Final Blog Post

 Our Relationship with Technology

Technology is something that I have never been without. Ever since I can remember, I have always owned some type of device. First, I had an iPad mini that I won in a contest. Then I got my first phone at 8 years old. From then on, I would go through a series of different phones and become exposed to television. Now, as a college student, I have my first-ever laptop. 

Reading through my extensive history with technology, one may claim that my relationship with it is unhealthy. However, I think the primary idea that sets me apart from much of my generation is my awareness of device usage and my intentions behind that usage. For instance, my iPad Mini was used to create birthday videos for my parents using Video Star editing tools. I believe if we are aware of how we allocate our screen time, we shouldn't be as fearful of the harmful effects of technology. It is when we are oblivious to the downsides that it becomes a dangerous relationship.

This concept can emphasized in Steve Cutts' video entitled "MAN." The man in the video is exploiting all of Earth's resources with a big smile on his face, as though he doesn't have a care in the world about the consequences of his actions. While there are many benefits of the innovation of humanity throughout the years, we must be careful not to be blinded by greed and growth. We as a society have made multiple great advancements, but we shouldn't let it get to the point where we are ignorantly harming the environment and other beings. Ultimately, the healthiness of our relationship with things like technology boils down to our approach to the relationship.

While I view my personal relationship with technology as healthy, I understand that there may be existing bias and that there is room for improvement. After watching The Mad World Remix of Moby Video (Are You Lost In The World Like Me), I noticed people being glued to their phones regardless of the world around them was a common motif. They would fall in sewer holes and wouldn't respond to the main character poking them. It made me question what I am missing in my real life due to my focus on my digital life. At the end of the day, this is an important thought process for people to go through because our digital lives aren't what we are living.

There is power and potential in technology. This has been apparent not only in all the videos we've watched but also in all the class lessons we've heard. The main caveat is that we can often harness this power and potential negatively. Moving forward as a society, we must ask ourselves: are we intentionally using our phones and resources for good, or are we heedlessly indulging in our consumption? 

#10

EOTO 2 - Class Terms

Our class spent time looking into different concepts and presenting them. I was invested in all the speeches but was particularly interested in the spiral of silence and confirmation bias presentations.

The spiral of silence is when people stop themselves from saying things that may be met with disapproval. The perception that people have of public opinion influences their willingness to speak their own opinions. For instance, if a person thinks that a certain policy should be implemented by the government but believes that the majority of other people disagree, they may refrain from voicing their thoughts. This turns into a "spiral" because the perceived dominant opinion becomes louder since those who support it aren't afraid to speak up. This only reinforces the silence of the "minority" as they keep thinking that their opinion is becoming less and less accepted.

Mass media plays a large role in the perception of public opinion. News channels often use words like "a lot" or "most," causing it to seem like the opinion they are covering is the popular opinion. This reminds me of how toothpaste tubes often claim that 9 out of 10 dentists recommend their toothpaste brand. Statistics like these lead us to believe that most dentists agree, but that statistic may not be true for various reasons. Their sample size of surveys could have been very small. It also may not have been representative of all dentists. One New York Post writer even points out that if 9 out of 10 dentists recommend a brand, there are still 1 out of 10 dentists that don't recommend that brand. This means that out of the thousands of practicing dentists, there are actually hundreds of dentists who don't recommend that brand.

Confirmation bias is another concept that relates to public opinion being drowned out. When someone confirms their bias, they have a tendency to search for data that validates their own beliefs rather than challenges their beliefs. Peter Cathcart Wason's number sequence experiment was the first instance that tested this concept and coined the name of it. I found it interesting how Wason himself faced confirmation bias in his own study, as he focused on the findings/trials that supported the existence of confirmation bias and ignored those that didn't. I think this concept is especially scary because we don't know what we don't know. There is more context to every belief and study, but we don't always know what context we're missing.

It's ideas like the spiral of silence and other false media beliefs that stress the importance of the general public needing to conduct their own research and truly look into the credibility of their sources. People are often too quick to believe what they hear or see. Rather than blindly following mass media, we as a society need to educate ourselves on the truth and take the time to consider what we truly believe as individuals. Fact-checking and getting various opinions is necessary. When someone sits at home and watches the new, there is nobody to question their interpretation or thinking. It's important to turn to a variety of sources and expert opinions to make a decision on one's own.

 

#9

In the Age of AI

As we watched the "In the Age of AI" documentary, one topic that really stuck out was the increased commercialization of artificial intelligence. The documentary talked about how new technology has begun to automate jobs. This concept is especially interesting to me as a business major, as I'm fascinated by the different factors that go into the success of a business or economy. In my international economics class we have spoken a lot about how automation leads to economies of scale, meaning that as production increases cost per unit decreases. In that class, we examined automation in the context of capital machinery replacing human labor, but the documentary revealed an even more pressing concern about AI replacing human labor. This is such an important idea to be aware of because there is a dichotomous relationship business has with AI. On one hand, the use of AI as a form of automation allows businesses to raise levels of efficiency and cut costs. This generally means lower prices and easier access to goods/services for us as consumers. On the other hand, inequality in the workforce is rising due to middle-class and lower-class types of labor being taken over by AI, while people higher up the ladder are those investing in the AI that replaces those jobs. 

