Final Blog Post

 In the year of 2023, technology has become very essential to our lives. Everything nowadays is updated to be via technology. You hear people everyday talk about technology everyday and how everyone is always on social media or their specific source of technology. It is so fascinating to see the growth and difference technology has become over the years. Technology has truly taken over everyones lives in this society to the point where many depend on it. 

In the video Futurama from 1964, it clearly made the viewers see how technology was starting to form and how it would be in the future. It gave me a sense of understanding how people knew technology was going to come to be as big as it now is. Throughout the video you go back and forth viewing the little boy's face and the world and how technology will impact it. You see how amazed he is to one day grow up and be in a world where technology is so essential and present in everyone's lives. It truly seemed as if he was fascinated with what was going to come and how unbelievable the visions of the new world once technology was present will be. I'm sure while he was on this ride he didn't think technology would be as essential as it is today. 

In the youtube video Mad World Remix of Moby you can see how much technology has affected the world. At any time people are always scrolling on their phones no matter what is going on in the world around them. You can clearly see in the video no matter how much is going on people are on their phone taking videos and pictures. In the video Mad World Remix of Moby it also highlights the theme of loneliness and people having fomo. You can see clearly throughout the video that when people are attached to their phones the people around them feel as if they are alone because they might be seeing something better through social media. This goes to show the unhealthy relationship people have in this society. 

After watching these two videos it is a clear difference of how amazed people back in 1964 were when technology was first coming out to now in the 21st century what people think of it and how negative it can impact people. Sometimes the usage of technology can make people feel very lonely and disclosed (FOMO). There was a huge difference from people first thinking this would be amazing to now, people sometimes suffering because of the excessive and reliable use people have with technology. 

My Technology Usage 

You may often hear the voice of your parents say “Get off your phone” or “Put your phone down”. This is because of the unhealthy use of technology people in our society use. I feel as if my usage of technology is unhealthy. I have spent many days and hours each day scrolling through social media to the point where it has become very unhealthy. There have been many times where I feel like I am empty without my phone in my hand. Social media and the usage of technology has become very reliable for me. I got my first phone when I was in fourth grade and ever since then have been dependent on technology.

My Family and Friends Technology Usage

As well as my usage of technology is unhealthy. I feel as if my friends and majority of the members in my family also rely on technology. There will be times where I hangout with my friends and we will all be in the same room just scrolling on our phones looking at social media. This is very unhealthy when we should be communicating with one another as well as valuing the moments we spent together. Also, my family depends on their phones as well. There have been many times my mom or sister have run around the house trying to find their phone and wondering where it might be, or sitting at the kitchen table together and all looking down at our phones. The one person in my family who I feel as if has a healthy relationship with technology is my dad. He is hardly ever on his phone and loves communicating with people face to face. This might be because he was raised in a time where he wasn't introduced to technology right away. He didn't get his first phone until he could get one for himself. This has allowed him to know in a time where technology is so present to not depend and rely on it. 

Positives of Technology 

Although many people who I surround myself with have an unhealthy usage with technology and their smartphones I do feel as if it can be beneficial at times. While trying to communicate and connect with family who live far away or friends when they are not present, having your phone where you can call or text them easily is very beneficial. For example, when I am away at school I am able to facetime my family as well as my friends from home and communicate with them over the phone. Without technology this wouldn't be possible. 

Digital Footprint 

You're digital footprint is anything you post or text on any form of technology or social media platform. Think about a time where you were thinking about something and seconds later an ad pops up. This goes to show that you're digital footprint is always with you and the internet can always hear you. Or when you post pictures of you and your friends that is you not only posting on social media but posting to your digital footprint. In my opinion I feel as if I have a pretty clear digital footprint. I am very aware of what I post on social media and feel as if it is essential to make sure you are posting and texting appropriate things. When you post something and realize you might not like it or it might not be the best thing to post you will go and “delete” it. You're Not actually “deleting” it. Once you post something it is on your digital footprint forever and won't go away. This is something that teens in this generation don't realize and think about before they post. After taking this course it has made me even more cautious than I already am about my digital footprint and always making sure I present myself properly on social media because whatever you post anyone can see.

Impact of Technology in 2023

Overall, in today's time, 2023 technology is so essential. Social media is so big and everyone now has a smartphone. I think in many aspects it is unhealthy and people abuse the usage of it and have very unhealthy relationships with social media but in some aspects it is very beneficial. Such as keeping in touch with others through texting and calling.  Technology has also been very beneficial for travelling purposes nad making it so easy with directions, or when going to a restaurant and you want to pick up your food and don't want to wait, there are many local food place chains that include a mobile order where you can just order food from your phone and can pick it up. Technology may be very unhealthy and negative in some aspects but in some others, very beneficial and helpful in this time period. Technology is also only enhancing further and further each day where I assume  many more new fascinating types of technology will come out to only increase the amount people depend on technology.

