Final Blog Post

My Background with Technology and Social Media:

Growing up, my parents were very cautious when it came to me using the internet and technology. The first piece of technology I ever owned was an iPod, which my parents bought me when I was in third grade. I mostly used my iPod for music. I was not allowed to have any form of social media, but I did have a few games I played on it and an app that allowed me to text my parents when I was on Wi-Fi. 

I then received an iPad in fifth grade for my birthday, and it was basically used for the same purposes as my iPod, except I started using it for school work. My school developed an iPad usage program around my fifth/sixth grade years, so we would use our iPads in school to access educational programs like Google Classroom, Quizlet, and Edmodo, amongst others. 

In sixth grade, I finally I got my first iPhone after many years of begging my parents for one. This was considered "late" by my peers to get an iPhone. Most of my friends got their first phones in fourth or fifth grade. Around that time, my friends all started to create social media profiles, but I was not allowed to have any form of social media until seventh grade. A Mott Poll Report from University of Michigan states that 32% of parents with children ages seven to nine report that their child uses social media

I will admit, I felt left out when I did not have an iPhone and my friends did, and I felt left out again when all of my friends were on social media and I was not.  However, looking back I understand why my parents waited to allow me to have a smart phone and social media.

The Positive and Negative Effects of Social Media and Technology in My Life

Over the years of having various pieces of technology and different social media platforms, I have experienced their positive and negative effects. The following are some of the positive effects they have had for me:

1. Currently I use my laptop every single day for my schoolwork. My parents always talk about how they would spend hours in the library using the computers there or looking for books for research. I personally prefer to do my work either in my room or somewhere in the Comm building. I love that I can access almost any book online and my work on Blackboard from my phone or laptop. I have also learned a lot through various online resources over the years.
2. FaceTime is one of my favorite Apple features. Going to school far away from my family and my friends, I love that I can call them at any time and see their face.
3. I really enjoy connecting with other people on social media. I love keeping up with my friends from home by viewing their posts.
4. Tik Tok has been a great creative outlet for me. I really enjoy creating social media content as a hobby. On Tik Tok I like to film "a day in my life" videos, "get ready with me" videos, or film fun dance videos with my friends.

These are just a few of the positive ways that I utilize technology.

 Although technology has had many positive effects on my life, there are still many negative consequences for me. The following are some of the negative effects:

1. One negative effect is lack of in person communication, both from myself and others. Sometimes I will find myself texting my mom questions, when I should have just walked downstairs and asked my questions face-to-face. I'll also find that my friends will text me from across the room instead of just walking over to me.
2. I believe that my self image has been negatively affected by social media. People always refer to social media as a "highlight reel," meaning people tend to only show the best parts of their life. I find myself subconsciously comparing myself to other people's "highlights" that I see on social media. This makes me doubt myself and feel as though I am not good enough. I also feel that when I post something that I can only show my "best" photos or Tik Tok creations because of the fear of people judging me. This is an unhealthy mindset that social media has created for me.
3. I find that I spend way more time on my phone than I would like to. Without even thinking about it I will just pick my phone up when I'm bored or procrastinating from doing more important things. I will immediately start scrolling Tik Tok or Instagram, and it is very easy for me to lose track of time while scrolling. Something I want to work on is to stop mindlessly scrolling and be more intentional about my screen time.

I would say that social media and technology have as many positive effects for me as they do negative effects. Even though I wrote about more positive effects, I think that the negative effects are not as clearly defined and easy to recognize as the positive ones are. At the same time however, I chose to still use technology because the positive effects hold a lot of value to me. Lifespan.org outlined some of the positive and negative effects of social media, and a lot of their pros and cons aligned with mine.

Online Footprint/Presence

I have always been very conscious about what I post on social media and how I present myself online. My parents have always stressed the importance of my actions online, and it is something that has always stuck with me. I try to make sure all of my posts and comments are positive. I also try to not send texts that could be misinterpreted by the receiver in the wrong way. It is very easy to read someone's text in a tone that the sender did not intend. I prefer in person communication for this reason. 

