The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Technology

I remember on my 13th birthday when my parents allowed me to have my own Facebook account. I was so excited because I could connect with friends and explore the world through connections. Before, I only know what was really going on around me as I grew up in a small area and only had a select amount of friends. But when I joined Facebook, I made new "friends" with others around the country and now had more personal information about them than I had ever had. It was a time when I also was given my first cellphone and I used to think how amazing technology was.

The goal of technology is to further advance society and increase productivity. However, as a selling point, technology can make our lives easier, and that's where technology has begun to be an issue. Companies like Tesla, Microsoft, and IBM develop and use technology for science purposes to discover ways to make us stronger and efficient. Meanwhile, other companies profit off of these products created by the tech giants and sell you on the idea of doing less. DoorDash picks up and delivers food for you so that you don't have to go get it for yourself. Netflix lets you watch TV shows and movies instantly so that you need to go to a video store and buy it. Snapchat allows you to send pictures instantly to your friends and chat with them so that you don't have to go meet them in person to talk. All of these products and services are designed to advance our communication but they also allow you to lazy and less productive. 

Have you ever seen the movie Wall-E? It's about the future where all of the world's resources have been used up so all the humans get in a giant space shuttle and leave Earth in search for a new planet to live. In the space ship, all humans are fat because they move around in a chair are constantly assisted by robots. Humans don't need to do anything and can relax because they rely on the robots to fulfill all their needs. Although the whole movie concept is very outlandish, it does feel like at times that our world is beginning to head in that direction. The issue in hand is that people are using technology more for their own leisure rather than utilizing it for productivity.

According to AXIOS, social media usage on mobile phones have rose from 20.8% to 24.1% during this pandemic while productivity usage has also rose from 13.9% to 14.5%. During this crisis, people are spending more time relaxing in their homes and browsing the social network instead of working on ways to assist their community. There's only a limited amount of things people can do during these times, which is why the companies like DoorDash, Netflix, and Snapchat are thriving. But even last year when life was normal, social media was still the preferred option. Why? Because it comes down to money. It always comes down to money. People don't want to work if their not getting paid, and being productive usually costs money to set up while being comfortable and exploring social media only costs your undivided attention.

I still believe technology is very valuable and beneficiary for our society, but it only works if we use it right. Many abuse its powers for attention and can easily damage someone's name. Cyberbullying, ghosting, and revenge porn are examples of the consequences of social media and have caused the spike in youth suicides. When you create a social media account, although not stated, you are expected to use it responsibly. It's designed to increase communication and build communicational bridges, but it's up to you how you communicate. Do you use this advantage to collaborate and be productive, or do you use it to hurt and trick others? Technology can be very influential, but it can not control what you say or do.

https://www.axios.com/social-media-overuse-spikes-in-coronavirus-pandemic-764b384d-a0ee-4787-bd19-7e7297f6d6ec.html

Opening the Economy During COVID-19

https://www.foxnews.com/media/maine-restaurateur-rick-savage-reopening-defying-lockdown


Last week, my home state of Maine was given some national press when Tucker Carlson interviewed a restaurant owner on FOX. Maine currently has strict stay-at-home orders and has postponed its plan of opening restaurants despite having some of the lowest amount of COVID-19 cases in the country. The majority of Maine citizens are self-employed or work at a small local business, so the lockdown is preventing them from making the money they desperately need.

Rick Savage, owner of Sunday River Brewing Company, has been struggling along with the many other small businesses and has decided to take action and oppose the government restrictions. During his interview, he told Carlson that he planned on opening the doors to his establishment on May 1st, the date they were originally allowed to open. He said he would still practice social distancing procedures and provide safe dining options for cautious customers. Although he knew and understood the risks, he believed that this needed to happen and ask for others to follow along in order to save the economy and ultimately continue to protect themselves. Unfortunately, Savage's plan lasted only a day before officials seized his food and alcohol licenses.

In a press conference, Maine Governor Janet Mills stated that her COVID-19 action plan focused on the safety of citizens, and while I agree that we need to be protected, we won't be able to continue protecting ourselves if we don't have the necessary income to support our families. Unemployment has rose and many are receiving welfare and stimulus checks to help pay for necessities, but the government can't continue to go in debt and give away money. We are hoping that all of this ends soon and that storeowners can open their businesses back up, but that won't be possible if they are closed for this long.

