Final Blog Post! #12 My Relationship With Technology

Technology has changed the way our world is today, no doubt. Technology began about 3.3 million years ago at the beginning of the stone age. Technology has involved to the point that it is now threatening to our lives. 

How did technology evolve to become this?

In a short video about the '64-65 NY World's Fair FUTURAMA, the video says "Let's explore together the future. A future not of dreams, but a future of reality."

Long story short, this Fair predicted what life would be like in 2024!

New York World's Fair 1964-65 General Motors Futurama Building 

Technology has even changed drastically from when I got my first phone. I remember sitting on the couch as a child amazing at my mother BlackBerry. Now, our small phones do everything a huge desktop computer does. 

I understand that I have grown up with technology. I have seen apps "fall off", "die", and, become my generations fascination. 

Technology has played a significant role in the field of mental health in the United States. "Suicide is the leading cause of death among individuals aged 15-29 years."

How can I appreciate all of technology's positive benefits, and not let it affect my mental health?

As for me personally, I have majority of all the social medias, and I participate. I fail most days, but I attempt to limit myself on how much time a day I spend on my phone in general. 

Considering that you need technology to live, social media is an external factor. There is a reason that the creator of Instagram, does not let his children roam freely on the app. 

In high school was when my parents let me have social media for the first time. I was given a phone have better communication with my parents, but I was not allowed to have social media originally. 

After begging and begging, I finally was allowed to have it, and shortly after, I noticed a huge difference in my attitude. 

I was seeing post I did not want to see; I was reading things that confused me, and I was constantly having a fear of missing out. 

As years went on, I became better equipped about handling my time on the apps and time on my phone until I realized seething. I do not have to follow anyone I do not care about. I began unfollowing "friends", who were not really friends, but social media led me to believe we were. 

This realization changed my perspective. 

Technology can change your perspective. It can feed you information that is untrue and allow you to assume something that is false. 

It can alter your brain and make you believe that there is only one right way to do something.

This article shows 5 Shocking Ways Social Media Can Alter Your Brain

From a Gen Z teenager, social media is the biggest topic, but as I have gotten older, I have realized to appreciate technology and not associate social media with technology in general. They are two separate things!

On a blog post I previously wrote, called "Age of AI", you can learn more about what AI has done for technology, and the impact it has on us today.

In conclusion, I appreciate technology, and all that it has to offer. I fully believe that I now have a great relationship with technology, and I can feel when I have been on my phone or computer too much. 

A problem that young people face today is "being different". It is okay to be different and not fall in a trap that can cause mental health issues and even suicide. 

Suicide Rates Since 2003

Technology and social media are not going away. Face it, it is the society we live in. As trend setters in this society, we need to make sure that we are using technology in a positive way, because it is the most effective invention created today. 

EOTO 2 Reaction- Blog Post #11

In class, we had the opportunity to research a topic that interested us. After we picked a topic, we were able to teach the class about the terms within that topic. My group found that "Awareness" would be an interesting category to cover, and within that category, we each picked a term to study and share the meaning and value of the term with the class. 

A group presented in the category of "Mediasphere", which included mainstream media, alternative media, echo chambers, whistleblowers, online influencers, and citizen journalism. 

A term that I found interest in was mainstream media. Mainstream media is forms of the media, especially traditional forms such as newspapers television, and radio rather than the internet, that influence large numbers of people and are likely to represent generally accepted beliefs and opinions. 

Survey of U.S. adults conducted March 8-14, 2021

Mainstream media gives us news from bigger platforms that larger audiences can reach. These media platform's goal is to reach a diverse group of people and then can become a trustworthy source of news that people will continue to come back to. 

Based on your preferred political party, you may tend to pay more attention to specific mainstream media sources. For example, more Republicans and Republican-leaning independents see Fox News as a mainstream media outlet while Democrats may see CNN as a mainstream media outlet more than others. 

Survey of U.S adults conducted March 8-14, 2021

So what is the point of mainstream media? 

The point of mainstream media is to provide the public with news and information that is accurate and for a large audience. Mainstream media hopes to shape public opinions by educating and still providing entertainment.

These outlets will cover political debates, scandals within our country and internationally, health, sports, weather, and anything that you can imagine, which is why mainstream media sources are used and will continue to be successful. 

EOTO 2- False Flag Blog Post #10

Misinformation and Disinformation are a topic that we have been focusing on in my Media Law and Literacy class. 

We have learned about the importance of misinformation and disinformation and why they occur. Why is it important? What are the effects of the operation, and what do we need to watch out for? How might this affect society as a whole? 

