Monday, May 4, 2020

Society and Technology

There is no doubt that technology is a major part of our lives, and that its role continues to grow. However, whether that is a good or bad thing is up for debate. In my opinion, technology is neither entirely bad or entirely good. There are certainly positives to how it helps us in daily life but, there are also many many downfalls to technology. 
In the Futurama video, it portrayed a world where technology was everywhere. Technology was building roads, helping people get places, and even exploring the moon. Everything this video showed was overwhelmingly positive in regards to technology's impact on society and our everyday lives. I feel like this vision still stands true today, we just picture more/different technology in our future. Currently, our standard image of a future “perfect world” is flying cars, holograms, teleportation, and extensive space exploration. When we picture this future world, we assume that it will be perfect. We think that these flying cars will make it easier to get places and we can instantly have anything we desire. It makes sense that the Futurama video portrayed this same emotion towards technology even in the 1960’s because the general vision has always been the same. I think that this vision of a perfect future, although unrealistic and unattainable, is good for us as a society. This goal, this dream pushes us to expand our learning and figure out how to create new things that we want or need. It helps us to invent new technologies and better the ones we already have. 

On the other hand, the Mad World Remix video portrayed the bad side of technology, and it proves a very good point. For example, there was a part where everything was black and white and the women looked very worn down and sad. But, when she put her face in front of her phone camera to take a selfie, everything inside the camera was colorful and she looked happy and pretty. This goes to show that what we see on social media isn’t always real, it’s just what others want us to think is real. The whole video everyone is staring down at their phones and not seeing anything going on around them. The video is almost disturbing in the way it shows the impacts of social media and technology on society.
Neither one of these videos is entirely correct. Is technology great? Yes. Does technology cause problems? Absolutely. I can see both the positive and negative side to social media. On one hand, yes the image we all present is fairly “fake”. No one has a perfect life, but that is what we all portray online. However, you need to give yourself a good online image. You want people to think highly of you in general to have a good reputation, but you also need a positive online presence for jobs. So yes, it is fake, but it needs to be in order to look good online to the public eye and employers. 
Another topic touched on by the Mad World Remix video was cyber bullying. It showed a girl dancing in what I assume was supposed to be an embarrassing manor. When this video of her dancing ended up online, everyone laughed at her for it. You then see her standing at the top of a building and it is implied that she jumped off to take her own life from the cyber bullying she endured. This is certainly one of the biggest problems with technology and specifically social media platforms. However, many social media sites have been and are continuing to stop this horrifying issue. For example, all mainstream social media sites give you the option to have a private account so that you have to approve who can follow you and see your posts. They also all have block and report features. This is so if someone says something rude or even just annoying on your post, you can block them so they can never see your posts again. You can also report people if they are cyber bullying and after their account has been inspected by the social media’s team, their account may be temporarily or permanently disabled. Many sites such as Instagram and TikTok also allow users to turn off comments for their videos. Cyber bullying awareness has also drastically increased over the past few years which has helped the situation. There are ways to anonymously report cyberbullying to schools and there are hotline numbers to call if someone feels suicidal or they just need someone to talk to. Now that everyone knows what cyberbullying looks like, it is a lot easier to identify and report which is a major factor in the goal to eliminating it forever.