Diffusion of Innovation

 Diffusion of Innovation is a way to see a theory and how new ideas and technology spread and grow bigger. Back in 1962 Everett Williams who was a professor of commmuniation studies showcased his big theory through writing a book all on this subject. Roger claims that this idea was able to be spread and processed easier by innovation being communicated so well over time.  Innovation is very important since it allows technology to become more advanced and for new inventions to become higher and more popular to all. 

Rogers states that there are five key elements to this idea. Innovation, adopters, communication channels, time, and social systems. This means that all of these fve concepts are the reasons that technology can be so enhanced. Without these five factors new forms of technology wouldnt be able to move forward and reach the success they have reached. 

Going back to our first EOTO we were told to research a form of technology and see the growth it has made. Many of these presentations have surprised me and made me learn so many new facts about different forms of technology and how they advanced so heavily throughout the years. For example, I researched the telephone, I learned how there was once a talking telegraph that once advanced to a telephone and once they learned how communication was so successful because of this and how it was so beneficial for people to communicate through long distance they were able to enhance the telephone and make smartphones which have also evolved so much through the years. 

Many people became and wanted to be an early adopter. The reason benign for this was because they wanted to be able to be an early part of this product or source of technology. Be a part of this from the beginning. There are different levels of innovators, early adopter, early majority, late majority, and laggards. 

Although technology has made life to be the life it is now and so much easier so people claim there are many downsides of technology. The biggest one being privacy. When using technology nothing remains private and so many people can see your every move. Whether you think you deleted something or not, people  can still see your “deleted” post. People tend to worry about what they say via social media or post, since once you post that thought or idea it is out in the public forever. Some people arent on social media for this exact reason. Many people dont want all their information to be posted and dont need people knowing their every move. THey would rather communicate face to face. 

Artificial Intelligence

 Artificial Intelligence is a type of field that combines computer science and robot datasets together to help with problem solving. The AI is also here to create different systems which can allow there to be different predictions to be made on data. Throughout  the video it discusses all of the potential risks and benefits technology has on our lives. The biggest risk being the lack of privacy there is.

One key concept we discussed a lot in class was privacy, how there is little to no privacy online. The biggest key risk with AI and technology was the lack of privacy there is using technology. Many people know from a day to day basis someone's activity and their information. This really goes back to the  theme of lack of privacy we have. Many times things could be controlled by other people because of the limited privacy we have but no one would know. 

 Differently, one of the biggest key benefits was the fact that AI allowed more people to learn how to use machines. This allowed people to think more and become more familiar and comfortable with problem solving skills.

Many people before using AI consider all of the risks and benefits before doing anything. They think about whether their information should have a chance to be “not so private anymore” and if using AI will be beneficial for them. There are now many new creations in 2023 that are created by the AI. One of my favorite ones being the Tesla. A self-driving car that allows you to do nothing while driving. This shows how technology is always advancing and making new things. 

All in all, I have learned a lot more information about technology and how it has shaped society today. Also how it is always growing and becoming better although there are always some potential risks. 

EOTO #2 Reaction

 After watching all of the EOTO presentations the one presentation that stuck out to me most and made me learn something new was all the information on Online Influencers. Since I do use social media daily I did have a great understanding somewhat of what an online influencer is but I learned so much more by watching these presentations.

The first thing I didn't know was how much the government was actually involved with online influencers and the huge impact they had on these people. Many people who use social media know that an Online influencer is people with high social media followers and who have high authority over  specific people in particular places all over the world. I also learned that online influencers get products from many different popular brands allowing themselves to be a marketing advocate for all these high end companies. They will post many different videos showcasing their products allowing all of their fans to view it making them want to buy these products. 

Online Inlfuencers preach different categories that they are passionate about such  as beauty, fashion, health, food, pets  and even sports for example. There are also higher rankings of online influencers based on how many viewers and followers they have. First the mega-influencers with more than a million followers,  Macro-influencers with 500K to 1 million followers ,Mid-tier influencers with 50K to 500K followers , Micro-influencers with 10K to 50K followers and lastly Nano-influencers with 1K to 10K followers. This was so interesting to me because I never knew there were different rankings of influencers based on how many followers they had and how many people were fans of specific people. This allowed me to put into perspective about which of my favorite influencers would be ranked in which category.

