Week 15: Online Presence and Technology

 

    I would say my online presence is very small. Mainly due to the fact that I really only converse online with close friends that I know in real life. I do not have a personal website and I do not give out my personal information unless it is absolutely necessary, such as for job applications. I also do not use social media that much. The only one I am constantly on is Instagram, and even then it is mostly just me looking at memes and liking some friends pictures here and there. I rarely post anything and they are almost exclusively for things such as my birthday, returning to school, or any little event I wanted to share. Beyond that, the only personal information I give on that page is that I go to High Point, and I do not consider that something I need to hide. That being said, I suppose someone could gleam some information about me from my Instagram, but all of it is stuff I am comfortable with people knowing. Well, my account is private so I am able to vet people who are trying to look at my page, and I limit it almost entirely to people I actually know. Besides Instagram, I do have a Facebook account but I have not posted anything on it and almost never open the app. In fact, I only made an account because I had to for some groups at school.

    I do not think social media makes people lonely, I do not really see how something like that can lead to loneliness. I suppose it could cause one to become a little anti-social because they always think the are safe behind their screen, but I rarely see that happen ever, and it is when much of their life is consumed by it. Now depression and isolation on the other hand, that is absolutely possible and I dare say common. Cyberbullying and a failure to make online connections can definitely lead to these things. We hear about it all the time about someone, usually teens, getting very depressed because their peers either cyberbully them or do not respond at all. So in that regard it is a problem. But overall I would say social media is a good thing. It helps us connect with people so much easier and much more freely. Though I do think we need to crack down on the spying and censoring many of these massive companies have been found guilty of.

    Many have attributed a large portion of these issues we face, to our overdependence on technology. Many say it has consumed our life and our relationship has become unhealthy and detrimental. I do not quite agree with this. I do think that there are quite a number of issues modern technology presents, both the hardware itself and how it can consume our lives, but I really do think the good outweighs the bad. There is practically sum of all human knowledge at our fingertips and as I mentioned before, we can connect with anyone anywhere in the world in seconds. But as with any good thing, there are those who will abuse it, and we should be working to fix that. But the amount of good modern technology has done for us as a species, I think is too great to be considered overly detrimental.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/05/is-facebook-making-us-lonely/308930/

Week 13: EOTO Part 2: Echo Chambers

 

    Dictionary.com defines "Echo Chamber" as, "an environment in which the same opinions are repeatedly voiced and promoted, so that people are not exposed to opposing views". These have become more than common place in not only the United States, but across the world. Whether it be public television or online, echo chambers are bound to be created if there is an opinion to be had. It could be the most insignificant topic in the world, but if people have differing opinions on something, then echo chambers will be formed. Most people are familiar with this concept in the mainstream media. CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, all echo chambers that preach and repeat the same opinions within their own circles to people who already agree with them. Another sources that is notorious for echo chambers is the online forum website Reddit. Whenever someone goes on and discusses and opposing opinion on one of the subreddits, many have described how the frequent readers get very heated when their ideas are challenged, are there are many accounts of hostility and very toxic behavior. This is largely in part to us as humans not liking having our ideas challenged. Especially today, when someone has their ideas challenged, they take it as a personal attack and do not want to hear it. This can be extremely detrimental to society as a whole. When no one is open to new ideas, or even to consider that somebody else may have a different opinion than their own, then there is hardly any room for progress. This is most evident in politics. So many people, not just the politicians, are unwilling to hear the opposing side of an issue, and therefore are not willing to reach a comprise that would be beneficial and appease everyone. Echo chambers only exacerbate this issue. You do not need to convince someone who already agrees with you. Not only that, but you are not gaining anything out of the conversation either. Now while it is good to confer with like minded people, completely cutting out differing mindsets is even more detrimental. If we want to advance this country politically and socially, we need to pull these networks and forums away from the echo chambers they have become, and push for more open discussion. Maybe then we will be able, or at least more willing to reach compromise, no matter how insignificant the argument may be.

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/echo-chamber?s=t

Week 12: Confirmation Bias

 

    Dictionary.com defines Confirmation Bias as “Bias that results from the tendency to process and analyze information in such a way that supports one’s predicting ideas and convictions.” This has become common place on the internet when discussing all topics. Whether it be political or not, if there is an argument made on the internet, chances are echo chambers will be formed. We as humans want to be around others like us, especially ones that a like-minded and share out ideals. this is most likely due to our need to belong and confirmation bias more or less helps with that. It helps to find others who share the same opinion on a topic and allows us to speak more freely about our opinions concerning a certain topic. Not only that, but it can at times help us find supporting evidence for a particular argument when consulting others who are looking for the same thing. However, more often than not, confirmation bias is a real problem that does more harm than good. Many times when people are divided on an issue, they will refuse to look at evidence that would challenge their ideas, or listen to others who have a differing opinion. Dividing the groups involved even further, and often times making them even more unwilling to listen to the opposing group. We do not like having our ideas challenged, which is why we often do not listen or willfully ignore opposition and is also why confirmation bias is a natural thing to have. Whether we are aware of it or not, everyone has some level of confirmation bias, it is just how our brains work. As mentioned before, often times things such as online forums become simple echo chambers for like minded individuals. However, the mainstream media is now nothing but multi-billion dollar funded echo chambers. FOX News, CNN, MSNBC, any mainstream news source usually takes one side of an argument or an opinion and sticks with it no matter what. Even if there is hard evidence to challenge their ideas, they will either dismiss it as myth or outright ignore it like it does not exist. The fact that it is so hard to find a news outlet, mainstream or not, that presents both sides of an argument and then offers their opinion, is honestly detrimental to the U.S. and its people. The people are hardly ever truthfully informed anymore, at least not 100% truthful. There is always some kind spin on the stories the media tell us to try and make us think a certain way. Not only that, but nobody does their own research anymore and I dare say that many do even think critically anymore. Much of the U.S. population now just blindly believes what they are told by the echo chambers to fulfill that confirmation bias and feel good about what they think, not willing to learn and grow. Overall, while it is natural and can be helpful in certain scenarios, confirmation bias is usually a detriment the people should fight to overcome.