Overall, I would say that the relationship society has with technology is unhealthy. For centuries women have had unrealistic body images, but now social media has shoved that unhealthy image in everyone's face all day long. Although there are a lot of body positivity movements, there still is a very much present concept of the “ideal” female body. Because of social media and apps where photos can be retouched, even the perfect model doesn’t look anything near perfect in real life. The same issues go for men as well. As a society, we do have an issue of being overly reliant on our technology. However, I wouldn’t say that is 100% a bad thing because right now, we have to be extremely reliant on technology. We need the TV to watch the news to be updated on the CoronaVirus, we need technology to do school work and have jobs, and we need things like texts, email, and FaceTime to stay connected with our friends and family. This is one time where our reliance on technology is helping us instead of hurting us. I think that if we were not reliant on technology, we would be in a much worse place right now both physically and especially mentally. 
In some aspects I have a healthier relationship with technology than society as a whole but in other ways, I am just as addicted as everyone else. I feel like in general, I have a healthier relationship with social media. Overall, I do not feed into the unhealthy body image of women and I don’t feel like I need to look just like all the Instagram models. To a certain extent is the image still mildly damaging? Of course, but I don’t let it control who I am and who I want to be. Where I fall short is my reliance on my phone. I text, Snapchat, and FaceTime my friends all day and night. I spend endless hours watching and making TikTok videos when I get bored. Whenever I drive somewhere unfamiliar, I don’t even bother looking at the directions beforehand, I just listen to my GPS. I am extremely reliant on my phone for basically everything. Although there isn’t much to do when under a stay at home order, I should definitely find things to do that don’t involve my phone, laptop, or the TV. 
Technology is great, but there are plenty of downsides. I think everyone needs to spend a little more time in the real world and we would be a much happier and healthier society. As it gets warmer and once exams are over, I am going to try to get outside more and find a hobby that has nothing to do with technology. By no means will I ever give it up because it does do a lot of good for me, but I certainly should distance myself from it a little more. 
https://help.instagram.com/196883487377501 (how to make a private Instagram account)
https://help.instagram.com/547601325292351 (what you should do if you are or see someone else being cyber bullied on Instagram)

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Thursday, April 30, 2020

Physical Distancing Doesn't Mean Social Distancing

Throughout the spread of CoronaVirus, healthcare professionals have stressed the importance of physical distancing, which is staying at least six feet away from other people in public spaces. However, they have still highly encouraged people to stay connected with friends and family virtually since they can’t be there physically. Social media and the internet as a whole has made not social, but physical distancing possible. 
One way people of all ages are staying connected during the CoronaVirus pandemic is Zoom parties. Zoom is a platform similar to Skype where multiple people can get together and video chat together. Whether it be for someone’s birthday, a holiday, or just to catch up, families and groups of friends are getting together to celebrate on Zoom. Of course we can’t forget about Zoom’s greenscreen feature that allows you to change your background to any photo or video you have saved on your device. The greenscreen feature is a great way to add some extra fun to your video chat. The possibilities for fun on Zoom in endless, according to Business Insider, some people even though murdery mystery parties over zoom.
At-home dance parties are helping people shake off the self ...
I have personally been a part of many Zoom hangouts and birthday calls throughout the pandemic. I think that staying connected to my friends and family during this time is extremely important, and so do the professionals. Many doctors and other healthcare professionals say that talking to friends and family through text, email, phone call, or video chat are all vital to our mental well being. We are so used to seeing people at school, work, restaurants, movie theaters, and any other places we usually enjoy going to. But with CoronaVirus, physical distancing, and quarantining, these social interactions we once loved are now dangerous to partake in. Saying that CoronaVirus has been an adjustment for all of us would be an understatement, things right now in life are absolutely crazy. This craziness is all the more reason to continue to check up on our friends and family to see how they are doing and be there for them in any way we can, expect physically of course. 
Because of social media, there are more ways now than ever before to stay connected to people. Even though we have to physically distance ourselves from others, that doesn’t mean that our social lives have to entirely go down the drain. Call your aunts and uncles, text your co-workers, Zoom call your friends, do anything to stay socially connected to those you love through technology and social media. 

