Relationship with Technology: Healthy or Unhealthy?

Technology has taken over the world in unimaginable ways throughout the last decade. In 2015, only about 35% of the world's population had a smartphone. As of 2020, this percentage has increased to 85% of the world’s population. Today’s society has the ability to have any information they may need at their fingertips, in seconds. 

Technology is an absolutely incredible invention, but there are also many dangers and downsides to having such easy access to so much so quickly.

Technology has revolutionized the way we learn, interact, and travel. Our relationship with technology is one that has taken over our life. The relationship we have built with technology is greatly impacting our everyday lives and is not always impacting us in good ways. A recent study shows that 98% of college students use social media on a daily basis and 27.2% of college students spend more than six hours on social media each week! 

Checking social media to interact with friends and family especially while away at college is extremely important and allows for a way to stay connected but this constant connection to the world can become very unhealthy, very quickly. The constant distraction of a phone ringing or buzzing is disruptive when doing homework, taking courses, and trying to spend quality time with the people around you. Over 210 million people suffer from social media addiction. This shows that people are abusing technology and need to learn to limit themselves rather than allowing technology to take up so much of their daily lives. 

Another issue with technology is understanding what sources you are reading and whether or not they are reliable or misleading. When scrolling through Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. there are thousands of articles and posts that can be seen each day. Not all of these posts can be trusted. Technology should help educate society, but when misleading information is shared it can easily do the opposite and cause society to become more ignorant about the world around them. A recent study by three MIT students has revealed that false and misleading news found on Twitter actually spreads more rapidly than reliable sources. Why is this? Well, misleading headlines are often written in a way to grab a viewer's attention, therefore users find these stories and quickly repost them because they are intrigued. We are all victims of misleading information which is why we must be extremely cautious before hitting that repost button! 

Much of society has accepted technology into their daily lives. They have accepted distractions and misleading information as the new normal. This does not contribute anything positive to the daily lives of myself, my friends, or my family. Personally, having the ability to constantly connect with friends and family has been a positive aspect of technology. 

One main negative aspect of technology is the fact that people often post “highlight reels” of their life rather than a reality. People only post what they want others to see. This can easily result in others feeling bad about themselves and wondering why their life isn’t as “perfect” as those they follow on social media platforms. This constant comparison to others causes an extremely unhealthy relationship with technology by leaving young can even lead to forms of cyberbullying. Data shows that internet and social media usage has shown a spike in suicidal thinking among victims by 14.5%. This number is a clear indication that users do not always have a healthy relationship with technology.

Altogether, technology and social media are great ways to better communicate with the world around you. Still, it is important to understand your relationship with your technology in order to ensure healthy balances. Finding ways to limit technology use and be present in your everyday life is essential, especially for mental health and the relationships within your life. 

Living in the Age of AI

We live in an era where Artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be taking over. AI has many pros and cons that will both help and hurt our government and society. 

The age of AI creates total surveillance of all aspects of life. Surveillance is now in bedrooms, kitchens, and homes which is terrifying for many reasons. The trust in technology that people now have is dangerous and gives too much power to larger tech companies by allowing them to know too much information. For example, about 70% of households in America have an amazon echo speaker. That is a huge number compared to previous years. This speaker is a form of AI and constantly listens to whatever is happening in your home. The speaker actually has the ability to pick up on tiny signals which help to analyze behavioral patterns. The tone and rhythm of someone’s voice are monitored and all information and stored and analyzed. All information is important no matter how small and can be used to determine future behaviors and interests. 

Author Amy Webb speaks on smart speakers and explains how they are trained to understand in real-time. Smart speakers use the information gathered to make predictions about you and your future. The speakers pick up on things such as sneezing and coughing to make assumptions. Webb explains the larger issue of how we believe we are in charge of these speakers telling them how to help us, but we are not. They are able to gather intimate and detailed information and build an understanding of our personalities. 

This is a huge issue when it comes to security because there is no longer any privacy even in our own homes. AI has created an entirely new world that can be helpful in making our lives seem easier and safer, but in reality, a lot of AI can become harmful and create a world where we are no longer in the power of our own lives and have no privacy. 