As we have been put into groups for this overall topic, we have been split into smaller branches of topics to research and be able to teach the class about specifics on misinformation and disinformation. My group chose the topic of awareness. 

Within our group topic, you will learn about Propaganda, Disinformation, the Smith-Mundt Act, Total Information Awareness, False Flag, and Five Eyes.

I will be covering the false flag operation and explaining the effects.

To begin, what is a false flag? A false flag is a term used by conspiracy theorists to suggest that various world events and crises, such as terrorist attacks and mass shootings, were orchestrated by governments or sinister forces in furtherance of a political or social goal, such as gun control or sowing public fear. 

Historically, the term has been used to refer to a military or political operation carried out intending to blame an opponent for it, often as a pretext for going to war. 

To simplify it, it is a political or military action that is made to appear to have been carried out by a group that was not responsible. 

Let's rewind to nearly ninety years ago when Germany invaded Poland in 1939. Seven German soldiers pretending to be Polish, stormed the Gleiwitz radio tower on the German side of the border with Poland the days before Germany invaded.

They broadcasted a brief message in Polish, claiming that Poland was attacking Germany. To take this false flag to the extreme, the Germans even left behind bodies of concentration camp prisoners dressed as Polish soldiers, that were killed specifically for making this false flag more realistic. 

Hitler was then able to announce that Germany was attacking Poland because of self-defense. 

Gleiwitz Tower

After hearing about the German invasion of Poland, you may feel like a false flag is almost cheating, and I feel the same way!

A London woman buys a newspaper announcing Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland, on Sept 1, 1939.

Why would a country do this? What is a purpose? 

If someone commits a false flag operation, it makes the opposers feel as though they are doing nothing wrong. It justifies their military action.

Another reason for the use of a false flag would be to try and shift the blame from the perpetrators of the event. Another word for this is framing. One side frames the other which leads to a break of trust from external sources. 

The final reason for a false flag operation is strategically trying to take advantage. Disinformation is distracting in many ways, so this can distract the enemy and at that point, the opposers pounce. 

In 1964, the Gulf of Tonkin incident occurred. Between August 2, 1964, a US Navy reported being attacked by the Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin, but little damage was done. 

This U.S. ship was involved in the Gulf of Tonkin incident.

August 4, 1964, the US was patrolling areas where the Vietnamese were trying to attack the north. The US intercepted communications that led the officials to believe that the Vietnamese were attacking again and fired at the Vietnamese boats.

As it turns out, the Vietnamese did not attack, and this was a false flag operation as an excuse to start the war with Vietnam. 

President Lyndon B. Johnson took the incident as a pretext for bombing North Vietnam, which escalated American involvement in the war. 

So, what are the effects of false flag operations, and how do they affect society? 

Within these two examples I have offered, you can understand that false flags provide a loss of trust in the government. How can you trust your leaders when they are deceitful? The questions that citizens across the world have, get heightened with the media, so if citizens face manipulation, how can they trust the leaders of their country? 

Along with mistrust and allowing citizens to gain their own theories, false flag operations can cause division within a country. This can create international instability which makes a country more vulnerable and unprepared for attacks.

Ideally, you want your country on the same page, and with false flag operations, you leave room for rebellions, riots, and conflict for citizens and even within your military if the operation is political.

The last example I will leave you with, which is a more modern example, is the incident involving Saddam Hussein in 2003. 

The United States invaded Iraq hoping to destroy their weapons of mass destruction and find Saddam Hussien.

"President George W. Bush announces that the U.S. forces have begun military operation into Iraq."

In January 2004, the Bush administration conceded its prewar arguments about the weapons that Saddam may have had and announced that the weaponry may have been a mistake. 

Many people died from this attack in both countries, so to understand that there may have been misleading signs and disinformation being passed around, but just claims requiring mass weapons shows that this was another false flag operation allowing the U.S. to attack Iraq first.

These examples of false flag operations are used to create confusion for the enemy. With justifying military actions, or trying to strategically get ahead, the repercussions are unforgivable. 

These false flag operations can change the future of the war, and most importantly, change the trust of the citizens in your county resulting in division and vulnerability. 

Age of AI Blog Post #5

After watching In the Age of AI Full Documentary, I have gained a greater perspective and now have a different opinion about what AI has done for our generation. 

Jerry Kaplan defines Artificial Intelligence as a form of automation and automation is a substitution of capital for labor.

