Final Exam Post - Technology

Blog Post #11

Technology 

My Relationship with Technology 

I think I have a pretty healthy relationship with technology. I do not think I overuse technology, I believe I use just the right amount. With that being said, technology does play a very important role in the world we live in today, so the right amount of technology to me and the right amount of technology for an older generation may be different.  Every day I use social media. I use Snapchat, Instagram, and Pinterest in my day-to-day life. I use my iPhone to facetime and iMessage my friends and family. I watch movie streaming networks like Netflix and HBO Max every day. I use my Macbook in class to do work, and I probably use even more technology that I cannot even think of, but I do not believe it is overtaking my life. With all of the technology available in the world, I still find time to take walks outside and spend time away from the internet. I think my friends and family are not too caught up in technology either. However, there are many people that revolve their life around technology and that can be a bit dangerous. 

I did take the time out to google search my name and I did not find anything surprising. I only found images of people that have the same name as me and I found images of boots that had my name. I also found my LinkedIn profile. 

Misinformation or Information? 

With all of the use of technology in the world, we are bound to be exposed to rumors, hoaxes, conspiracy theories, and misleading news. This misinformation can be easily mixed in with reliable and honest sources, making the truth hard to perceive. A researcher on the spread of misinformation found that the industry has an easy way of creating "social bots", or fake accounts that are controlled by software that appear to be real people. In his lab, he and his team developed the BotOrNot tool to detect social bots. With the BotOrNot, his team discovered that that large portions of online chatter from an election in 2016 were generated by robots. This makes you wonder just how much information that we see is put out there by robots. 

Humans are quite naturally vulnerable to the manipulation of misinformation, however, there is a way to avoid fake news. We have to be aware of ways to detect bots. There are many companies and teams that are building platforms to track the spread of fake news and "unverified claims". With the help of these teams, we will be given real-world data that informs us on simulated social network platforms. 

Futurama & Tears For Fears 

I believe the video about the famous display called FUTURAMA was an optimistic video. The visuals and the music were very optimistic. The narrator talked highly about new technology. The narrator made technology made it seem like it was the best thing going for the world. He mentioned that technology would make public transportation more convenient, it would provide ample space, and radiate shopping areas. He concluded by saying "there is a new beauty and new strength in the city of tomorrow. technology can point the way to a future of limitless promise...".  The second video of the remix by Moby of the song by the group Tears For Fears was immediately pessimistic. You could tell by the tone of the video. The video showed people on their phone all the time, people recording fights rather than stepping in and trying to help, at the dinner table on their phone, etc. There was so much going on in the world and nobody realized what was happening because they were so attached to their phones. 

Good or Bad? 

With that being said, technology has its happy side and it has its dark side. The internet can pose plenty of dangers to us. however, meaningful social interaction can be made with the use of technology. We have to be mindful and study every detail of how people spend their time online. Take some time to think about how much technology and social media you use. if you feel like you are worried about your online time, try to cut back and be conscious about how technology can be used to improve your life and not worsen your life.