EOTO Reaction

There were many different concepts presented throughout the EOTO presentations. One specific concept and invention that has already begun to change our world drastically is machine learning. 

Machine learning goes along with artificial intelligence as well as deep learning. They combine in order to create Artificial Intelligence (AI). Machine learning allows a computer to develop its intelligence through monitoring and understanding past algorithms and statistical information in order to expand its knowledge and predict/ create future algorithms and data. 

The idea of machine learning allows a computer to continue to grow on its own without the interference of a human. Machine learning allows for many new technologies to come about and allows for humans to do less within the technological industries. The idea is that the technology will have the capability to “think” and problem-solve as a human would. 

When learning about this technology I felt that there were many great positive aspects to machine learning, but there are also many negatives. Some positive aspects include that this technology is able to transform the world as we know it and can work with a wide variety of applications. Machine learning easily identifies trends and patterns using a computer which means much fewer mistakes and no human error. When looking for different trends they will be found faster and improvement

on different issues will be occurring continuously. The factor of efficiency is also important when looking at machine learning because there is no way a human would be able to look at such a vast amount of information and one time.

On the other hand, machine learning has some negatives. It is a scary thought to allow technology to have a “brain” of its own. Machine learning takes away from many job opportunities because machines will be able to replace jobs such as factory workers, delivery services, etc. There are also some legal issues with machine learning because if there was an error, who would be at fault?

Altogether, machine learning is beginning to become very prevalent in our society and can be very helpful, but we must also be aware of the negatives and how it can harm society. 

TED Talk - Blog #8

One main issue discussed is privacy and the idea that your life online is as permanent as a tattoo. Everything that is shared online is permanent and can never be reversed. Once something has been posted it is important to understand that the information you have shared now has the ability to reach thousands of people. This can easily affect me and my family and friends because we live in a digital world today. This means that everyone is constantly sharing everything about their life, from what they ate for breakfast to where they went on vacation. This is a huge privacy issue because everyone is giving so much information to so many people. In many cases, people may believe that they are sharing this information only with “friends”. In reality, this information is being put into the online world and many more people than just your “friends” can easily gain access. This can become dangerous if personal information gets in the hands of stalkers, scammers, or other bad people. It is also essential to understand that everything that is done online can be traced. This means that an employer will be able to go online and do a quick search of your name. That is why it is important to keep your profiles clean and appropriate in order to reduce the risk of unwanted embarrassment in the future.

Moving forward, the government cannot always do much about these privacy issues. These are privately owned social media companies and each consumer has the right to p
ost as they please and what they please. With that being said, it is important for the consumer themselves to put in place certain protocols in order to protect against the invasion of privacy. As social media users, we can monitor our profiles to ensure only people we know are viewing our information. We can also monitor what we are posting and how often we are posting. It is not necessary to post everything we do throughout the day. Another way to ensure privacy is to never use “geo filters” or “geotags” because they allow others on the internet to be able to see your location which, of course, can lead to potential danger. 

Altogether, the world of social media can be a scary place and it is important to understand how to monitor yourself and ensure that you are sharing and posting responsibly. 

High Point Students Don't Actually go to Class, They Just Party- Blog #9

I'm sure the headline of this article was intriguing and grabbed your attention. Well, it was just a form of everyday misinformation. Misinformation and disinformation are found all over the internet in our everyday lives. Social media has grown so much, to the point, that it is almost impossible to always spot it. News is continually flowing to our fingertips through different online networks. Intriguing headlines are always shoved into our faces and without even thinking we begin to share this information regarding knowing where and who it came from. This sharing of information without knowing actual facts is how misinformation and disinformation are spread. It is important to understand what these forms of information are and how to spot them. 

First, it is important to understand the difference between misinformation and disinformation. Misinformation is any form of false information that is spread across the internet regardless of if it has the intent to harm or deceive consumers. Disinformation falls under the umbrella of misinformation and is created in order to deliberately be harmful or deceptive. 