I notice that some of my friends do not care about their online footprint as much as I do. Some of my friends have posted things before that I personally disagreed with because I thought they could be interpreted in a negative light, even if that was not their intention. Before I post something I always think to myself, "Would I be okay if a potential employer saw this? Is there a possibility that my message could be interpreted in a negative light? Is what I am posting kind and considerate of the feelings of others?" I find that some of my friends do not think and just hit post/send automatically without thinking of the consequences.

Overview

Social media and technology have both positive and negative effects. In a "digital world" it is important that we are intentional about our screen time. By being mindful of what we post and how much time we spend online we can limit the negative effects social media has and focus on its positive effects. Social media and technology are important today and are growing in importance as we move towards the future. Let's combat their negative effects and embrace the positive possibilities.

The Age of AI

AI Documentary

 "In the Age of AI" from Frontline on PBS was a very informative and eye opening documentary. AI stands for artificial intelligence. I knew about AI before watching this documentary because it has become a popular topic in society, but my knowledge was very limited. However, this video taught me a lot about AI and sparked questions in my mind about its pros and cons and the ethics of it.

How AI Affects Jobs

One part of the video that I found particularly interesting was the discussion of how AI will affect the workforce. The documentary discussed how many people fear that AI will replace humans in many job positions. People think that companies will prefer AI to humans because it allows them to save money by not having to pay workers. 

However, I found the counter argument to this to be just as interesting. Some believe that because AI can increase productivity, it will create the need for more jobs since companies need to keep up with the pace of AI and need more people to do so. Some say that because of this, the number of jobs for people will b e the same or more than without AI.

Sociologist Emily Wornell discussed how people have a greater risk of mortality, depression, and cardiovascular disease when they lose their job for a reason beyond their control. On top of that, the children of these people are more likely to perform poorly in school or even drop out. Automation from AI  is a large reason why many people lose their jobs through not fault of their own.

Privacy

Another major issue concerning AI discussed in the documentary is privacy. One thing in particular that the documentary discussed was how voice activated devices like the Amazon Alexa collect intel on you through what you say. I have a few Amazon Alexa devices in my house. I had always heard people make comments like "Oh Amazon is probably listening to everything you say through that" or "The government can hear you on that." However, I always thought that this was just a joke. I didn't think anyone from Amazon would want to spend time listening to what I'm saying in my house. 

This video made me realize though that it may not be someone that is collecting information about me but rather something. That "something" being AI. The idea that AI is collecting data about me without my permission and that companies are possibly selling it or using it to their advantage scares me.

My Thoughts

This video was very eye opening for me and made me realize that I may be too trusting of technology and naive to the power that AI holds. Personally, I think there needs to be more regulation with AI to protect people's jobs and the privacy of technology users.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dZ_lvDgevk 

Diffusion of Innovations

 Diffusion of Innovations of Facebook

    Diffusion of Innovations was a theory that was created by E.M. Rodgers. His theory explained how a new idea or invention gains traction and popularity over time. There are five categories of adopters:

1. Innovators

2. Early Adopters

3. Early Majority

4. Late Majority

5. Laggards

    In an earlier blog post, I discussed the history of Facebook. To review, Facebook was created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and a few of his classmates at Harvard University. They began to share their new innovation with other students at Harvard. These students who were the first to use the site would be known as the Innovators. They were the first to try out the new invention.

    Very quickly, the site became popular among the innovators. The next group of people to try the site were college students at other universities in the areas near Harvard. These people would be known as the Early Adopters. Then, the group of people using the site expanded even more to include all college students with an email. These people would still be early adopters, but the people joining would soon merge into the next category.

    In 2006, anyone with an email, whether a college student or not, could become a user. The people who joined Facebook around this time would be known as the Early Majority. 

    Facebook continued to grow and became an app on the iPhone in 2008. The company filed to become public in 2012. The people joining in the time after 2008 would be known as the Late Majority. These people did not want to join the trend in its earlier years most likely because of skepticism, but as the innovation grew in popularity, they felt the need to join.