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#OwnTheCurve

Since CoronaVirus hit, it has certainly been the main topic in daily conversation, the news, and social media. Overall, the talk regarding CoronaVirus is negative. A lot of it is statistics of how many people are sick, how many have died, how many schools are closed, how many businesses have gone bankrupt, and how much the stock market has dropped. However, the hashtag #OwnTheCurve has taken a positive spin and is now all over TikTok, a social media app.
In April, Kaiser Permanente healthcare asked Campbell Edwadd, a marketing communication company, to encourage physical social distancing for the age range of 18-25 year olds in hopes of slowing the rate of CoronaVirus cases. Campbell Edwald recommended TikTok, which is very popular among this age range and allows for creators to post short videos, similar to the context of Vine. Campbell Edwald used the 19 year old TikTok star Addison Rae to help launch the trend of #OwnTheCurve. In just two weeks, #OwnTheCurve had over four billion views on TikTok. Addison Rae made the video with her family expressing the need to “stay home, stay fit, and stay positive”. The video is Addison rae and her parents doing a quick workout routine they use to stay fit while stuck in their home. #OwnTheCurve becomes an internet “challenge” where anyone can make a video of what they are doing during social distancing times. 
Since it’s launch on TikTok, the #OwnTheCurve challenge has spread to other social media platforms, such as Twitter. People have been posting videos and pictures of their own workout routine, dishes they’ve cooked/baked, their new garden, arts and crafts, and so much more. This challenge has encouraged people to take a look at the positive side of CoronaVirus and practice ways to cope with being stuck inside in a healthy way. In a worldwide pandemic, it certainly is easy to get sucked up in the depressing news and be disappointed that we can’t go see friends or family.But the #OwnTheCurve challenge is just one way that we can make ourselves and those around us a little bit happier and healthier. In this case, social media influencers really stepped up to help spread positivity when it was needed the most.
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During these crazy, uncertain times, listen to Addison Rae and remember to stay home, stay fit, and stay positive! Even if TikTok isn’t your cup of tea, make a workout routine to follow with the people you live with, pick up a new hobby that you can do from home, and keep in touch virtually with friends and family. In order to overcome CoronaVirus, we all have got to #OwnTheCurve. 

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Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Hey Siri

How often does Siri listen to you? It’s not only when you ask her questions. Siri, and Apple employees, can listen in at any time. “A small portion of Siri requests are analysed to improve Siri and dictation. User requests are not associated with the user’s Apple ID. Siri responses are analysed in secure facilities and all reviewers are under the obligation to adhere to Apple’s strict confidentiality requirements,” Apple claims when speaking to the Guardian. Apparently, less than 1% of Siri conversations are used for Apple’s grading purposes. However, the Guardian claims that “Apple contractors regularly hear confidential medical information, drug deals, and recordings of couples having sex.” Apple claims that they only listen into conversations when Siri is activated. However, with Apple’s fairly new “Hey Siri” feature, it happens more often on accident. Personally, I turned off the “Hey Siri” feature on my iPhone because there were many times where I would be having regular conversations or watching TV when my iPhone thought it heard the words “Hey Siri” and Siri would start talking to me. I found it annoying and that was why I turned it off, it never crossed my mind that Apple could and maybe was listening in at those moments.
Latest iOS beta hints at 'AirPods 2' with 'Hey Siri' setup screen
After word of this got out, Apple apologized for their actions in August of 2019. They said that will make changes to their grading program so that Apple users have more control over how Siri goes about taking care of their requests and questions. I find this to be a major invasion of privacy. Even though there is no current reason for suspicion of Apple using any of this information they heard or selling it to a third party, no one wants their personal information to be heard by a complete stranger. Although Apple has said they will no longer randomly listen in on conversations not involving Siri, the fact that they have the ability to do so is reason for concern. Mainly because if Apple can do it, could it be hacked? Could criminals or governments listen into conversations or collect other information through the iPhone or other Apple products?  That is the part I find scary. Apple employees probably don’t care very much, if at all, about our personal lives, but other people might. 
4 Ways to Fix Skype Microphone Problems on iPhone or iPad
One thing that Apple does to help you keep your privacy is whenever you download an app that wants access to your microphone, Apple sends you a notification asking if it’s what you want to do. You can also disable your microphone and camera for any app at any time if you ever change your mind about it. 
Is or was Apple listening in on our conversation to sell our information to criminals and governments? I highly doubt it. But privacy is always a reason for concern. We place our trust in our devices and the companies who produce them, they should protect our privacy at all costs because it is simply the right thing to do. 

