Final Blog Post: My Relationship With Technology

 Being born in 2002, technology has been increasingly accessible for my entire life. I have never been a "techy" person, but I would say I was connected as the average teenager growing up. My parents never idolized technology or were up to date with the newest model phones and tablets coming out. They always stressed that there were more important things in life than being in front of a screen. While that advice sounded like a drag at the time, I now realize that them constantly encouraging me and my brother to set the phone down pursue outdoor activities was for our own wellbeing. I think it is absolutely disgusting to look at the way the society as a whole has an overwhelming dependance on technology. It disconnects us from reality, whether we chose to realize it or not. 

I myself was in a technology-dependent bubble for my teenage years. I think that this was for many reasons. In high school, your social life revolves around a screen. I was so addicted to staying connected with my friends that when I suffered a traumatic brain injury as a freshman in high school, I still would scroll on social media to stay connected, despite the fact that doctors told me the only way I would have a chance of  recovering fully is if I took a year of school off (and that meant to screens). I wasn't able to do it because of my dependency on my cell phone and social media. And they were right, I never recovered. To this day, my reading ability is measured at a 62% proficiency (the average college student is in the high 90th  percentile) because my brain never healed from the screen time exposure post injury. 

I do think that it is difficult to separate yourself from technology when almost everyone around you has the same habits. It is like you are stuck in a bubble and nobody else is realizing what is happening either. You need to leave that environment in order to truly recognize the problem that is happening. That is exactly what I did last semester; I could not be more thankful. I participated in a study abroad program called Semester at Sea. It is aboard a ship with very limited connectivity. 

You are allotted 200mg of wifi a day, which allows you to surf the web for about 7 minutes. Most people used it to email their parents and then they would run out of data. With virtually no connection at all, it is like you are transported into another world. A world where people actually talk to each other face to face. There are no phones at dinner or in class. There are 450 teenagers on board and you might go an entire day without seeing a cell phone, which before I got there sounded unbelievable. It turned out to be the biggest blessing because we were able to fill our time with card games and pickle ball sing alongs when that usually would have just been time where people would have been plugged in by themselves. 

We also ported in heavily impoverished countries with severe lacks of technology, unless you are very wealthy. This gave me another new perspective because I had been to countries like Canada, Mexico, or some European countries, but they all still have the same dependency on technology that we do. Places like Jordan, Kenya, and India did not have that fixation on technology, and I felt like the people were so much more welcoming because of it. They were also much more in touch with their cultural traditions such as music, dancing, and cooking because they do not have dependency on technology to pull them away from those things.

While not all technology is bad, I think American culture has turned something good into a really unfortunate situation. And I think all it would take it for people to disconnect to realize that there is not need for their phone to be attached to their hand 24 hours a day. There is so much more to the world than what fits onto a 6 inch screen. If we could use technology for all the good things it offers, but then stop there and enjoy what people have to offer instead the world would be a much better place. 

EOTO 2 Reaction (What I learned)

I learned a lot from these presentations. I enjoyed learning about the theories and terms that were shared from different team members. The two that stuck out to me the most were the presentation about the echo chamber  and the presentation about the spiral of silence. 

The echo chamber is when you are only consuming media that aligns with your beliefs, instead of seeking out alternative opinions to give you a fresh perspective. This can be created through many channels: social media, friends, family, etc. One of the biggest negative effects of this is that it can often lead to the belief that "everyone thinks the same way as me"
. Social media can be particularly aiding to this phenomenon because the apps are specifically coded to tailor content to your particular interests. So, if you like Fox News and you keep liking posts that contain topics related to their content, they are going to suggest related content and creators for you to interact with. This further deepens the echo chamber because it strengthens the algorithm into knowing your interests so it becomes less and less likely that they will suggest content for you from CNN or MSNBC because they know that Fox News peaks your interest. In the end, it helps with the platform's overall engagement rates, and it helps you only consume the same content continuously.   

