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Technology has become one of the biggest achievements of mankind and seems to keep expanding in ways we have never even thought possible. My relationship with technology isn't the best at all, I’m not afraid to admit that. I used to think technology was the best, and as I have matured and grown over the past few years, I can’t stand to be on my phone much anymore. Now don’t get me wrong, technology saves me in times of need. I don't know the answer to something? Google it. I want to talk to a long-distance friend face to face? Facetime or video call her. Do I need an uber or groceries dropped off? Just place an order. There are beautiful, exciting, and amazing things that technology can supply us within society to make our everyday needs so much easier to leave more time for fun, adventure, and hard work. Except there is one issue, we don't go on more adventures or work harder, we just turn to technology to supply it which is where I find an issue with it. As a society, we are under the assumption that technology is so great because we can make our lives easier and save time for work and other fun activities, except we are lying to ourselves. The other “fun activities” and “hard work” are just us using our phones to entertain or distract ourselves from the world around us. What really changed my personal relationship with technology was actually a video I saw on Twitter funny enough. The video said that we only live on our phones and devices because we are trying to constantly distract ourselves from dealing with real-life issues. When we have a bad day we don't try to sit in our thoughts and figure out why it was bad, we just turn on a Youtube video or play an online game or go scrolling through our social media feeds for hours to distract ourselves from feeling those emotions. In my opinion, technology has created a society so out of touch with themselves and so involved in judging and watching others' lives that they often forget to live their own. Since seeing this video I feel like I've become so much more hesitant at trying to let technology take over my day and I try to come to terms with my emotions, what I’m feeling, and how to make myself truly happy. Truth is, If we ignore our emotions and suppress them by trying to distract ourselves with technology, we will never find true happiness.
When it comes to information, I feel as if technology has provided me with some amazing information keeping me up to date with what’s going on, but also provides very misleading information that many believe. In terms of politics, nobody knows what is true anymore and what isn't. You have one side saying their new sources are all facts and the other side saying their news sources are true. Even fact-checker websites have become opinionated and skewed to one side or the other. I know I’m still young, only being 21, but I still feel as if this is the worst I’ve ever seen fake news platforms be present with fake news in every direction and stories twisted and messed with to fit certain agendas. With all of this fake news rhetoric going on, I do often find myself worried not so much for myself but for others. I feel as if I'm at a point in my life where I really do research into news stories, not just looking at one media site but seeing both sides to an issue or story and formulating an opinion. However, people who don't care or know enough about fake news sources may look at a story, believe it, and share it with others creating false news narratives and creating more fake news bias.
When it comes to friends and family I feel as if technology has the same mixed emotions as it does for me. So many times I'll be with friends and they seem not present mentally in our conversations and are distracted by something on their devices. My family seems to struggle with technology as it seems like we never really have true real family conversations anymore and even when we have dinner everyone is glued to their phones not actually knowing our everyday life updates but getting that information from each other's online presence. I have to say, technology has strengthened my long-distance relationships with family and friends that I'll forever be thankful for it. Starting off, I’m at college in North Carolina but my family is back home on Long Island, New York. If I'm ever lonely or missing them and want to check in, I don't need to mail them a letter and wait for days to receive one back, I can just call them or text them or check-in and see how they are. My best friends growing up both moved away and I've been long-distance and because of technology, I can video call them and get in contact with them.
When it comes to my digital online footprint, it doesn't tell much about the real me at all. My Instagram is simply just pictures of me where I feel I “look best” but it doesn't represent how I look most days when I'm in comfy loungewear. I am not too active on Facebook but on Twitter, I can see an employer getting upset. My Twitter is full of me retweeting and liking other people's tweets regarding some controversial political issues. If an employer wanted to do a deep search to find my Twitter and see what I like and respond to and the company doesn't agree with it, I can see them not hiring me which is a negative aspect I want to try to avoid. I feel like it’s just challenging in today's world because with everyone living in this virtual world, we naturally want to express our feelings, emotions, and opinions no matter what the issue is. However, we have to face consequences because whatever is posted online can be viewed by anyone and shared around. When I did a quick Google search of myself, I noticed that only one picture of me comes up and that is to my LinkedIn account which I am proud of and want employers to see and research. Overall, in general, I feel like so many people are starting to wake up and want to quit social media. The issue isn't quitting, it’s the fear of missing out. I’ve tried to quit social media several times and it’s great the first few days until you rely on everyone else who is still on there. Everyone is communicating there, everyone is making plans there, everyone is using it for school and work-related things, etc. People here and there quitting isn't enough to change society. Society has undergone way too many technological advances to go back. I also feel there is a sense of privacy violation where your family or friends can post you or your life updates without permission. After reading about this 14 year olds social media issue, I felt for her. I also feel as if I'm constantly telling my mom “don't post that on Facebook of me” and her giving me the, “why? You look fine!” Genuinely it can be a lack of trust, respect, and privacy having pictures, moments, and videos shared of you that you don't want the world to see. The first video from an older time period showing the positive effects of social media was fascinating to me because it’s similar to how we look at technology today. Even though we now have all these amazing advancements with all their pros and cons, it’s interesting to me to see how we always look for the next best thing. We view the idea of new 4d technology and virtual reality as mesmerizing and amazing but we don't consider the negative effects even seeing the ones it has with our already existing technology. I just hope to limit my exposure and use technology for the positives and not look too far into all the negatives.