    The people who joined much later would be known as the Laggards. Although Facebook today is used by many people who are a part of "older" generations, my guess is at the time, older people were the laggards. 

    People who were Baby Boomers or Gen X had a hard time getting on board with social media since it was something they did not grow up with and knew little about. It was very easy for college students and younger people to jump on the trend because Facebook was something new and exciting. I think older people tend to want to stick with what they know and not try new things, but it is easy for younger people to want to try new things. (Of course this is a generalization, and this is not true for everyone. This is just a trend I have observed with social media and older vs. younger generations.)

 

   Facebook was the first site of its kind, and at the time, nobody knew of the negative effects of social media. Today, we know that there are many social and mental downsides to this innovation. However, Facebook is still popular today and many people would rather be a part of the world of social media and deal with the negative impacts than be "left out" of the trend.

Sources for the Information on the History of Facebook:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2007/jul/25/media.newmedia  

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Facebook#:~:text=Facebook%20was%20founded%20in%202004,were%20using%20Facebook%20every%20day

EOTO: Theories

 Confirmation Bias

Britannica.com defines confirmation bias as, "people’s tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with their existing beliefs."

In 1960, Peter Watson created an early demonstration of confirmation bias through an experiment. In the study, the subjects had to figure out the experimenters method for sequencing numbers, and the subjects tended to find methods that supported their hypotheses. The idea of confirmation bias has been present in psychological literature for many years, but the term was not used until 1977 in a paper about a study. (simplypsychology.com)

Three Main Types of Confirmation Bias:

1. Biased Search for Information- When people search for information that supports their ideas/theories

2. Biased Interpretation- When people evaluate evidence differently based on their preconceived ideas/theories

3. Biased Memory- When people remember things differently in a way that supports their ideas/theories

(simplypsychology.com)

Examples of Confirmation Bias:

- A student working on a science fair project may look for evidence in their testing results that supports their original hypothesis.

- A republican may search for information that supports their beliefs.

- A person may interpret something one of their friend's actions in a positive light rather than a negative one because they do not want to believe someone they like can do wrong.

Examples were inspired by the ones on https://www.simplypsychology.org/confirmation-bias.html#Examples 

Willard V. Quine and J.S. Ullian described this bias in The Web of Belief as:

"The desire to be right and the desire to have been right are two desires, and the sooner we separate them the better off we are. The desire to be right is the thirst for truth. On all counts, both practical and theoretical, there is nothing but good to be said for it. The desire to have been right, on the other hand, is the pride that goeth before a fall. It stands in the way of our seeing we were wrong, and thus blocks the progress of our knowledge."

Why Confirmation Bias?

One of the main reasons confirmation bias occurs is because it makes it easier for humans to process information. The human brain works hard to process the information we receive, and it is easier for our brains to connect new information with thoughts and ideas we already have. Sometimes this connection seems accurate in our brain, but it is really biased and may not appear to be connected to others.

Another reason confirmation bias occurs is because our brains want to make decisions based on survival. This causes us to take shortcuts to conclusions, one of those shortcuts being confirmation bias. Shortcuts allow us to conserve energy, a survival tactic.

According to Britannica.com, self-esteem is also a reason behind confirmation bias. People tend to feel badly about themselves when they find out that something they believed was true is actually false. Subconsciously, people want to create higher self-esteem by convincing themselves what they believe is true, even if there is evidence it is false.

How to Reduce Confirmation Bias:

In order to reduce confirmation bias, we need to challenge our own natural thought patterns. This does not come easily and takes conscious effort. In order to do this, we need to look at beliefs and ideas that contradict our own. This does not mean we have to abandon our own beliefs but to just consider other points of view. By comparing our own beliefs with others, we can potentially notice biases in our beliefs.

What I have Noticed About Confirmation Bias:

- I have noticed confirmation bias can be a source of arguments and tension between people. When two people interpret information differently because of their own biases, they may feel the need to convince the other person that their interpretation is the correct on. This can cause social issues amongst people.