The other topic that I enjoyed learning about was the Spiral of Silence. This is when people believe that they believe they are in the minority, they tend to stay silent out of the heart of being logically wrong. They think that it could socially isolate them because others might not agree with their views or opinions. Alternatively, people who are in the majority often take advantage of this to spread their message and to silence minority opinions. I think that you see this happen a lot today in politics as the political arena becomes increasingly polarizing. When people's views are so strong, it is easier to stay silent than to try to disagree with them. 

Overall, I learned a lot from these presentations. I was introduced to new terms and ideas that I was not familiar with before. 

EOTO 2: Misinformation & Disinformation

For my group's second EOTO presentation, we researched various types of false information. I specifically covered misinformation and disinformation. Both of these types of false information are present in every type of media that we consume, and it can often be very challenging to distinguish between the two. Misinformation is false information that is not published with the intent to mislead or harm an audience, whereas disinformation is false information published intentionally to spread false messages or ideas in a way to influence public opinion. 

Because misinformation is often simply getting the facts wrong, it can usually stem from unverifiable rumors and continuous sharing online. Social media can often amplify this circulation of misinformation and sharing. It can be difficult to monitor and correct, so often these rumors can spiral out of control. The picture below is an example of misinformation. It is not published with the intention of misleading or spreading false messages, but the information is incorrect nevertheless. This is largely because the numbers are graphics are not proportional. This would lead to the viewer misinterpreting the data. There is also no source listed for the reader to fact check the source that it is coming from. 

The second type of false information that I covered, disinformation, has a much more malicious intent. It is intentionally deceiving information to spread false messages in order to obscure the truth. There are many things that contribute to the cycle to disinformation. Some of these include: hackers, trolls, artificial intelligence, and engagement metrics. 

There are many ways that a reader can try to spot disinformation in the content that they are reading. Some helpful ways might include: checking and comparing other reliable news sources, looking at the source of the article you are reading, check the credibility of the author, read beyond the headline, developing a critical mindset, be on the lookout for sponsored content, run articles and other media through a fact checking site. These methods can help you filter out false information to give you a piece of mind that you are reading accurate information. 

In the picture below, you can see an example of disinformation. This advertisement uses statistics that have already been filtered through other sources, and it compares two separate sets of statistics that have absolutely nothing to do with each other. The two categories are so unrelated that comparing them comes across as manipulative. The advertisement also uses intense imagery like skulls to incite feelings of fear to further the message of propaganda. 

It is important as a reader to think critically when consuming information, especially when looking at media that could be considered controversial. This could be anything from foreign affairs, to local news, to politics. As always, it is best to draw your information from many reliable sources and to fact check before believing anything you read online. While there is no way to completely eliminate false information, taking the correct precautions can help prevent you from being easily persuaded by the heavy presence of misinformation and disinformation in today's online media. 

Age of AI

After watching this film, I honestly thought that it was very concerning to see just the severity of privacy invasion that exists in our world today due to the evolution of technology in our ever-changing world. This documentation clearly pointed out that there are pros and cons to living in a work with artificial intelligence.

Even though artificial intelligence has been evolving for decades, the recent developments have gained the public’s attention and gotten people thinking, “What are dangers of this technology, and how can I protect myself from it?”

Some of the biggest risks involving artificial intelligence have to go with consumer privacy, biased programming, danger to humans, and unclear legal regulation. Because this is an ever-changing field, the future of this technology is truly unknown. 

AI is an extreme threat to privacy because depending on the function, it requires an extreme amount of personal data to do its job. The biggest concern with AI having people’s data is the threat of identity theft and security breeches. 

Another big concern with the evolution of AI is that is it is making many jobs absolute. Many lower level jobs are now being able to be completed by robots or artificial intelligence. This job loss can create economic disruption 

Personally, I am very overwhelmed by the evolution of this high-tech artificial intelligence, and it makes me very uncomfortable just thinking about it. I do understand how it can be used for well intended purposes, but as we witnessed in the documentary, it is often used maliciously. I also do not like that as a consumer you are subjected to the privacy invasion whether you like it or not. I find the whole thing very uncomfortable and really wish it would be scaled back, but I unfortunately see the opposite happening in the future.  

