My Relationship with Technology

 

Healthy Relationship with Technology

There must be a balance between humans and technology. I personally feel as if I balance my use with technology and inter personal time pretty well. In todays society it is a necessity to stay up with the latest technology advancements to be an active member of society. For instance, I'm engaged on social media as well as other forms of technology that allow me to stay engaged with the times. I personally average 3 hours and 50 minutes a day on my phone. Whether it's Snapchat, messaging, Instagram, or email I use about a third of my time awake a day on my phone. 

What is the point of technology if we can't incorporate it into our day to day lives. Is there a breaking point where technology starts to consume our time awake? In my opinion I've seen individuals become over consumed with their technology, such as constant time playing video games, clued to their phone, or choosing technology over their friends.

Mad World

In this video it depicts a way our society has become. The cruel way people have become due to their consumption with social media, and the lack of care for people in the real world. It can drive people crazy, but is this video a bit extreme. It definitely wasn't created to be 100% accurate, but it gives a perspective that will get people to open their eyes. My eyes were definitely open after watching this video due to the message it gave to the audience. Since I was born into a world of technological advancements everyday it became imperative that I was able to find this balance early. For some this wasn't easy, and they found more fun being on their phone then being interactive with people.

I've asked myself "Is my social media different then who I am"? My answer was no due to the fact that I'm not super engaged or mind what I post. A lot of my peers are super sucked in to their social media image without finding out who they truly are. This isn't an easy question to answer, but if you are honest with yourself then you will be able to make the necessary changes for you media lifestyle.

Personally social media has changed the way we view our society. Everyone can stay up to date and catch up with friends and family no matter their physical location. Is our world really using these resources the wrong way? Do the people really not care about anything physical? I don't think so; if anything social media pushed people to strive to be better or even get encouragement. I realize that everyone isn't the same and their experiences aren't either, but what do we need to do as a society to make social media and technology more healthy. 

In recent years I have seen how my generation has been handling social media, and it hasn't been that alarming. Obviously I almost only seeing my close followers because thats how social media works. You usually won't witness other peoples feeds or activity because you don't know them. Is that a good thing? I think so because it limits the amount you are exposed to online. 

 A healthy relationship with technology includes the mindset that more important things are in real life. Having the ability to use the internet to engage with our friends and family is extremely important. A lot of my technology use has gone towards communication, entertainment, and expanding knowledge. Technology has shaped our society into a more advanced way of life, and if their are bumps in the road then it's up to we as the people to figure out what is truly important. Social media is there to meet and interact with other people. I have bad encounters with people digitally and in person. Don't be mad at technology for giving us opportunities, but hold those accountable who use technology to hurt other people. 

This class has allowed me to think deeper about my technology use and start to form a stronger opinion on technology that is everywhere around us. Technology and social media aren't going anywhere, and they will be apart of this society for as long as time can tell. Let's grow together and help shape technology to be the best it possibly can be.

Surveillance with Encryption

 

Avoiding Surveillance

This TED talk on avoiding surveillance with the phone in your pocket was very interesting. He talked about new tech companies and the way they use encryption to stop the government from tracking text messages, FaceTime, and other apps. This was making the NSA quite angry because it limited the amount of conversations being monitored, and there wasn't much they could do about it. 

I always thought that everything we do on our phone is being monitored and that our privacy was little to none, but it seems like these big tech companies are doing what they can to keep our calls and messages private. By keeping them private does that pose any threat to our nation if it is becoming immensely harder to track conversations. The presenter mentions how their our bad people in this world, and making it harder to track these individuals puts stress on the NSA. 

Technology surveillance isn't only done by our government, but also by third party hackers who are trying to steal information. Tech Safety is a real thing that our society should be aware of especially with the continuation of technology growth. We live in a time where all of information is in our pocket, and most of the time our government should be the least of our worries with cellphone surveillance. 

Propaganda

 

Propaganda

The definition of propaganda is communication used to influence an audience and further an agenda. Propaganda is often used during war and politics to sway people to believe something whether it's true or not. It was very common during WWII when nations tried to influence their people to either fight for the army or start following a specific agenda. Most of the time it was hard to decide if these messages we true due to the lack of technology and limited resources on the matter. 

In todays time there are a lot more sources of information to fact check which makes propaganda a lot harder to falsify. That is why most of the propaganda examples come from the past. In society we can become miss leaded by a false source, but once the truth is uncovered we can get the right information a lot faster and more efficiently. 

This image pictured below is a famous piece of propaganda used to get U.S. citizens to fight for the army. When this was made the United States has entered the second World War and needed all the help they could get. This image was made to influence those to fight for their country, and what better way then to have Uncle Sam look you in the eye and say "I Want You".

We Want You

Whistleblower

 

The Whistleblower

Since I can remember I've always been intrigued about the concept of whistleblowing and the reasons behind it. The definition of whistleblowing is when a person informs on a person or organization who engaged in illicit activity. The reason an individual would want to do this makes sense, but it goes against the loyalty someone should have for their company. While we are taught to be loyal and respect our superiors; what makes something cross the line. Reasons for past whistleblowers have been committing a illegal, illicit, unsafe, waste, fraud, or an abuse of taxpayer funds. All of these reason make sense and this person who became the whistleblower should be congratulated for their actions. It most cases these individuals aren't celebrated and often slandered, exiled, or face some legal action. 

Some Notable Whistleblowers in recent history are as followed: Mark Felt who was apart of the Watergate scandal that effected the presidency of Richard Nixon. Daniel Ellsberg who was an employee of the State Department in 1971, and was noted for leaking the pentagon papers which put into light how America got involved in the Vietnam War. Lastly is Edward Snowden who was a former computer intelligence consultant that leaked highly classified documents from the NSA, and ultimately fled the country seeking protection from the U.S.

