Final Blog Post

Today, society is obsessed with having the newest and best form of technology. People put such a value on cell phones that when a new iPhone is released, people will wait in lines for hours. There is such a high demand for cell phones that people are willing to spend upwards of a thousand dollars just to have the newest form of technology. Everyone everywhere is constantly using their phones. Whether they are texting, calling, listening to music, or on social media, the world revolves around the use of technology. 

While I am aware of how addictive phones can be I will admit that I, too, rely on my phone for my everyday life. To expand, I do like having my phone because of how convenient and entertaining it is but I am not someone who is completely reliant on my phone. To me, having a phone is like a crutch. I prefer doing stuff like going out and hanging out with my friends in person rather than spending a night in on my phone. I prefer in-person interactions, but sometimes if it is not possible, I do rely on texting and calling people. One thing I would like to improve on is my social media usage. I am not a big poster, but I do like to look at what other people are posting.  I consume social media on Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube, but my favorite social media platform is TikTok. I like TikTok the best because it is quick and straight to the point. Although TikTok is fast, it is scary how sucked in you get. Even though the videos are only thirty seconds long, I can sit and watch TikTok videos for hours. I would like to try to use TikTok less just because it does take up a lot of my time. Especially at night, I will continue scrolling for hours. Instead of watching TikTok, I have been trying to watch television before going to bed because instead of constantly scrolling, I can close my eyes and listen to the television in the background. My biggest social media pet peeve is when people are so consumed in producing content that they will not be present in the moment. 

I do think that social media affects the way I think. I am easily influenced by social media. For example, if I see an influencer I like posting about something they like, I am more inclined to also buy it. An influencer I like is Lauren Tiby. I have bought multiple things she has recommended and have also liked them, and because I trust her recommendation, I continue to buy the products she recommends. I also tend to buy makeup products I see influencers post about. Because I interact with these types of posts, I continue to get more content and advertisements. When I see other people posting about something they like, I am more prone to try it.    

In terms of my social media footprint, since I am not a frequent poster, the majority of the stuff that is online about me has to do with my family. When I google "Ava Szentkereszty de Zagon" the first things that come up are my academic achievements, for instance, the Dean's List. Additionally, there are many things that are posted about my family. It is interesting that the majority of the articles and books written about me are in different languages. What I find the most scary is the fact that my entire family tree is posted. People can go back and trace my lineage back to the 1700s. 

Blog #9

For this presentation, I researched mainstream media. In the field of journalism, mainstream media is a term used to describe large mass news media. Mass news media impacts the way society thinks and acts towards specific topics. Mass news media is the complete opposite of alternate media because it focuses on major news organizations. Today, the major news corporations include The New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, Fox News, and ABC News. These news outlets control the majority of the content that is produced. These news organizations have grown into major corporations employing thousands of people. These news organizations are viewed by people all over the world. It is interesting to note that the majority of these news organizations are located in New York City. For instance, from personal experience,  my mom lives in Florida, but she still regularly reads the New York Times. She was even photographed for a piece based in Florida at a polo match she attended. Even though the New York Times is based in New York, it still reports on current news stories worldwide. This is because these major news corporations have employees working from all around the world. More and more people rely on major news corporations rather than local news stations. 

One way mainstream media is beneficial is the fact that it can be an effective way to spread information. Other news stations tend to copy what these big news corporations are producing, so it can be vital to spread important information. For example, when things such as tragedies occur, it is important to spread awareness about them. For instance, if a worldwide tragedy is happening, such as 9/11, it is essential for people's safety that information is spread quickly. 

However, this can also lead to a mass spread of misinformation. If a company like the Washington Post publishes a false story, that false information will spread rapidly. People tend to believe whatever these big news corporations post immediately, and that can be detrimental. An instance in which false information was spread was during the COVID-19 epidemic. These news corporations reported news stories that were not always accurate, but society blindly believed it, and misinformation quickly spread. As previously mentioned, mainstream media and mass news media affect the way society thinks. This is because people believe that all of the content these big-name publications produce are the most reliable sources. However, this can be problematic because society is not questioning if what they are reading is true or not. 

Building off of this, because these corporations are so popular, they control what is trending.  According to Jim Morris, "Whoever controls the media controls the mind.” This is extremely problematic because if only one perspective is being shared, then other viewpoints are not being represented. This leads to a lack of opinions and diversity. Additionally, this leads to group polarization. Due to the lack of other viewpoints it can cause consumers to have naive and more extreme mindsets. Using media, these big news corporations are able to shape our beliefs and how we see the world. 

Blog #10

I had never heard of deep learning before this video. Deep learning is able to study a person's behavior and use it to predict an outcome. In this case, Alpha Go was able to predict a player's next move and beat the human. Because Alpha Go is a form of artificial intelligence, it was able to make a move that humans could not understand, thus winning the game. Therefore, this backs up the idea that artificial intelligence is smarter than humans. 

I find it scary that artificial intelligence is replacing humans in the work field. As a result, more people are unemployed, and therefore, more and more people are living below the poverty line. The scariest part is that because artificial intelligence has been replacing human jobs, the morality rate increased by twenty percent. This is because more people are becoming depressed and suicidal because they were replaced by a robot. Another statistic that alarmed me was that women are being disproportionally affected by artificial intelligence. To expand, artificial intelligence is replacing employees in fields that are typically dominated by women. Consequently, more and more women are becoming unemployed and impoverished. 