- I have also realized that social media has played a role in confirmation bias. Social media algorithms tend to show you things you want to see. This can lead to confirmation bias because you are constantly seeing things that align with your currently beliefs on your feed and rarely seeing things that contradict your beliefs.

Confirmation bias is something that naturally happens within the human brain. However, if we are knowledgable on what confirmation bias is and how it can affect us, we can better learn how to combat our own biases and be aware of the biases of others.

The Progressive Era

 Anti-War

    When we discussed how the government is always pro-war in class, the discussion was really an eye opener for me. I am not heavily involved in politics, and to be honest, I never really even thought about current day negative affects of war. Sure I learned in history class how past wars had negative affects on our country and the world, but I never thought about the negative affects today. I am also so used to hearing pro-war voices from the government, social media, and people I interact with that I never really thought about anti-war points of view. Because of this, Pur discussion in class as well as the websites Antiwar.com and Theamericanconservative.com offered me a new perspective on war and politics.

Anti-War March at the University of Michigan 1969

Antiwar.com and Theamericanconservative.com

    When I entered the Antiwar.com website, I immediately saw a bunch of articles about the war between Israel and the Hamas. I clicked on one article entitled US Weapons Shipments to Israel Are Enabling War Crimes. This article discussed how sending weapons to help Israel defend itself has led to the killing of innocent civilians in Gaza. The writer of the article, Stephen Semler, clearly expressed that he disagreed with President Biden's choice to send weapons to Israel. Similarly, an article from Theamericanconservative.com had an article entitled Endgame for Gaza. A portion of this article also discussed how aiding Israel in the war has had negative effects for innocent people in Gaza. 

People in Gaza after an Israeli Airstrike

    However, if you were to view the U.S. Department of Defense website, you could find an article on the same topic that supports President Biden's point of view. Another article from AP News detailed what types of aid the U.S. has sent to Israel in the war. Neither of the websites explained the repercussions of sending aid to Israel like Antiwar.com or Theamericanconservative.com did. 

    I found it interested that both a website run by the government and an independent news organization never mentioned the negative effects of the U.S. government's involvement in the war. I found it equally interesting that I had never heard of the two anti-war websites provided for this assignment, but I have heard of both of the websites that seemed to support the Biden Administrations decisions in the war. I think there is a reason I had never heard of these websites. I think the government intentionally tries to keep people from finding these anti-war websites because the government is pro-war. The government wants Americans to view websites that support its decisions, not go against them. However, it is our right as Americans to have our own political view points, and as Dr. Smith would say, it is our duty to criticize the government. 

    I think it is definitely a flaw in our system that the government can censor what we view.

EOTO: Instagram and Facebook

History and Origin of Facebook 

    Facebook was created by Mark Zuckerberg. At the time he began creating Facebook, Zuckerberg was a student at Harvard University. He is now a world renowned billionaire and CEO. Prior to creating Facebook, Zuckerberg created two other online programs called Coursematch, a site for students to see who else was studying their major, and Facemash, a site for people to rate the attractiveness of others.

Mark Zuckerberg

    Zuckerberg launched Facebook in February 2004 with the help of Harvard students Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, Andrew McCollum, and Chris Hughes. Their fellow Harvard students were among the first to sign up. However, the app quickly took off reaching students at other universities near Harvard and later all universities in the U.S. (I found this information interesting because today many people in Gen Z view Facebook as a platform that older generations utilize more so than those in college.)

In September 2006, none-college students and anyone with an email could become Facebook users, greatly expanding the platform’s audience. In 2008, Facebook, which originally was only a website, became an app on the iPhone. This was a result of Apple creating the App Store that same year. The company continued to grow and filed to become public in 2012.

    According to A brief history of Facebook as a media text: The development of an empty structure by Niels Brugger at the Center for Internet Studies at Aarhus University, the “two main elements of Facebook” are a person’s profile and their network. He wrote that a profile displays a user’s information, and a network is the group of other users a person can connect with on the app.