Jerry Kaplan 

As I was listening to and watching this documentary, I was shocked as I learned about the tasks that AI can accomplish. From packaging machines to grocery store checkout scanners, to robots, or even personal assistants, AI has and will continue to change the way that we live as humans. 

The Robot Arm

Jobs within data analysis, finance, and Human Resources, are also used differently because of Artificial Intelligence. AI allows tasks to be done ten times quicker by automating processes, improvement of risk management, and advanced data analysis. 

Along with jobs, AI has boosted productivity across other areas of life such as Smart Homes, with AI-powered devices like the thermostat, controlling lights, and security systems. Another thing that AI has affected is transportation with finding faster routes and helping efficiency with gas.

I also learned about the power that AI has through the internet. We think that we are searching the internet, but we are wrong, the internet is searching us. 

Everywhere we go, is data being tracked. This is a benefit in which the technology and the world will adapt to you, but but the danger is that networks and companies do not have the same goals as you, so the impact of the adaption, could be negative. 

Harry Cripps tells us that he is scared for just more than our country but for the globe. "If we continue to go in an automated system, what are we going to do? 

Kai-Fu Lee says that AI is the ultimate tool of wealth creation. Think about the massive data that Facebook has and how it can target an ad so well that you may eventually buy something. 

Kai-Fu Lee

He continues by saying that AI is a set of tools that helps you maximize an objective function, and that objection will simply be, how can I make more money? 

AI allows the wealthy to get wealthier, and the poorer to get poorer. 

Lastly, Shoshana Zuboff talks about surveillance capitalism. She defines it as a private human experience claimed as a free source of raw materials fabricated into predictions of human behavior. 

So what does this have to do with AI?

AI systems are constantly collecting data and analyzing data. AI identifies our patterns, preferences, and behaviors. With this in mind, the exploitation of each individual's information causes surveillance capitalism to grow which allows data on us as individuals to be more precise. 

Shoshana Zuboff

Diffusions of Innovations Blog Post #8

The Diffusion of innovations is a theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread. 

When I think about the diffusion of innovations theory, the innovation that comes to mind is the iPhone. The first iPhone was created on June 29th, 2007 by Apple Inc. 

Everett Rogers popularized this theory and proposes five main elements that influence the spread of this new idea: the innovations themselves, adopters, communication channels, time, and a social system. 

The innovation itself is the main key to the theory because you must have an innovation to begin the Diffusion theory. McKinsey & Company says that innovation is the systematic practice of developing and marketing breakthrough products and services for adoption by customers. This consists of any new idea, object, or practice, that is new. 

The next element of the theory is adopters. Coincidentally, in my marketing class, we learned about the adopter categories classification. These are groups that individuals are placed in based on their purchasing history, or how quickly they decide to adopt an innovation. 

Five Adopter Groups

1. Innovators: These are the risk takers and the first to adopt the innovation. These people will buy a product before knowing the benefits or repercussions of the innovation. In this group, members tend to be more well-off financially, and leaders of the economy. 

2. Early adopters: In this category, these people are still risk-takers but they put more time and thought into purchasing. This group has influence socially and the majority are financially well off. 

3. Early Majority: This group will adopt the innovation after seeing it successfully used. This is the group that companies need to reach because they are the majority of the population. If companies and innovator want their product out, they need to influence the majority. 

4. Late Majority: This is the below-average group and will buy a product later. This may be determined by a necessity or a pressure that they feel within the economy. 

5. Laggards: This is the last group to adopt the innovation. They may have traditions so therefore they do not believe in the product. If they do then adopt the product, that means that the innovation is inevitable and a must for daily life. 

Communication Channels are the next influence of the diffusion theory. This step is important to getting your innovation out for the world to see. This requires communication between social groups, social networks, and media. Another valuable impact on innovation is the spread of word-of-mouth.

Time is the next crucial piece of the diffusion theory. An innovation that can be useful to the time period you are living in, what is going on economically, and society, can affect how well your innovation is adopted. 

The last step in the diffusion theory is the social system. This is when groups, companies, cities, and cultures, influence others' decisions. For example, if you are selling a new sunscreen skin care product, specifically in September, people in Northern states may be less likely to adopt the innovation than in Southern states. 

Now that I have explained the diffusion theory, let's talk specifically about the iPhone. 

The iPhone is a widely adopted innovation for many reasons such as easier communication, compatibility, innovative features, easier internet reach, and social influence. 

Early adopters wanted to jump on the trend for the reasons above. It was something new and useful, and they were willing to take the risk. This would be expected from early adopters. 

