Blog Post #12: Final Blog

 

Technology is a prominent part of modern society and most people from my generation cannot imagine what it would be like to live in a world without technology. However, it wasn't too long ago the technology we have all come to rely on today wasn't even fathomable by most, yet alone existing and mainstream.

I look at my grandparents' relationship with technology and how little they use it. They have a landline they use to call family and a television they use to watch game shows and the news. They also have an ipad but their understanding of it is little, and it's barely ever used. It may even have some dust bunnies lingering on it. Relating back to Roger’s diffusions of innovations, they and presumably most of their friends would be classified as the laggers.

My parents and their friends utilize technology much more. Both my parents have iphones, laptops, tvs, ipads, airpods and most other popular devices. While they physically possess all the same technology as me, their uses for it are vastly different.

My parents withhold from joining any social media platform as they fear the invasion of privacy as learned in blogpost two. They use cellular devices primarily for communication, searching the web, and fun mindless games. They use television for news and entertainment. Their laptops are used primarily for work. In this sense they compartmentalize their different devices for different functions and despite having many sources of digital technology, the collective screen time a day across all devices probably totals three to five hours.

Finally, I look at my technology usage. I use streaming platforms, youtube, almost every form of social media, play games on both my phone and laptop, and use all devices for work. Anything you can think of, I probably have used at least once. How this relates to my overall screen time, well lets just say I don’t dare check. It’s safe to say I am addicted to technology, similar to many of my friends. Despite my addiction, I don’t actually find it unhealthy.

Technology helps me connect to those closest to me. I use my phone to call my parents, sister, and grandparents when at college as I greatly miss talking to them and hearing their voices. I use text to stay in contact with friends, make plans, and receive quick responses when I need immediate responses to a question.

Snapchat helps me stay in touch with friends who I don't frequently see as it doesn’t require continuous conversation to stay connected. A snap of a photo lets them know I am thinking of them without a word.

Instagram lets me share my favorite memories with those who I know and celebrate my friends' successes by commenting on their posts to provide “hype”. Instagram reels provide a way for me to decompress from the stress of daily life and sharing reel videos that made me laugh through direct messages gives me an easy way to start conversation with others. Moreover, instagram presents me with news I otherwise don’t hear about and encourages me to go and independently search the articles that appeal to me.

Google helps me to broaden my knowledge and stay up to date with world events.

LinkedIn provides me the opportunity to highlight my skills and connect with employers.

Youtube is where I listen to all my music and often when listening to a good song I get so energized I decide to go on a walk, and so technology also directly links to exercise for me.

Now, I know technology is not without its fault even with all the positives it offers. I certainly spend too much time watching tv/streaming services and I had to delete Tik Tok and Twitter because they tanked my mental health. Influencers can be misleading and people only portray their best selves online. Information can be false. Knowing the information can be misleading and false does not prevent the subconscious from feeling that others are better off at times.

Yet even with all these disadvantages I’ve always felt in control. If someone posts content I don’t like I can unfollow or block, all my accounts are private so I control who sees what, and if it all gets too much I can delete the app. I acknowledge this isn’t as easily done as it is said and it can be a real struggle for some.

I am fortunate as my parents raised me with minimal technology up until about fourth grade when I got my ipod and even then it was greatly restricted as they didn’t want to hinder my imagination and have my youth consumed by the digital age. For this, I am very grateful. They also enforced strict rules with social media which I could not download until much later in life, way after all my friends. They taught me about what to post and what not and the importance of knowing who can view your profiles and the information you provide.

This has benefitted me much in life as when you google me the only things that pop-up are my LinkedIn which I am very proud of and three google images, one from a congressional internship I had, the next a professional headshot from my LinkedIn, and another when receiving the directors award at a prestigious program. All things that appear to the public are favorable and none too revealing. Even to find these two traces of me online, you need to scroll quite a bit or insert specific information with my name such as * full name* and my school or area I am from. This protects my privacy and is advantageous as I apply for jobs and employers run background checks.

Even so, private information is out to the public. For me personally, once one finds my accounts/information, they can see that I live on the east coast and more specifically in Virginia from the Congressional photo and Director’s award. One could also likely determine that I attend High Point University and see places of prior employment from my LinkedIn account. This can be scary if the wrong person sees it but overall I feel safe.

People with public social media pages are providing massive amounts of information to others and may not realize it. Pictures may have metadata or the mere background can provide information. People have posted while on vacation only to learn that someone saw and broke into their house while they were away. This is to point out that information is out in the public.

I think waiting to gain privilege too technology and my ability to recognize it as a privilege, definitely made me a more informed and responsible user of technology. I will say as someone who was delayed to the trend of smart devices and social media networks, I did constantly feel like I was missing out in group settings among my peers. In middle school and high school, friends would make references to viral memes and videos that I would not understand. I would have to constantly ask for explanations and overtime this got exhausting for both me and my friends.

On the flip side of being delayed to modern technology compared to most of my generation, I have noticed that I can go much longer offline than my friends and have better interpersonal skills than most.

In conclusion, technology has had a massive impact on everyone regardless of age, although some generations experience its effects much more than others. My generation is one that is highly influenced by the digital age. For better or for worse, its impacts on daily life and communication are undeniable. In my case, I believe it to be better. My relationship with technology isn’t perfect but I would say it's good overall.

Technology has fundamentally shaped who I am through the content I consume, and thus influencing how I go about life. I think this influence is no different than the influence of friends or family who all shape your perception of the world both in obvious and subtle ways, and I think this is healthy. It only becomes dangerous when one is no longer able to distinguish the line of influence and the difference between what's seen on your screen and reality. 

I caution everyone to be weary of this line, but with this in mind encourage them to explore technology and the full extent of its capabilities. See where it takes you. See the good it can bring to your life. But also have a few days in a month or a year where you can unplug and take a break from it all as well.