The small business economy is a crucial part of Maine and the state cannot thrive without it. While I support Savage's movement to fix the economy, I am also aware of the deadly dangers of COVID-19 and that there needs to be a solution that meets in the middle. Restaurants are now offering take-out only options so that they can continue cooking and many small retailers are moving their business online. As a graduating senior still looking for a job during these difficult times, I have taken the initiative to begin helping my local stores with converting their business online and creating social media accounts to keep their customers informed. I advise others my age that are also looking for something to do to turn off Netflix and offer their support for their local businesses. There is still very little we know about the Coronavirus, but what we have seen is that it has less of an effect on our younger population, so this is an opportunity to rely on our healthy individuals to support the elderly and compromised. For Savage, I believe that his business should have had the right to open up and that others also have a choice, but Savage should have also done a better job to issue face masks and prevent crowds of people together.

Agenda Setting: How Media Hinders Reality

Take a look above at the four images. The two on the left are from CNN with headlines that attack Trump and negatively criticize his briefing style. The two on the right are from FOX with headlines about how Trump wants to make sure that the media releases "honest" facts. All four are screenshots from the same White House press briefing during the COVID-19 pandemic but each news outlet tells a different story of what's going on. Because CNN has Democratic beliefs and values, they oppose a lot of what President Trump says and make their audience believe that Trump is not a good president at all. But FOX has Republic beliefs and values, so they often agree with a lot of what Trump says and show their audience the success of his presidency. Both CNN and FOX are the two major political news channels in the US and both compete for viewers. Because the news from the White House may not always be in their favor, they ignore some information and dramatize other key pieces to influence viewers. This is called Agenda Setting.

There is not much good about Agenda Setting as it only benefits the broadcasters. CNN and FOX care more about money, so they edit the reality to create controversy and turn your attention to them. The negatives with this is that the people aren't always getting all the correct information and their philosophies become filled with false facts. This can be an issue when it comes down to voting as voters are more influenced by the media and less by the candidates. There are many people in our country who are well informed and have strong and honest reasons about their political views, but there also many others who choose not to do the research and only pay attention to what's right in front of them. Many just read a headline without reading the entire article because they have a limited attention span, hence why social media has become a bloodbath for politics. I can barely even check Facebook without seeing someone share something politically biased.

For me, I have grown up in a Conservative household and my beliefs and values have been based off the biggest influencers in my life: my parents. However, we live in an area that is mainly Democratic, so we do our best to not bring up politics. I go on Facebook and I always see all these posts from local "friends" that rant on about how stupid Republicans are and that the whole country is falling apart because of Trump. Now, as a Republican, my family and I don't always stand with everything Trump has to say, but the media twists words and shifts attention to make my family and I look like clowns because that gets the media more followers. That being said, media outlets that are Conservative and pro-Trump do the same thing to Democrats and Liberals, which is also not right. The media doesn't use Agenda Setting because they whole-heartedly believe they should skew words. They do it because people listen to controversy and drama.

So if you want to avoid Agenda Setting and media outlets that falsify reality, do the research and search for unbiased information. Here are some websites that provide first-hand content and honest facts:

https://www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-news

https://apnews.com/

https://www.reuters.com/

Also, here is the website for all the White House press briefings without the misleading headlines:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/

Police, License Plate Tracking, and the Information They Have About Us

When it comes to government surveillance and online information storage, I am pretty split on the subject. Personally, I believe that it is not an issue for me if I don't know about it. In a TED Talk with Catherine Crump, she explains that law enforcement uses license plate tracking software to record hundreds of photos of us in our cars going throughout our daily lives. She says that this is an invasion of our private lives and this technology should not be used. While I agree with the idea, I believe that it is more threatening if the information was sold to businesses for advertising rights. For example, if a photo of my car revealed that I had a bumper sticker from a ski lodge, I would now feel violated if I began to receive ads from competing ski lodges and ski equipment sellers. The government has the right to track us as long as they are using the software for its intended use and not abusing their power. Crump explained that NYCPD officers used the license plate tracking for cars that were parked outside of inner-city mosques. While I find this to be racially profiling, I would honestly feel more comfortable if they were tracking all cars in NYC as more and more massacres are being committed by other races in the US. And besides, we don't know who could be the next serial killer or mass murderer, but having this information that may feel invasive could also be key evidence for protecting society from future deadly events.

https://www.ted.com/talks/catherine_crump_the_small_and_surprisingly_dangerous_detail_the_police_track_about_you

How Much Do You Know About Me?

