Final Blog Post

 

I would say over time I have been able to develop a better relationship with technology. However, I wouldn't necessarily call it healthy. I remember I was first introduced to technology when I was younger in grade school. Our teachers taught us how to use these computers and showed us all the possibilities they behold. Using technology seemed like a privilege. Being able to use my parent's phone would be the best thing to ever happen. However, as time processed and technology advanced I would say people started to abuse this opportunity. Nowadays I can't go a single day without technology. I use my phone before I go to sleep. I wake up and my phone is the first thing I grab. During the day I will watch TV or use my computer. I would say 85% of my day is online it seems. I've been trying to be better about abusing technology but I feel like the world seems to be so evolved around technology. To Do homework I need my computer, to find something like clothes or nearby food. Looking for jobs is typically more common online. My phone is always the first thing I think of because it's easier. This is like black Friday shopping. Years ago people would wake up hours before the stores opened to wait in line and the stores would be packed full. Nowadays everyone just does it online and there are barely any people out at the stores anyway. 

Personally, I think I am using technology too much but compared to everyone around me in the world it seems to be the norm. We’ve normalized having everything at our fingertips and letting technology control our lives. There are days when I can put my phone down and take a break from technology but I feel like there's nothing else I can do. We’ve been so adjusted to having technology 24/7 in our lives that life without it seems impossible. I would say I have learned a lot while using technology. I have been able to teach myself new things and learn new concepts. However, there is also a lot of misleading evidence being posted online. Take Wikipedia for an example. Teachers for years have told us not to trust this website because anyone can edit the information with what they want. This can be misleading to those who think it's a reliable source. There are also a lot of people online who like to start drama or cause problems by spreading misinformation which can spread and make people question the truth. I typically am not too worried when using technology to find information because I typically think it will be right. However, since there is so much more misleading information being put out there it makes me question myself and I have to do deeper research to find a definite answer. Unfortunately, I have simply just accepted this as a part of society. If anything technology is gonna keep advancing and becoming more and more involved in our lives.

I would say my friends and family use technology just as much or even more than I do. My parents use technology a lot for their jobs and would consider it a necessity. My father is a chef in Boston and he uses technology to broadcast his food, find new recipes and interact with people around the city. My mother is a teacher and also uses technology just as much as finding new lessons, writing child reports, and staying in contact with the children and their families. My older brother is a communication manager and dreams to be a director one day. With this goal and major he is constantly using technology. He's working with cameras, writing scripts, and researching new things. His major is revolving around technology. My little sister is a high school student who is constantly on her phone using social media 24/7. In our house, the TV is usually always playing while everyone is isolated with their devices. I truly think we’ve been sucked into technology to the point where we can't live without it. However, it seems to be no change with that as technology keeps becoming more and more essential in our lives. I think technology plays a bad role in my relationships. It seems to be taking over quality time and reality. Everyone is constantly using technology instead of being together. As much as I wish we were so connected through technology it seems to not be changing. I've learned to expect it because it seems that we will never lose technology and we feel like we need it in our lives.

When looking myself up online I am very surprised at how much comes up. The first thing that comes up is all of my social media. I am a college student and most of my social media is as formal as my LinkedIn would be. This could be controversial when looking for jobs if that's all they see me as a college sorority girl who posts pictures with her friends. The next thing that comes up is my LinkedIn and my entire family's Linked In. You could easily find out my dad, mom, siblings, and who I'm related to from it. It also shows my Dean's list award here at High Point University which would be great for jobs to see my success in college. There is also an article posted about me and the play I did in 2016 or my town's 300th celebration. I was the lead so it includes an interview and pictures of me. A lot of pictures from that play come up as well as pictures of my family and cousins. It's pretty scary how much comes up online with just a name. This has made me rethink a lot of what I post and be more careful because you never know who's stalking you or looking into all of your information. I am surprised at how much of an online presence I have considering I am no celebrity or online influencer. This has made me private more accounts and be more cautious of what could be out on the internet. 

Living in the age of AI

While watching this video learned a lot and it really opened my eyes to how artificial intelligence and technology are changing life as we know it. I learned how everything you do is producing data and computers are trying to personalize things to you and adapt the world to you. The dangers of this seem to outweigh the good side of technology. Companies don’t have the same goals they need to be aware to have more control. Something that stood out to me was “we were searching google but google was searching us with every move”. Hearing this really made me think about how often I use google and look stuff up for google to be doing the same and gathering more and more information on me. I’ve learned that surveillance capitalism is real and although many say it claims private human experience, there are surprisingly a lot of businesses that wanna know what we will do now, soon, and later. In 2015 there was controversy about how privacy in google truly was. “You'd be horrified if you knew how much we knew about you” , This was Mactaggart from the video. The entire business is learning as much about you as they can mining the data of your life with this power it holds. Some would say technology has developed a place in our lives that it has not earned. Since technology has always made things better we have developed a trust and industry that has earned goodwill.

I would say that technology beholds a lot of pros and cons with privacy. The pros being it allows us to create these private accounts to hold information and keep our privacy safe. Many social media websites require a lot of passwords and verification to access an account which appears to make it seem safe… or so we may think. Social media sites are collecting way too much data on us that we should be careful with especially with hackers or unwanted viruses. Technology has surveillance on us in places we didn't know before. Something that shocked me was hearing about how google homes could spy on you. These devices that we keep in our homes are surrounded by our everyday lives. They use spoken interactions which are being trained not only to recognize who you are but are getting deeper information on you. They will ask you simple questions and will listen to your responses very clearly. They can tell if you have a cold or maybe if you’re sad just by how your voice is sounding. This could be by simpling you asking what the weather is like that day. Some google homes also have cameras now which gives total surveillance on you and your own. They can see and hear everything that is going on around them giving us no privacy. It is scary how much technology is taking over and stealing our privacy.

The same goes for national security which ensures the protection of our nation's fundamental and enduring needs. This allows protection for all citizens and protects us by maintaining effective arm forces, service police, and civil defense to protect us and the nation from internal threats. However, it can direct acts of war and aggression which could result in something bigger. Although the national security we have is protecting us as citizens the government also knows everything about us. In this day in age, it seems nearly impossible to have your privacy. Online security has also been set into place to ensure privacy for activities and transactions made over the internet. It can seem safe in the moment and protective however how would you know if someone is watching your every move on the computer? Identify theft has never been easier with the help of technology. Hackers can access people's accounts and almost every bit of information about them through the internet. While the internet may seem like an amazing tool that we've been gifted with it makes it harder for us to keep our information private. Technology nowadays is full of many possibilities and many unknowns especially when it comes to our privacy as citizens.