All of these individuals played a major role in each of these situations, and they all tried doing what they thought was the right thing. It was very clear that most of these whistleblowers went against the government or government officials because of actions that deemed someone to step up and say something. 

There are two common words that are associated with whistleblowers and they are courageous and coward. The two words are polar opposites and describe two completely different things. Some thing that whistleblowing is a coward thing to do because it is either going against you company or nation. While others thing that it takes a lot of courage to stand up against a stronger force to accomplish a goal that helps more than it hurts. Overall I'm pretty torn on what I think a whistleblower truly is, and what it comes down to for me is the reason behind their action. If it a true problem that needs to be relayed to the public then it makes sense to become a whistleblower , but if it's an issue that can be solved by talking to people within the organization then in my opinion that's taking the easy way out.

To be a successful and smart whistleblower there are key elements to follow and know about to make sure you are being effective and safe. There are accounts of whistleblowers disappearing, getting into legal trouble, and even fleeing the country. It is important to understand your rights before committing yourself to become a whistleblower. In the chart pictured below it outlines some of these elements that will allow you to become more knowledgeable with the plan of action whistleblowers should follow.

Ethical Whistleblowing

There is a reason for whistleblowers and that has become very imperative that we can establish an ethical way of doing it so there aren't any legal issues. Overall I have realized that whistleblowers will never be an icon to our society. There will always be a stigma behind these individuals due to the power behind the people they speak up against. In my mind they will be appreciated, and their actions will go down in history for the good and the bad. Their actions will be apart of the way our government is run to this date, and because of that they are important.

Diffusion Theory

 

Autonomous Vehicle

The diffusion theory has a main goal of explaining how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread. This theory has been used in recent years to attempt to predict the future outcome of autonomous vehicles. When the car was first invented nobody thought that it could eventually lead to self driving cars. Well it happened and in recent years the market and technology for autonomous vehicles have grown at a extremely fast rate. 

I personally don't know how I feel about this change in technology; I can see the benefits, but I also am worried that we as humans are starting to get to comfortable with letting technology do to many things for us. It is clear that our technological advancements are capable of amazing things, but when will we reach the point where enough is enough. 

The diffusion theory is a wonderful tool that researchers and scientists can use to judge the outcome of their ideas and inventions. By predicting that the autonomous vehicles will be equivalent to the amount of human drives by the year 2050 is almost unbelievable. It shows how fast our society can adapt to such a life changing advancement that will completely restructure the roads as we know them. 

In the graph pictured below you can see the prediction of how fast we believe the market value will increase. At this point it almost seems inevitable for autonomous vehicles to take the road; due to their effectiveness and ability to use other forms of power then natural gasses. 

The Diffusion of Innovation Theory

Invention: The iPhone

 

The iPhone

Since the start of the iPhone it was continued to grow into the most used cellphone in the world. In it's early stages it provided more than any other smart phone could do, and because of that it caught the publics eye. Apple was able to make an easy to use super computer that can fit in your pocket, what person wouldn't want that? Not only was the invention itself impressive, but so was their marketing and ability to connect with society. 

The growth of the iPhone and the progress is both impressive and scary. It's truly impressive to see a company revolutionize the cellphone and making it what it is today. The scary part is how often they realize a new phone or update. 

This picture is an accurate rate of the progression of the iPhone. Each year a new phone is released to the public that makes it hard to constantly get their new product. As a company Apple targets a wealthier audience due to their ability to release new products that get more and more expensive. This concept of constant change makes it very difficult to keep getting the new iPhone. Whether its a marketing scheme to get as much money as possible or it's the fact that Apple can continue to innovate their product. 

I personally have been using an iPhone since high school in the year of 2014, and I don't see myself ever getting another type of phone. Apple has made it very clear that they are the best at what they do, and will continue to be the worlds dominant power of cellular devices. Maybe one day a company will be able to overcome their threshold and make a phone just as sleek, powerful, and easy to use as the iPhone. 

I have always given credit where credit is due, and the iPhone deserves all of the credit for the cellphone industry. They took the invention of the cell phone and mixed it with the capability of the computer. They are on top of the game, and will continue to produce products of this magnitude. 

American Conservative

 American Conservative 

This webpage is filled with current events, blogs, and other relative news articles that sway on the conservative side. I say it sways this way simply due to the type of stories it covers and not necessarily any biases. Websites like this are full of useful information and ways to understand current events with more detail. 

Some categories that stuck out to me were Foreign Affairs, Economy, and What is American Conservatism. With a wide variety of information and events this site is able to reach a large target base. Personally I'm not super involved in the Economy, but I am with Foreign Affairs and learning about Conservatism. This gives me the opportunity to learn more about the things I already enjoy and also pick up new talking points. 

This website talks about real and important foreign affairs that everyone in America should be aware of. Such as the Ukraine crisis and the continuation of our wars in Afghanistan. One article that stuck out to me was Crisis or Opportunity, which discuss some of the opportunities the U.S. could utilize with the Ukraine crisis. It discusses how president Biden can use this situation to build a relationship with the U.S. and Russia if he doesn't make any mistakes. Our country already made a wrong move by putting pressure on another world power, but that doesn't mean we can bounce back from this. 

Hopefully more people take foreign affairs seriously, and the only way we can do that is if we have more sources such as the American Conservative. They provide facts, opinions, and stories that allow the American people to build their own opinions without being told how to feel. The future of journalism is in jeopardy or fake news and stories that are relevant to the needs of the American people. 

It is up to this generation and the ones to follow to make journalism and news sources and safe place to receive valuable information. We as a society must be able to trust those in charge of our information to lead this country out of the propaganda and manipulative way of spreading information. Once that can be achieved then we will continue to grow as a society.