In terms of how this relates to our class, artificial intelligence could be detrimental to our safety. For example, products like Alexa and Siri are trained to recognize who you are and compare your data over time. For instance, if your voice changes, if you are sneezing more, etcetera. Using this information, these devices will determine things like if you are depressed or if you are sick. This can be useful because it makes people's lives easier. For instance, if your Alexa detects you are sick, it will advertise medicine on Amazon to help you. However, this can be extremely harmful as well. Because so much information is being collected on people, their personal security is at risk. For example, if artificial intelligence can pick up on patterns, it could determine what your passwords are. Artificial intelligence can access sensitive information, such as your bank accounts. This could lead to an increase in credit card theft. Hackers can go as far as stealing government information, such as classified documents. If other countries, such as North Korea, get ahold of artificial intelligence they could hack into top-secret government information, thus causing utter chaos. 

Blog #7

Netflix paved the way for what streaming services are today. Netflix is worth over a hundred billion dollars and is continuing to grow. While Netflix is a global corporation today, it did not start off that way. In fact, Netflix took years to become what it is today.  The original pioneers of Netflix were the creators Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph. Starting in 1998, customers could rent DVDs via the USPS postal service. The people who originally rented these films were Netflix's early adaptors. Netflix started to shift into the early majority once they introduced a subscription-based model. A subscription-based model had never hit the DVD market before, and it quickly gained popularity. The addition of the "queue" also helped Netflix become a bigger brand. This allowed customers to pre-select the next movie they wanted in advance. The transformation of Netflix really occurred when they made the switch from DVDs to being a streaming service app. Now you can stream Netflix on your phone. Netflix has become a standard part of today's society, and now so many other companies have created streaming services as well. In order for Netflix to continue regaining traction, they continue adding new shows and movies. 

In terms of the late adopters, they felt obligated to join because of how many shows and movies were exclusively on Netflix. Nowadays, there are so many different streaming services, and the cost can add up quickly. The negative side of Netflix is the price. Not everyone can afford to have Netflix and, therefore, will never be able to adopt Netflix. For this reason, Netflix will never reach one hundred percent penetration. Additionally, the cost of Netflix is continuing to increase. For me, the good outweighs the bad. I like how many shows and movies are available exclusively on Netflix and therefore the options outweigh the price. 

 

Blog #6

I have never heard of any anti-war websites before this class. I thought it was interesting to learn that there are many websites online that protest America's involvement in the war in Ukraine. While these websites exist, they are not readily talked about, rather, they are disregarded. When you do a Google search for the word "American wars," no anti-war websites come up. Instead, many of the websites listed talk about when, where, and why the wars took place. 

It is interesting that in school, when students learn about war, they are taught that serving in war is a patriotic thing to do and being anti-war is associated with not being loyal to your country. Only one side of the story is taught to impressionable children. School curriculums do not explore the topic of being against America being involved in war. From a young age, students are encouraged to join the military because it is a way of supporting their country. However, it is important to point out that just because a person is anti-war does not mean that they are not unpatriotic or disloyal to their country. In fact, some people's reasoning behind not wanting America to be involved in war is that they do not want American lives to be lost in a war America is not obligated to be in. 

While citizens of America have the right to freedom of speech via the First Amendment. Companies like Google have the power to pick the order in which websites appear. Typically, users do not scroll and do not look at all of the websites listed simply because there are so many. Search engines like Google are able to silence anti-war websites by not putting them high up on the main page. It can be very difficult for anti-war websites to gain popularity simply because people are not able to find them easily on Google. 

        

Blog Post #5

I was very interested Luis Rolando Robles Delgado's presentation about the history and impact Bluetooth. Bluetooth is an ancient concept. Dating back to 910/911 AD in Denmark, Bluetooth was named after King Harald Gormsson. King Harald Gormsson was the king of Denmark and he united the country of Norway in 958 AD. King Gormsson was an identifiable figure because he had a miss colored tooth. Due to lack of proper hygiene he had a tooth that died and therefore turned a bluish gray color thus the nickname "Bluetooth". The Bluetooth icon is a tribute to him because it is shaped in his initials. 

Jim Kardach was a pioneer for Bluetooth. In 1996, Kardach teamed up with Jaap C. Haartsen to create a way to let mobile devices get short-range radio connections. From there the world of Bluetooth blew up and now people use it everyday. Bluetooth is managed by the company, Bluetooth Special Interest Group. They partner with over thirty five thousand companies. Bluetooth can be used for computing, consumer electronics, networking, telecommunication, and trading sites. Bluetooth hopes to expand into the markets of smart living such as lights, toys, tools, and appliances. 

Bluetooth has had a major impact society in both positive and negative aspects. For starters Bluetooth has transformed the way technology operates. Now of days so many devices use Bluetooth such as Apple AirPods, cellphones, televisions and many more. Bluetooth is used in all differs aspects of people's daily lives. Bluetooth makes it easier to transfer information, especially larger files, with out using an internet connection. However, it is important to note the negative side effects as well. Using Bluetooth has been linked to increased pregnancy loss, radiation exposer, and ADHD. While there are some health concerns people generally disregard them because the good outweigh the bad. Bluetooth is widely used because of how convenient it is. 

Timeline

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9IJeHuiOIY&t=224s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qnMm6_xG50

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0c0beUaNhI&t=6s