Of course, misinformation and disinformation being shared on various platforms are very harmful to society as a whole. Depending on the severity of the article or news post, spreading false information can lead to unnecessary fear, wrong interpretations of people around them, and altogether mislead society. Let’s pretend someone has decided to go online and make a post claiming that High Point University students never actually go to class and their professors are paid off to give good grades while the students just party all day. Let’s say this goes viral and has thousands of shares online. This would not only be completely false information but it would also ruin the reputation of the university by misleading society. Parents would be angry and new perspective students would no longer be interested in applying.

Click this image to open a real-world example of misinformation about

 peanut butter cups that was shared over 270,000 times on Facebook.

The sharing of misinformation and disinformation affects all segments of society. It does not matter if someone is rich, poor, young, old, gay, or straight. All people from all walks of life are impacted and should take the share of misinformation very seriously. Any person who has access to a cell phone or any sort of newspaper or news outlet needs to be aware that everything they see is not always accurate and should be followed up with their own judgment as well as other sources they have similar claims. 

Understanding how to spot false news can be tricky, but a few easy steps can be taken. First, you should always look at the author/ source of a piece of information. A simple Google search of their name can allow you to understand who they are and if they would be a credible person to take information from. Ask yourself if this person would have any reason to be biased on the story that they are reporting on. Checking the date of a news story is also important because many old stories begin to recirculate and are no longer relevant. Reading thoroughly into a story is also important because headlines are often used to grab a reader’s attention and are not very accurate about what the story is actually about. Lastly, checking supporting sources and understanding where the information actually came from is very important. If an author or news outlet is unable to cite their sources then their story is most likely not very accurate and should not be trusted. 

Altogether, misinformation and disinformation are everywhere. Be careful what you share and where you are getting your news. Understand that not everything on the internet can be trusted and find credible sources in order to stay informed and educated on the world around you.

Diffusion of Innovation- Blog #7

The invention of drones for use of communication is an amazingly innovative invention. Recently, drones have been being experimented with to use as a form of delivery service. Drones are now operating in certain parts of America as a means to drop off goods at a person’s doorstep. The company, wing, which is a part of Amazon has begun to deliver on-demand. For example, in Texas deliveries are being made each day and allow for customers to receive products the same day they are ordered and very quickly. 

The idea of drones being able to deliver so quickly has, of course, appealed to many because we live in a world where people want everything so instantly without needing to wait. This is why there are many early adopters of the idea of drone delivery. Average delivery time through USPS is about 7-10 business days and even with that expected time, there can be many delays due to weather, shortage of employees, etc. With drone delivery, there are fewer employees needed and the weather does not play as much of a factor. Late adopters have emerged because there are speculations on if it is safe for a drone to be carrying a package through residential areas. Questions have arisen about the package b
eing delivered to the wrong home or the drone being programmed incorrectly and possibly crashing and causing harm to a resident in the neighborhood. 

Of course, there are also people who are not willing to adopt at all. There have been many studies that have found drones have negative effects on the environment. There are also many people who do not want there to be changes in the current USPS system and fear the change of such a strong technological advancement. 

With every technological advancement, comes downsides. Drone delivery requires fewer employees needed to work for delivery companies and would take away job opportunities for many people. Fortunately, there are many more upsides than downsides when it comes to drone delivery. Altogether, drones are emerging quickly in many aspects of communication and this new technology will change the world in a way we can never even imagine!

Technological Advances

There were many interesting technological advances throughout history. One very important technology was the smartphone. The smartphone completely changed the world as we know it today. The smartphone was first introduced to the world in 2007 and quickly evolved. Before 2007, the only handheld device with a small screen and similar look to the smartphone was the iPod Touch. The iPod allowed users to play music and a select amount of virtual games. The smartphone was so revolutionary because it was one device that can do everything. You were able to play music, play games, browse the internet and all with the addition of making calls and sending messages.

As of today, more than 5 billion people have smartphones and this has changed the way we communicate in our daily lives. The smartphone has given people the opportunity to share ideas with people thousands of miles away in seconds and allows the world to stay connected!

Imagine your own life and the amount of times a day you use your phone to text, browse the internet, and stay connected to your friends/ family. Without the invention of the smartphone your life would be completely different.