learned about the many ways that the internet is forever. As well as the importance of monitoring our digital footprint. 

Because writing is a huge part of my major I have written on several different outlets over the years for different classes and projects. 

When I did Google myself I was surprised by how much of those projects instantly came up. It wasn’t my work that concerned me, rather the information that could be discovered from it. 

For example, I wrote for my High School’s newspaper and that came up, so now a person can see where I went to High School. Little things like that can be concerning to a person who wants to protect their privacy as much as possible. 

However, it can also be helpful for the future if say an employer looks me up they could see my many works over the years.

Social media and technology are really great for keeping you in contact with people. Instagram especially allows users to post clips from their daily lives. This can be fun if you have friends or family members who live far away. 

This allows you to stay connected or stay up to date with things in their life without having to actually be there if you can’t be. Personally, my best friend lives pretty far away and I can’t tell you how many times she’s said over the phone “Did you see my story”. 

It allows us to keep up with each other and it makes it easier to be apart from the people closest to you when you still get to see little glimpses of their lives. 

Photo:Penn State

The problem begins when people use technology as a way of controlling others. As the age old saying goes knowledge can be power. 

The Ted Talk By Darieth Chisolm “How revenge porn turns lives upside down” is a perfect example of this.

She spoke about how being a victim of revenge porn affected her life. It was an abuse of power on the internet that led to her life changing forever. 

Her ex-boyfriend posted nude pictures of her online and it affects her still to this day. However, instead of letting it control her she found a way to regain her power though sharing her story. This same thing can happen to victims of stalking and harassment. The offender can use social media as a weapon to interfere with their lives and keep tabs on them. 

I think more so now we all hear about cyber-bullying, harassment, stalking and the harms that technology in the wrong hands can do. However, revenge porn is something darker it is a form of abuse that is for the whole world to see. Because the internet is forever no matter what legal action she were to take against her abuser, those photos will be in the internet forever. 

Photo: Dallas Morning News 

It is yet another way that the internet has been used in a way to victimize people. As we learned in class the word revenge porn didn’t even exist years ago. 

Something we have to be mindful of as a society is that the more technological advancements we have, the more chances for abuse of it there will be. 

However, I think as things like revenge porn and cyber-bullying become more prevalent there has also been an increase of awareness. 

Specifically organizations like the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative. They work to be victim advocates for people who have been harmed through cyber abuse. 

This is a way we can balance out the harm that social media and technology can cause. By taking it and using it for something that can help heal people. From my standpoint my relationship with technology will always be evolving so it’s hard to say if it is a positive or negative one. 

This point of view only became more strained after watching the Mad World videos in class. 

As morbid as they were the Mad World videos, show where we could end up as a society and more importantly the role that technology can play in that future. Specifically the harms of not changing the way we interact with technology and social media. It shows a world with people surrounded by each other yet everyone is in their own little world.

Since watching that video it has made me more aware of the abundance of technology in our everyday lives. Especially when it comes to my relationships and my family. More importantly it illustrated our need to be constantly entertained even if it is unhealthy.

How many times has the news perpetuated rumors or aided in the harassment of celebrities or public figures? People assume that because a person has chosen a job that puts them in the spotlight that their every move and decision is fair game. 

On the other side of that argument, there are people who feel that commenting of the lives of public figures are their right. If a person wants to be in the spotlight they have accepted the responsibility of occasional scrutiny. Especially if that person is a role model of some sort, because then their image can effect others who look up to them. 

Photo: Mad World

Technology and social media are so embedded in our culture I don’t see it changing anytime soon. Especially with huge technology companies making so much money off of us and our use of their product. 

Apple however, has a feature on their phones that can monitor your screen time for the week. It can be easy to scroll for hours on end. 

Photo: The New York Times

But seeing it at the end of the week or the end of the day is when people start to notice how much they’re on their devices.

My friends and I have even turned it into a game at times to see who can get their screen time down the most. 

If someone asked you to describe your relationship with technology what would you say? Is it a relationship of mutual gain that adds to your life. Or is it one sided and toxic? I think for every person the answer will be different based on their experiences with it. 