To conclude, these presentations made me learn so much about online influencers and how they support businesses and make marketing bigger. With online influencers so many topics including worldwide subjects influencers are used to spread awareness and information to benefit the world. 

EOTO #2 Operation MockingBird

 Our second EOTO my group had, the overall theme was Awareness. I was able to get a better understanding of the concept of Operation MockingBird. After researching Operation MockingBird I was able to get a better understanding of False information and this specific method of false information. 

Frank Wiser was someone who was very involved with the concept of false information. He was the director of the Office of Special Projects which then became the Office of Policy Coordination. This allowed him to be able to also be involved with False information and be a big part of false information. He was a very big part of Operation MockingBird and allowed people to get a better understanding of what was actually going on in the world and all the different false information and types of false information there was. Frank Wiser was told to create an organizations  focused on “propaganda, economic warfare,  preventive direct action, including sabotage”. This was a line that he preached and allowed people to get a better understanding of what false information was and how it would help the community. 

Operation MockingBird is a program to influence the domestic American Media. Many different important communication sources have used Operation MockingBird before. Operation MockingBird had major influences over twenty five newspaper and wire agencies. It  was also able to be  a  covert US government operation run by the CIA to implant pro US propaganda in American Media and front organizations. This allows people to be able to broadcast their ideas by using propaganda but yet again using the false information method of Operation MockingBird. 

Operation MockingBird was very important during this time period. It was launched during the cold war and collected high intelligence amongst very different people. By working  with high journalists and institutions around the world affecting the public opinion due to being able to manipulate news media. After they saw how much Operation MockingBird influenced the American media it also expanded on to influence the foreign media. Journalists who were apart of Operation Mockingbird were reportedly through blackmail and threatened into doing this network. Many different documents during this time were shown but none of them were classified as Operation MockingBird. This allowed people to think that there was no sighting of false news in any other category that could be considered Operation MockingBird. 

All in all, Operation MockingBid was a way that was able to make the American news something it wasn't. There was always so much confusion in the world when different news sources and information was shown. This was a way for people to think something was going on when it really wasn't and was a way for people to gather incorrect information. Many news sources were changing from all of these different false information concepts and were blackmailing people to join their organizations and be free of this false idea. By the end of researching it was evident that the goal of Operation MockingBird was to manipulate domestic American News sources 

Anti War

After being in class and discussing all the factors of anti-war I never noticed how much people would voice their opinions on this subject. There are many websites and platforms that have made me enhance my learning on anti-war aside from what we discussed in class. The two websites are ANTIWAR.COM and The American Conservative. Both of these websites gave me a better understanding on what anti war really was and different examples of it. 

After reading the article Whatever Happened to the Antiwar Left  I learned how so many people actually did use their voices and stood up for what they believed in. It was February 15th when millions of people stormed the streets of eight hundred different cities to oppose the US led invasion of Iraq. Many people didn't agree with this and their choices. Although this was in the past there are still many different marches for people to stand up for what they believe and to use their voice. Many people don't hear about different situations going on in the world, another important one being stated in the article The Old Normal. This was about a church staying open during the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic. Many people thought everything in the world should be shut down yet this church was known to be the most successful and still is because of it staying open. You never heard this on CNN or Fox because of how much the news preached we were in a world wide lock down. 

Many times we don't hear of information like this. Websites like the two I looked at, ANTIWAR.COM and The American Conservative aren't ones people typically look at, yet they give us so much information and stories about different people using their voices and stating all the differences in their world. Sometimes by studying websites like these ones you are allowed to learn more and be able to voice your own opinions on situations you didn't even know were happening in the world.

Reaction to EOTO

After listening to the EOTO presentations I learned a lot about everyday technology. One piece of technology that's history stuck out to me in particular was Netflix. In 1977 Netflix was founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in California . Back in 1977 Netflix was way different than what it is now. Netflix users would have to order movies off of a website and then receive DVDs of the film in the mail, and would have to send back the disk once they were done watching. This is so shocking to me because Netflix has evolved so much from this. Each movie rental was four dollars and a two dollar postal charge since the film was shipped. In 2007 was the time when Netflix allowed subscribers to be able to stream shows or movies from their own internet devices as well as DVDs. Once Netflix realized all the success that was reached once they let people stream different movies and shows from their own internet they were no longer mailing disks to people. Netflix is something that many people use and watch all of their different shows and movies on. Many people in today's society depend on Netflix to watch all of their favorite shows and movies. After hearing about how Netflix used to send people DVDs and you would have to pay per movie or show rather than a package it was just so shocking to see Netflix evolve so much.