Late-adopters, may have not had loyalty to Apple or even saw the use of having an iPhone. This group may have felt that they could accomplish everything needed without this innovation. 

Stepping away from a bigger perspective, I hear stories from my parents about their childhoods and what was like without iPhones. It seems that people were simply more present. 

iPhones now, are a necessity. It is also impossible to be successful without a phone. Texting, calling, receiving emails, safari, and for safety reasons, you need the iPhone.

The consequences of having an iPhone are the social platforms and networking that we as humans cannot get away from. The downside regarding AI, government tracking, social tattoos, and posting things that are on the internet forever are downside of having an iPhone that would not be an issue without the innovation. 

I do not believe that the positives outweigh the negatives, but I do understand the laggers of purchasing the iPhone and I deeply respect it. The iPhone is a helpful innovation, and it is a necessity, so I believe that managing the downsides of this technology must be through personal boundaries. 

Antiwar Voices! Blog Post #9

As an American Citizen between the ages 18-25, I now have the opportunity and duty to vote for a President for this 2024 Election.

Honestly, I have felt extremely overwhelmed by politics to the point where I have decided not to care as much. I did not pay attention before turning 18 years old, so by the time I turned 19, I was fairly unaware and out of the loop. 

This summer, my grandfather came to stay with my family, and he is a very far right-wing member. When he was staying with my family, he always had the news on and it was nearly a different channel every time he turned it on. 

During this summer, I asked questions, I became curious, and I also began to research on my own. 

I learned that the government and or specific political parties will gate-keep reliable and trustworthy information from reaching news channels, or any mainstream news sources. 

A specific topic that I will most likely never see on mainstream news sources is antiwar voices. 

After exploring ANTIWAR.COM and The American Conservative I have realized that many voices speak on antiwar, but the voices are not given a chance to be seen.

Antiwar is a sensitive topic for many reasons. TruthOut says, "Where war involves a style of conflict engagement that is rooted in domination, subjugation, and armament, being antiwar involves and style of conflict engagement that is rooted in cooperation, collaboration, and disarmament."

Weapons and security are a substantial part of our government financially and culturally. Millions and billions of dollars are waging military operations around the globe, but most Americans are not happy about it. 

Many Americans may fear that speaking out about antiwar will align them with a party that they may not be a part of. Many fear that antiwar is anti-patriotic. 

Another fear may be Americans who do not want to disrespect veterans.

In my opinion, I believe that antiwar activists and believers do not get the platform that citizens in favor of war get due to the threat of them possibly being correct in their thought process. 

I believe that the government could not handle the strong voices of antiwar on mainstream news sources because an AP Poll found that 66 percent of Americans do not believe that the longest war in history, the Afghanistan War, was worth fighting, if this poll was ever shared on mainstream news sources, it may influence others to change the way that they look at war. 

I believe that the antiwar topic is a threat to the government, and they will do whatever they can to prevent the media from giving those voices any kind of acknowledgment. 

EOTO 1- Reaction Post! Blog #7

 In class we presented information about specific technology and how it was created. Each group talked about the history of each technology and the timeline throughout it was created. 

One of the presentations that stood out to me was the history of the internet search.

The internet actually started in the 1960's as a way for government researchers to share information with each other. 

After the Cold War and computers being so immobile they were almost useless, the U.S. Defense Department were looking to find way that information could still be spread even after a nuclear attack. 

January 1, 1983 is considered the official birthday of the internet. A new communications protocol was established called Transfer Control Protocol/Interwork Protocol.

This system allows different kind of computers on different networks to "talk" to each other. 

The First Search Engine was "Archie", created in 1990 by Alan Emtage, a brilliant student at McGill University in Montreal. 

The reason the name became "Archie", was because it was short for "archives". 

In June of 1993, Matthew Gray invented the World Wide Web Wanderer. By doing this, he wanted to measures the growth of the web. He also created the first WWWW bot to count active web servers. 

In 1994, David Film and Jerry Yang created Yahoo! Search, which was the first collection of web pages across the internet including man-made descriptions for the URLs. 

Fast forward to 1998...

Google Launches!

Google, founded by Sergey Brin and Larry Page, is an American search engine company and that changed the world! 

In conclusion, to get to Google and the search engines that we use today, we had to start somewhere. Without Alan Emtage and "Archie", we would not have the information that we have today.

This invention has changed how fast we receive information, how quick we receive messages, and how aware we are with situations going on in our world. 

Along with receiving information, the first internet search has changed businesses through marketing, social behavior because of trends, and it gives us the ability to grow our education.