    Facebook today is known as a space where people can post photos, videos, and life updates on their feed. They can "tag" people in their posts, and tagged people can allow posts they are tagged in to appear on their own feed. Facebook has grown to include new features that were not a part of the application's original design, such as Facebook Marketplace. Marketplace is a spot on the app where people can buy and sell items, similar to eBay or Craigslist.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2007/jul/25/media.newmedia 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Facebook#:~:text=Facebook%20was%20founded%20in%202004,were%20using%20Facebook%20every%20day

History of Instagram

    Instagram was created in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, two Stanford graduates. The idea for Instagram started with a platform created by Kevin Systrom called Burbn, and yes it was named because of his love for the alcoholic beverage. Burbn allowed users to post “check-ins” with photos based on their location. Kevin along with Mike Krieger reworked the program into what we know today as Instagram.

Mike Krieger (right) and Kevin Systrom (left)

    Unlike Facebook, Instagram started as a mobile app from the beginning. Facebook was not originally created as an app because the Apple App Store did not launch until 2008. Instagram was created two years after the App Store's launch.

The Instagram Icon Over Time

    Although Instagram and Facebook had similarities, Instagram was much more focused on images. (Keep in mind that today people associate Instagram and Facebook together because they are now a part of the same company, but at the time, they were two completely separate applications.) Instagram was created with three main features surrounding user’s posts, which were photos, comments, and likes. Users could post a photo, and other users could like and comment on the post. Instagram did involve a profile and network like Facebook did, but they were slightly different. Facebook was more focused on personal connections, and Instagram was a place where people could have lots of followers that they did not even know. (Facebook refers to connections as "friends," and Instagram refers to connections as "followers" or someone they are "following.")

    In April 2012, Facebook bought Instagram for $1 Billion.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Instagram

Meta

    In 2021, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of the Facebook company, re-branded the company under the name Meta. When he announced the creation of Meta, Zuckerberg said, “Right now, our brand is so tightly linked to one product that it can’t possibly represent everything that we’re doing today, let alone in the future. Over time, I hope that we are seen as a metaverse company, and I want to anchor our work and identity on what we’re building toward.” Metaverse refers to a virtual 3D space companies are looking to grow in the future. This rebranding was seen as a way for the company to grow and expand.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2295438-why-has-facebook-changed-its-name-to-meta-and-what-is-the-metaverse/

Meta Icon

    Today Facebook and Instagram are both owned by Meta, and Zuckerberg is still the companies' CEO. I look forward to seeing how the company grows and evolves in the future, and I hope that you learned something new about the history of Facebook, Instagram, and Meta.

Online Class: Privacy Online and Off

 I watched a series of TED Talk videos that all discussed privacy online. There were three talks in particular that stood out to me and presented valuable information that every online user should know about privacy online.

    In one video, Juan Enriquez compared your digital footprint to a tattoo. (When I say digital footprint I mean all of the information that is collected from your social media, credit card, cell phone, and GPS usage, amongst many other things that are digital) Just as a tattoo says something about you, so does your digital footprint. Enriquez says it is becoming increasingly easier for people to access information about you on the internet because of things like facial recognition and trackers.

    In another video, Andy Yen discussed how he helped create something called ProtonMail, which allows people to email privately. ProtonMail uses encryption to keep servers from viewing the information people send in an email. Although the system uses coding and encryption, the system is very user friendly.

    The last video that stood out to me was the one where Finn Myrstad discusses how many people click that they agree to certain terms and conditions an online site has without reading them first. He says that this usually leads to people unknowingly giving the site permission to gather information about them. Finn Myrstad and his team decided to print out the terms of the apps on an average phone in order to read them aloud and see how long it would take. It took his team over thirty-one hours to read them all, which he says proves that it is unrealistic for consumers to read their apps’ terms and conditions in order to know what they are agreeing to.

    I thought that it was very interesting and eye-opening to learn how our information is so easily viewed on the internet, whether we like it or not. So many people do not realize just how much the internet lacks privacy, and I think the lessons I learned through these videos are lessons every person should know.