Week 11: On & Offline Privacy

    It's crazy to me just how common place the invasion of our privacy has become. Almost everything we do nowadays provides a ton of information to the government and big companies, and in many cases we technically give them permission by agreeing to their terms of service. I don't understand how the people who run these huge companies think it's okay to invade and profit off our private information. It baffles me even more how so many people, including myself to an extent, have become complacent with these practices. There's a certain point where many of us say something along the lines of "Well, it's too late to try and stop it." or "They're too big and too powerful to do anything about it." As I said, I have found myself saying this, but I think we all need to be reminded of just how much power we the people have to say no this kind of stuff. I think we should try to work towards much harsher regulations for such invasive things.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1509/jppm.19.1.7.16951

Week 10: Diffusion of Innovations

   

        Throughout history, thousands of innovations have come and gone. Whether they be physical of ideological, there appears to be a trend concerning how society as a whole takes on to them. This is explained through Everett Rogers Diffusion of Innovations theory.  The theory argues that there are always early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. I think an especially good example of this theory given recent times, is the innovation of video games and gaming systems. From the classic Atari to the modern PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The Atari and NES originally sold very well because they were marketed as a product for the whole family to enjoy and play together. However, while there are still many family friendly party games, gaming has moved more towards solo play, or online if it is multiplayer. Regardless though, most people in the modern world have accepted this technology as part of their lives, and many have even made it their whole lives as career on sites like YouTube and Twitch or even developing and critiquing games. Now, there are some people are still not too keen on using/accepting this technology. There is still some stigma against video games, because some believe that playing videogames is nothing but a waste of time and causes violence. Both of these are untrue and the benefit highly outweighs the cost (maybe not literally because the new consoles are very expensive). Gaming systems offer endless hours of entertainment, can connect people across the world through these games, improves reaction times, teaches time/resource management, teaches actual morales in some games, and there is no evidence that playing video games causes violence in real life. The majority of people who have not accepted this technology are older and still think of gaming systems with that previously mentioned stigma.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations

WEEK 8: EOTO Com Tech Timeline

 Television

    

    There is debate over who first invented the television: Philio Farnsworth, Charles Jenkins, or John Baird. They all more or less had a hand in its creation, but Farnsworth is the one most often credited as the creator. Before 1946, TV was only black and white and despite the capabilities of color being available since 1946, the first color broadcast was not until 1953. As for the physical TV itself, it has gone through hundreds of changes as well. It has gone from a box with dials and very small screen, to the modern giant flat-screen smart TV. Over the course of its existence, there has been endless discussion about what it does to people, in terms of what they consume and how it makes them act. Eve today, there is debate of what is suitable to be put on both public and private television (i.e. Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Video). Some believe that certain TV shows can cause people to act violent or inappropriately, while others think they do no harm at all. That is why censorship is an argument that is still alive. Some also argue that is shortens attentions spans and potentially causes eye damage. But, despite these potential issues, the Television has offered millions of hours of entertainments to people and have allowed creators to show their art to the world.

https://www.thoughtco.com/color-television-history-4070934
https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/Who-Invented-the-First-TV
https://blog.technavio.com/blog/largest-tv-manufacturers-by-market-share

Week 5: The Progressive Era

https://www.antiwar.com/

    The fact that we need to find obscure, third-party sites to find stark anti-war voices is honestly a mystery to me. You could ask practically anyone randomly on the street if they are anti-war and I would be willing to bet that they would say yes. I have two theories why we never hear about it though. The first, and what I hope is the correct one, we are in an era where all out war (at least in the United States) is a thought that does not cross anyone's mind. If asked whether or not we should declare war on another nation, the answer is almost always no. I say almost because there is will always be someone in favor of it. Basically, there is no need to talk about it because it is not an issue at the moment. But regardless, while there are smaller conflicts around the world, they are smaller disputes and have not lead to all out war. not to mention that as long as humanity exists, people will disagree to some capacity. My second theory, and one I hope is not correct, is that more people than we know are actually in favor of it, just not willing to say it out loud in public. Perhaps some people are just avoiding the anti-war questions until they get in power. Now, I do not mean this as a kind of conspiracy theory idea, it is just a thought I had concerning the possibilities.