When it comes to information, I feel as if technology has provided me with some amazing information keeping me up to date with what’s going on, but also provides very misleading information that many believe. In terms of politics, nobody knows what is true anymore and what isn't. You have one side saying their new sources are all facts and the other side saying their news sources are true. Even fact-checker websites have become opinionated and skewed to one side or the other. I know I’m still young, only being 21, but I still feel as if this is the worst I’ve ever seen fake news platforms be present with fake news in every direction and stories twisted and messed with to fit certain agendas. With all of this fake news rhetoric going on, I do often find myself worried not so much for myself but for others. I feel as if I'm at a point in my life where I really do research into news stories, not just looking at one media site but seeing both sides to an issue or story and formulating an opinion. However, people who don't care or know enough about fake news sources may look at a story, believe it, and share it with others creating false news narratives and creating more fake news bias.
When it comes to friends and family I feel as if technology has the same mixed emotions as it does for me. So many times I'll be with friends and they seem not present mentally in our conversations and are distracted by something on their devices. My family seems to struggle with technology as it seems like we never really have true real family conversations anymore and even when we have dinner everyone is glued to their phones not actually knowing our everyday life updates but getting that information from each other's online presence. I have to say, technology has strengthened my long-distance relationships with family and friends that I'll forever be thankful for it. Starting off, I’m at college in North Carolina but my family is back home on Long Island, New York. If I'm ever lonely or missing them and want to check in, I don't need to mail them a letter and wait for days to receive one back, I can just call them or text them or check-in and see how they are. My best friends growing up both moved away and I've been long-distance and because of technology, I can video call them and get in contact with them.
When it comes to my digital online footprint, it doesn't tell much about the real me at all. My Instagram is simply just pictures of me where I feel I “look best” but it doesn't represent how I look most days when I'm in comfy loungewear. I am not too active on Facebook but on Twitter, I can see an employer getting upset. My Twitter is full of me retweeting and liking other people's tweets regarding some controversial political issues. If an employer wanted to do a deep search to find my Twitter and see what I like and respond to and the company doesn't agree with it, I can see them not hiring me which is a negative aspect I want to try to avoid. I feel like it’s just challenging in today's world because with everyone living in this virtual world, we naturally want to express our feelings, emotions, and opinions no matter what the issue is. However, we have to face consequences because whatever is posted online can be viewed by anyone and shared around. When I did a quick Google search of myself, I noticed that only one picture of me comes up and that is to my LinkedIn account which I am proud of and want employers to see and research. Overall, in general, I feel like so many people are starting to wake up and want to quit social media. The issue isn't quitting, it’s the fear of missing out. I’ve tried to quit social media several times and it’s great the first few days until you rely on everyone else who is still on there. Everyone is communicating there, everyone is making plans there, everyone is using it for school and work-related things, etc. People here and there quitting isn't enough to change society. Society has undergone way too many technological advances to go back. I also feel there is a sense of privacy violation where your family or friends can post you or your life updates without permission. After reading about this 14 year olds social media issue, I felt for her. I also feel as if I'm constantly telling my mom “don't post that on Facebook of me” and her giving me the, “why? You look fine!” Genuinely it can be a lack of trust, respect, and privacy having pictures, moments, and videos shared of you that you don't want the world to see. The first video from an older time period showing the positive effects of social media was fascinating to me because it’s similar to how we look at technology today. Even though we now have all these amazing advancements with all their pros and cons, it’s interesting to me to see how we always look for the next best thing. We view the idea of new 4d technology and virtual reality as mesmerizing and amazing but we don't consider the negative effects even seeing the ones it has with our already existing technology. I just hope to limit my exposure and use technology for the positives and not look too far into all the negatives.