Photo: Financial Times

For me I’ve seen both sides of the coin. I’ve seen the ingenuity that technology can foster and the many ways in which it can propel our future forward. I’ve also seen how it can poison our minds and destroy lives. I have found that there is only one thing that separates the two; and that is how you use it. 

Age Of AI: The New Normal

 

Photo: Becoming Human Artificial Intelligence Magazine

Living in a world where technology has been integrated into every single part of peoples daily lives has its ups and downs. 

However, as time has progressed and technology has grown the lines between the regular use of technology and expected privacy have become blurred. The Age Of AI Documentary gave viewers a first hand look at the many consequences of technology.

Two major concerns raised were the future of job security and the use of data by companies to better advertise their products. 

Job security is a real concern for middle class workers who have jobs that could be easily replaced by AI. Especially because in order to try and keep up with the advancement of technology it would cost people even more money, for a possibly low reward. 

For example with companies like Tesla that now have self driving technology that could be used instead of having to hire a tuck driver.

Photo:The Dallas  Morning News

 Now the people who would normally drive the truck have to find another job or get additional schooling to find another way to stay in their company. 

All of this takes additional time and money that most people don’t have.Now they have to school and on top of that have families they have to provide for, so that makes it nearly impossible.

In the documentary Harry Cripps who is the President of the local 668 sector of UAW which is the United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural implement Workers of America. 

Photo:Frontline On Twitter

 He said in the documentary “If we continue to go in an automated system, what are we gonna do? Now I’ve got a group of people at the top that are making all the money and no one in the middle that can support a family. Do we have to go to the point where we crash to come back and in this case the automations is already gonna be there so I don’t know how you come back.” 

This quote sheds light on the real concerns of workers and people who would be affected by these changes when AI is slowly introduced into the work force.

However something far more sensitive such as your own privacy has also been the topic of great discussion. 

With companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter all being an integral part of peoples social media use it is easy to see how they collect so much data on any given user. With every search, eye movement and click companies like there are tracking your use on the app. 

With this information they can tailor ads to you in order to make your experience as convenient as possible. Some people find this to be a great system, all they have to do is use an app they love and then suddenly every website they go on has suggestions and ads just for them.

Photo: Security Current

However, others find this to be a huge issue of privacy. Every single time you use a website or search something there is a log being kept on the kinds of things you like and don’t. However, companies can get away with this because they get every users permission.

Most people don’t read though the terms and conditions when they want to go to a website or creat an account on an app. But in those terms and conditions it is all laid out for the reader. 

This is how easy it can be for tech companies to get access to all the information they want on you. If this concerns you that’s fine but most companies won’t let you continue one the webpage until that little box is checked. 

Other that the privacy issues alone this also has a much darker consequences. For example, imagine the harm that can be caused if a person is only ever exposed to information that directly concerns them. Sure missing out on a couple ads for a product you have no use for is one thing. However, what about now missing out on news that concerns other countries or places that you might want to be informed about?

It could also lead to on overwhelming amount of confirmation bias which is when you only look at things that support your existing thoughts and never anything that challenges it. 

Photo:Sketchplanations

The question isn’t about how much information are they pushing at you it is instead about how much are they pushing away from you? It then becomes a conversation about censorship and how much you are willing to run that risk.

This isn’t to say that all technology is bad but it sure makes you reconsider blindly checking “I accept” next time you long on to a new website.

Personally, I found this documentary to be highly enlightening. Being a college student I am not yet fully immersed in the world where hearing  things like job security would immediately peak my interest. However, it makes me wonder what life will look like in a few years as technology progresses. 

How much will privacy be an issue anymore, will people be outraged by it or will it be the next step in this new age of convenience? 

Photo:TechCrunch

Questions like these help people take a step back at times and evaluate their boundaries and the things that they find important in life. Before this I might not have thought about the major consequences of replacing workers with AI. 

However now I see that it would speak to a much larger issue than just replacing a few jobs with machines that could do it faster and cheaper the humans.