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Thursday, April 23, 2020

Propaganda


The definition of propaganda according to the Oxford dictionary is “Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.” I feel like the first thing more people associate with the world propaganda is politicians. We all know the pain of watching endless political commercials on TV during an election year, and on local channels for state positions. It seems like most of the time the commercial isn’t even really supporting the candidate who’s funding it, it’s just making their opposing candidate look as bad as possible. This method of campaigning is propaganda.
The use of propaganda has been dated all the way back to 515 B.C.E. from Darius I’s ascent to the persian throne. It was also used to manipulate wars throughout history. The most large-scale propaganda distribution occurred during World War I. Germany’s emperor Wilhelm would spread their propaganda to neutral countries in efforts to persuade these neutral countries to be on Germany's side. Propaganda was used to create hatred between countries and fuel the fire that is total war. However, it wasn’t only used to create tension, it was also used within one country to gain support of its people and encourage them to support the war.



examples of successful propagandaIt is important to note that although propaganda often gets a bad reputation, it is not always about spreading lies and hatred, but rarely portrays the full truth. The iconic Rosie the Riveter “We Can Do It!” poster of World War II is an example of a widely positive piece of propaganda. It spread a message of strength and independence to women that they could do just as much and just as good of work as men could. Certainly an inspiring message, especially for the time. But the reason for this poster and this message was since men were away at war, they needed women to work in factories and produce products for the war. The indirect goal of this iconic piece of artwork was to gain support and resources for World War II. This specific propaganda poster sends a positive message with an underlying controversial meaning of support for the war.
Nowadays, we often see propaganda spoken rather than written on posters, but the meaning stays the same. I think everyone has seen a political ad about some politician, whether it be state or national level, who supposedly went against some value that their political party stands behind. The issue with political propaganda is that they are almost always based on a single issue. The whole commercial focuses on the support or the illegalization of gun rights, abortion, immigration, and many other topics seen as controversial between political parties. These propaganda ads encourage voters to make their choice on a single issue rather than hear all the facts and opinions of all candidates involved.
Propaganda may not always be a lie, it may not always be used with malicious intent, but it is never the full truth. When information seems one-sided, exaggerated, or in any way biased, be sure to fact check and look into the other side(s) of the story. An effective way of fact checking is to watch videos and read information on people who are using propaganda or are victimized by it and most importantly gather this information from multiple reliable sources. 
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Sunday, April 19, 2020

Privacy Invasion

Prior to watching Catherine Crump’s TedTalk video about our privacy, I had no idea what kinds of things have been done. I didn’t know that license plate readers were posted at traffic lights. I didn’t know they were on cop cars. I didn’t know that the police could track anyone's whereabouts in this fashion. It is very concerning that the police can find basically any place that you visit frequently. Even if the places you are going isn't a reason for concern on it’s own, I feel like this type of tracking could create a lot of circumstantial evidence when it comes to crime and people could very easily become wrongfully accused. 
Christopher Soghoian mentions how our own government, any government, or any person really could hack into the surveillance systems of telephone companies can listen in on any phone call you participate in. However, things like text messages and FaceTime calls are actually private, which is a relief for many. He posed a very important point when talking about the safety of our country. Some may argue that the government should be able to listen in on conversations and read texts so they can prevent terrorist attacks. However, if the government can access the terrorists information, they can access anyone's information as well. In the past, when the American government has been able to access our information, so was the Chinese government. 
Cayla doll
Finn Myrstad mentioned a toy, Cayla, that listened in on conversations and then shared that information with unnamed third parties. This is concerning because I know I had a lot of toys that talked back or responded to voice commands when I was a child. The toy Cayla was banned in Germany and taken off the shelves for many stores. I strongly agree with Mystrad when he said that technological devices need to have security and privacy measures in place before they hit the market to avoid issues like were experienced with Cayla. I also relate to him saying that we rarely read the terms. I have never once read the terms and conditions for a single app I’ve downloaded. This is mainly because not only are they extremely long, but they are hard to understand and make out exactly what the terms are. 

