Throughout my life, as each year passes, technology becomes more prevalent and has an important role in my everyday life. In my opinion it has not just taken over my life, but has taken over the lives of everyone that uses it. Technology has had many positive impacts on my life, but also many negatives. It has negatively impacted my mental health as society promotes an unhealthy body image standard to teenage women online. If I am away from my phone for too long I also get an urge to check it, I am uncomfortable and I want to know what is going on. It feels like an addiction, that I can not escape, and this is how many people feel. Social media is addicting. It has become an important part in my life that I can not escape from. Even though I do not want to admit it, I care about what people think about me, and I get validation through social media. As technology comes more prevalent and social media use increases, my addiction has only become worse.
A part of my life is on my phone, which is frightening to think about. After reviewing my screen time on my phone I found out I am on it for at least 5 hours a day. The horrifying part is that I can't even tell you what I was doing for those five hours except for aimlessly scrolling on social media. I feel like I am wasting a part of my life. I often say to my friends and family that I wished I lived in a time without technology. This is something that I am constantly thinking about, but I do nothing about it. It scares me that technology has taken over so much of my life, but I honestly can not imagine my life without it. I can't stop using it because I would feel disconnected from society and my friends and family, I feel stuck.
I am scared for the future, but I am grateful that I at least grew up in a society where technology wasn't as prevalent as it is today. Children growing up in the present use technology before they can even talk. I am worried for the future of society and of the next generations who only know a world filled with technology. Watching the "Mad World" video really impacted me because I truly believe that that video is slowly turning into a reality. Sadly I think that the use of technology has become an excepted part of society that people do not think twice about.
IS INFORMATION RELIABLE?
Technology has allowed anyone to get information on anything within seconds. But is it always accurate? This is a question that we face as technology is growing and is a primary source for obtaining information. Although we can access all types of information using technology, it does not mean it is correct and we can not be naive and believe everything we read. In some aspects such as educational reading or information posted online, using technology can make us smarter and understand more about the world.
On the other hand, it can also mislead us and give us unreliable information. It is important to be open minded, but also understand that just because we are reading something online doesn't mean it is reliable information. Sadly, as technology has become more prevalent in everyday life, the problem of spreading misinformation has increased. According to Tom Ronsenstiel, "Misinformation is not like a plumbing problem you fix. It is a social condition, like crime, that you must constantly monitor and adjust to". BBC Future Now interviewed 50 experts on the challenges that we are going to face in the 21st century. Many of these experts said it was the breakdown of trusted information sources.
“The major new challenge in reporting news is the new shape of truth,”said Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired magazine. “Truth is no longer dictated by authorities, but is networked by peers. For every fact there is a counterfact and all these counterfacts and facts look identical online, which is confusing to most people.”
This demonstrates how information is becoming less and less reliable as technology usage grows. A study conducted by Pew Research found that "64% of adults believe fake news stories cause a great deal of confusion and 23% said they had shared fabricated political stories themselves – sometimes by mistake and sometimes intentionally." This data is extremely alarming as I had no idea how big of a problem the spread of false information has become in the recent years.
FRIENDS, FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS
Just like myself, my friends too are addicted to technology. It has become a crucial role in their lives, that they can not live without. This isn't just happening to younger generations though, my parents have started to rely on technology too. As the world changes, people change with it, just because technology was not around when my parents were younger, doesn't mean they shouldn't use it now. For my mothers job she has to use technology all day because she works from home. Even my Grandfather taught himself how to use Instagram and made an account so he could see what all of his grandchildren were doing.
I feel as if my relationships have changed because of technology. Instead of talking to each other, my friends and I sometimes will just sit and scroll on our phones. We won't speak to each other sometimes for an hour. Even though we are with each other in person, we are not interacting. I feel as if this has negatively impacted some of my friendships.
Personally, I feel as if this has positively impacted romantic relationships though. In college many relationships are long distance and without technology it would be very difficult to stay in contact. Technology allows us to call and FaceTime each other, making us feel as if we are not as far as we actually are. Technology can be used for good or bad and it can positively or negatively impact relationships depending on how you use it.
ONLINE FOOTPRINT
An online footprint, better referred to as digital footprint "refers to one's unique set of traceable digital activities, actions, contributions and communications manifested on the Internet or digital devices." These footprint are permanent, once you do or post something online, it stays there forever.
When I googled my name the only link that came up was a link to my instagram profile as well so in conclusion I know that my instagram is very easy to find and access. I do not post anything I wouldn't want anyone to see so I am not very worried about that. Since I was young my mother has always told me to be careful about what I post because you never know what will come back to haunt you when you are older.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, I think that technology is addicting and it will only get worse. We spend too much time using technology and we have become reliant on it. I am afraid of the future as technology advances. This assignment really made me think about my own personal relationship with technology, as well as my relationships with my friends because of technology. I want to challenge myself to do better and limit my screen time throughout this upcoming summer. I want to be more present in the moment and not glued to my phone screen. I will also try to preserve my online footprint and continue to be cautious about what I post online and what websites I use. This is something that everyone should think about and make sure they are not reliant on technology for their whole life.
Links: https://www.npr.org/2016/11/08/500686320/did-social-media-ruin-election-2016
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2017/10/19/the-future-of-truth-and-misinformation-online/
https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/definitions/what-is-a-digital-footprint
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