Diffusion of Innovation

Throughout history, The Diffusion of Innovation Theory has been prevalent during the rise and evolution of almost every major invention, methodology, and idea. The theory breaks down the process by which a product is introduced to society, and which members or sectors of society adopt the product/method as common practice and at what pace. It is interesting to look at the history of various technologies and to apply Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation to it in order to understand the rate in which it became widely accepted amongst citizens. 

For my blog post, I am going to look at the history and evolution of the ice auger.  Now widely available in ranging high tech models for steep price tags, the ice auger was once only available as a simple, metal, handheld model. This worked for one purpose: to help ice fishermen drill a hole in the ice faster and easier. Originally patented in 1840, this revolutionized northern communities for decades. Even today, the manual auger is portable, inexpensive, and its lightweight makes it very easy to transport. 

In 1948, Jiffy unveiled the first gas powered auger. The first people to buy this product would have been considered the innovators. These would be the people likely drawn to the ease of the product compared to the manual labor, however, the cost deterred many consumers. These products
were also very heavy and required upkeep that the handheld auger did not. As the product continued to the develop, the early adopters began to acquire this product, making it more accessible to the mass marketing, thus fueling innovation and improvements within the industry. By now, the product is mainstream and the early and late majority are regular users of the gas auger (and the early adopters are moving onto electric ones, but that is another topic). 

Although technology has drastically improved since the handheld auger first rolled out in 1840, there are many people that still believe that models similar to the original ones are the "best". Some people refer to these individuals as traditionalists, but the Diffusion of Innovation Theory would refer to fishermen using a manual auger as "laggards". There will always be a percentage of the population that are unwilling to adopt a new product/methodology/idea. 

Anti-War

I consider myself fairly engaged with the news, more than the average American. I tend to have a decent idea of what is going on in this country in terms of domestic and foreign policy events. This is mostly because I find it both interesting and important. I know that there are many American citizens, many of them falling into my demographic or similar that similar disregard the news altogether unless a major, life-altering event occurs. I think this is because, although informational, news media is still a source of entertainment and the industry is hungry for viewership.  

The anti-war news are not as action-packed and fear invoking as the mainstream media, therefore they would not gain the viewership that mainstream media would. They also are silenced by the media because they do not fall in line with the narrative that they are trying to push: that they citizens need to be scared. Any headline that creates fear, panic or drama will dominate the covers of any newspaper. You see this over and over again with Ukraine, Covid-19, China, and many other circumstances. 

Although I enjoy staying informed about what is going on in the world, mostly through podcasts and other news outlets (see my first post for more detail on my preferred media outlets), I do not actively seek out anti-war sources. I believe that I am not in the minority when it comes to that statement. It is so easy to be engulfed in the steady impact of mainstream media that we are faced with from all directions and sources. When it comes time to look at news stories, there is no reason to seek out additional sources because the mainstream ones are so conveniently accessible on your laptop and mobile devices, often with very eye-catching headlines. Notions promoting peace will never make the headlines because they will not gain the viewership needed to fund the media companies. 

EOTO 1 Reaction (What I learned)

Throughout many of the EOTO Presentations, I learned new things about technologies that I use everyday that I take for granted. One key takeaway that I took away from the entirety of the presentations is how vast the world of technology is. When I think of technology, items such as computers and smartphones immediately come to mind. Others, however, I failed to recognize as "technology" before these presentations, such as the printing press, the telegraph, and carrier pigeons.  In hindsight, this is because I was failing to distinguish the differences between technology and electronics. 

I learned the most from the presentation about carrier pigeons because it was the technology that I knew the least about. I was shocked that it was used as early as 10,000 BC. I had also never understood the methodology of how. the birds found where they where they were going, so I was fascinated to learn more about that process, and how they are really only trained to go to one location. They are taken away from the epicenter and they always find the way back to that pinpoint. I also thought that it was very interesting that they were used in more recent wars in order to avoid modern war technology and tracking. It shows that sometimes, older technology can still be useful even when other inventions evolve and surpass it. 

I also thought that the presentation on the telegraph was very interesting for the same reason as the carrier pigeon, I did not know a lot about it. I was surprised to find out how expensive it was to get started and I did not know that it was considered a luxury at first. Even though it was patented in 1837, the first message was not sent until 1844.