These were the TedTalks that stuck out to me the most because I feel like they apply the most to me. I drive past police cars all the time, they probably have hundreds if not thousands pictures of me at places I have been. The government has had the ability to hear every single one of my phone calls. I have absolutely no idea what the apps on my phone know about me because like many others, I have never understood much less read the terms and conditions. I feel as if this lack of privacy doesn’t necessarily scare me or make me angry because, as I mentioned in previous log posts, I feel like I have nothing of value for the government, it still gives me a bit of an uneasy feeling. If we know all of this is happening, it makes me wonder what else governments and third parties are doing that we don’t know about yet. 
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Saturday, April 18, 2020

Diffusion of Innovation

I found the diffusion of innovation theory a very interesting way to look at new innovations. The theory answers the questions of how, why, and at what rate these new ideas and technological advances spread. The writer of the book Diffusion of Innovations, Evertt Rogers, states that there are four main elements that create and push the influence of these new innovations. The four main elements are the innovation itself, communication channels, time, and a social system. According to Rogers, he saw this system is heavily reliant on human capital, which I believe is something we can all agree is true. In addition, Rogers also has multiple categories of adopters worked into his theory. His categories are early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. 
I have decided to take Evertt Rogers’ diffusion of innovation theory and apply it to a somewhat new technological innovation that is highly popular with my generation today, Snapchat. Snapchat was created in July of 2011by Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, although it was originally called Picaboo, but was changed to Snapchat in September of that same year. Throughout the years they continued to make updates to include not only the ability of their users to send photos, but also videos, send chats, create stories, and private stories. Some of their more recent additions to the app include filters that can be applied to photos and videos as well as the memory feature which allows the users to save snaps they take in the app instead of their normal camera roll. 
The History of Snapchat A Timeline
Looking at how Snapchat has evolved through the eyes of the diffusion of innovation theory, I can make multiple assumptions of how and why Snapchat became so popular among my generation. For starters, I can go through Rogers’ four main elements that have influence. The innovation itself of Snapchat is desirable to my generation. It allows easy and quick communication with people. It also gives the security that photos, videos, and chats cannot be saved without your knowledge. If you were going to share private information with a friend over Snapchat, you would be notified if/when they screenshotted the message that was sent to them. This feature discourages screenshotting and saving content the sender wants to disappear. Second to discuss are the communication channels. I believe Snapchat had a very wide variety of channels to be talked about on, mostly other social media platforms. I was only 10 years old when Snapchat first came out, but I got the app when I was in sixth grade. People who were in middle school and high school when Snapchat came out were likely already Facebook users. Therefore, when they got Snapchat, I can assume that they talked about it on Facebook or posted their Snapchat username so that their Facebook friends could add them on Snapchat as well. For the people who were my age and a little younger, some had Facebook accounts or maybe their first social media platform was Facebook. But, another popular form of social media during this time was Instgram, which was my first social media account. Instagram users did very similar things to Facebook users, posted about Snapchat and we posted our Snapchat usernames so that our Instagram followers could also add us on Snapchat. As of right now, 90% of snapchat users are between the ages of 13 and 24. As for time, Snapchat became popular very quickly. Probably largely due to the audience it had. It was directed towards teens who loved social media and highly valued privacy, which is most teens. This ties into the last of the four main elements, the social system. Combining what I have previously mentioned with the high amount of peer pressure and feeling the need to fit in brought upon middle and high school students, Snapchat received a lot of downloads very quickly. Because Snapchat sounded “risky” to parents because the messages and photos disappeared, I knew many kids that weren’t allowed to have the app until later on in high school. Because of this, Snapchat became a sort of “right of passage” into being one of the cool kids if you were allowed to have it or managed to hide it from parents. 
After looking at Snapchat through this theory, it makes sense how it managed to gain such a large footing in the social media world so quickly. I don’t really see any negatives to Snapchats rapid growth. I think that the growth of users on the app only pushed the creators to continue bettering their innovation. It created a need for more creativity, more ideas, and more technological growth. After Snapchat released Snapchat stories in 2013, it wasn’t long after that Instagram released a stories feature in 2016 and then Facebook in 2017. This cycle of innovation is what builds us as a nation and as a world. The competition of creativity is an extremely positive thing in my eyes. 

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