Four years ago, I posted this image of me on my Twitter account after I graduated from High School. I ended up deleting my Twitter a couple years ago, my this image remains online and is now the first image of me when I search my name on Google. Interesting.

I find myself online A LOT but I don't necessarily share too much about myself to the world wide web. I have accounts on most of your typical social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, but I'm the annoying poster that shares every minute of my life. I just mainly enjoy sharing monumental moments and interesting discoveries from time to time for my friends and family.

One thing I notice is that Google doesn't really update that well on what I share, so when you search my name, a lot of the images that show up are of me playing hockey in high school, which I don't play anymore. However, there are links that are available that direct strangers to my LinkedIn and Facebook profiles. The only info they can assume about me is based on what I have shared so they may know basic info about myself but not much specifically that makes me unique. 

Sometimes I worry about the semi-shady websites that ask for my email and/or phone number because that is private information that offers direct access to me. I don't know what that website plans on doing with that info. They could say that they need it to "confirm my account" but really using that to sell my info to other companies for advertising purposes. This is the reason why my email is filled with thousands of scam messages from unknown companies. My info is vulnerable and I can't take it back.

Amazon: Buy Anything and Everything

In the early 2000's, Amazon.com was a small website that served as an online retailer for independent businesses. Today, the corporation is worth over $160 billion. But how as it been so successful?

According to the Diffusion of Innovations, innovators (2.5% of consumers) were the first to discover this website and use Amazon's services. As popularity grew, so did profits as Amazon managed the trading of products and delivered packages to their buyers. Rather than searching hundreds of websites for the right product, users could just use Amazon to find what they are looking for effiencetly. Eventually, early adaptors and the early majority were able to take advantage of Amazon and get what they need fast.

Amazon's main product is their website, which continues to offer new features and services once the others begin to dry up. For example, when their original standards were reaching the late majority of consumers, it was time for a new service to introduce. Hence, Amazon Prime was created, a premium service for consumers who pay a monthly fee for reduced prices and free shipping. This started the theory all over again as the innovators who stay updated on Amazon's trends were the first to complete their membership. 

The theory becomes a cycle for a company like this as one idea begins to vanish from a society, a new innovation is invented to make them relevant again.

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

https://www.aboutamazon.com/who-we-are

Individual Self-Fulfillment

Of the Eight Values of Free Expression, I believe that Individual Self-Fulfillment is the most important. Also known as "Self-Actualization", it is our will power that drives us to be better and write our own story in history. Without this quality, it can be difficult to accomplish the other 7 values of Free Expression.

The most important person in your life is you and it is your ultimate job to care for yourself. According to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, we humans have a top priority of accessing physiological needs like food, water, sleep, and oxygen. After that, the next set of important needs concerns our safety and security from threats. These first two sets are considered the basics for human life but are also the minimum requirement.

On the third rung of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, human beings require love and a sense of belonging. Family and friends grow as a community to strengthen and motivate one another, and a life partner can be there for you to offer comfort and trust. The next set is about the need for positive feelings like self-esteem and self-respect. Learning to have control of yourself and enjoy life can relieve dangerous mental pressure.

And at the bottom of the pyramid lies creative self-growth and the feeling of reaching your potential. This concerns your career and hobbies that you take part in to grow your mindset and contribute to the world. What you do and accomplish adds to your experience and makes you stronger everyday.

This is why Self-Actualization is so important because you need to have your needs in order before you can attend others' needs. You are the top priority and your health and safety is crucial for you to be able to love, motivate, and inspire.