Another way artificial intelligence holds economic influence is through online commercial platforms. Although we don't view apps/sites like Facebook to be anything other than entertainment platforms, in reality, social media is an enormous market for profit. In the past, industrial capitalism took nature and converted into it into buildings. Now, Shoshana Zuboff explains that with surveillance capitalism, "private, human experience is claimed as a free source of raw material, fabricated into predictions of human behavior." This idea is frightening to me because we use digital platforms so regularly that we are often unaware that our private thoughts and actions are being commoditized; we as consumers are being consumed.

Not only is online data commercialized more than ever before, but it is also increasingly being utilized for political and governmental purposes. The documentary described China's current surveillance system and how they use cameras in every location to track the behavior of their citizens. The Chinese government actually uses this information for a social credit system in which they can administer legal consequences to those who have low social credit. The incentive to behave well has improved crime rates in the country and bettered national security, yet it is still a controversial regulation because it infringes upon all the details of people's personal lives. Most people would argue that their private lives should be exactly that: private. The government doesn't need to know all the little specifics of what we do. This concept reminds me of a Black Mirror episode, Nosedive, in which the main character ends up obtaining a low social credit score as she obsessively tries to gain the acceptance of others. This fictional show, in a way, reflects reality. We are often unaware of how AI and other forms of surveillance capitalism are negatively affecting our daily lives.

#8

EOTO 2 - The Mainstream Media

Mainstream media is what we consider to be "established journalism outlets." Most Americans, regardless of political affiliation, agree on which TV channels and newspapers constitute as mainstream media. Some of these sources include ABC, CNN, and the New York Times. While most citizens are on the same page in regards to this, the content an individual consumes in their own daily life also plays a role as we tend to believe that the sources we spend the most time on are considered mainstream - even if that isn't the case for the general public.

One of the most significant points advocates of the mainstream media may bring up is that such media sources keep society connected. If everyone is getting their information from a plethora of different sources, it may be difficult for everyone to stay informed about the same important events. If there is, say, a devastating natural disaster, all of the mainstream media outlets are likely to cover it and we can all be updated on that current event. There are negative implications to this, however. 

If everyone gets their information from most of the same sources, there is a risk of people becoming stuck in an echo chamber. In the efforts to appear serious about public issues, mainstream media also often targets certain groups and frames them in a certain light. They tend to pose hard questions to lawmakers whose proposals may be costly, placing emphasis on the expense of their policies rather than their effectiveness. 

These sources misrepresent minorities and reinforce false beliefs as well. A research study was conducted to determine how the media portrays people in poverty. The findings showed that mainstream magazines lead citizens to overestimate the number of African Americans and women among the impoverished. Inaccuracies in the mainstream media can influence public opinion on these groups, ultimately influencing public action surrounding these groups. In the poverty case, this might look like decreasing support for African Americans receiving welfare because of negative stereotypes. It could also mean decreased support for Caucasians, Hispanics, and Asian Americans to receive welfare because the public may think that these don't need financial aid to the extent that they do.

As we progress as a society, we have to be aware of the mainstream media and how our views on those particular sources impact our behavior. This is especially important for younger generations because media as a whole has become totally accessible to us. In the past, mainstream media was considered to be the local newspaper. Then it was popular radio stations. Now, we can look up the New York Times and its website, physical newspaper, and audio services will all pop up in our search engines and it has become easier to choose which of the mainstream media outlets we want to follow. While this means opportunity for a diverse landscape of opinions, as consumers, we should be cautious that we don’t put ourselves in our own knowledge bubbles. It’s important that we make the choice to not limit ourselves to the mainstream media nor limit ourselves to only particular sources among the mainstream media. 

#7

Privacy, Online and Off

We, as a society, have gotten used to technology and data collection in our lives. When a "cookies" agreement pops up, we don't bat an eye at it. When an intriguing advertisement appears in our feed, we don't hesitate to click on it. In his Ted Talk about the permanence of online activity, Juan Enriquez says that "maybe all of you and all of us are very close to immortality." Enriquez calls attention to the real dangers of digital tattoos and brings up valuable lessons that we can apply to prevent these dangers. For instance, one simple action people can take is to avoid reckless online behavior. We should put careful consideration into what we post online.

A real-life example of someone's digital imprint drastically affecting their life is Darieth Chisolm's story. Her nude photos were posted on a website by one of her ex-partners. Situations like this can happen to anybody. Especially with the ease at which we can upload anything onto the internet, now more than ever, people find themselves victims to what Chisolm calls "revenge porn." Whether someone else posts a negative picture or we post a negative picture, that image stays with us forever. This non-erasable history oftentimes hurts our careers, relationships, and reputation. Even if people work to build their credibility back up, a past post or comment can influence opinions on someone for the rest of their lives. I remember a few years ago, director James Gunn got fired from Disney for uploading jokes about pedophilia on his Twitter. Although his fellow Guardians of the Galaxy colleagues advocated for him, much of the public still found a hard time justifying his actions and accepting that he was a changed man.

Another scary thought is that this situation does not happen only online. Privacy concerns have been increasing regarding physical behavior as well. Lawyer Catherine Crump's Ted Talk dives into how the police track citizens - threatening or not. They can look into almost every detail of people's everyday lives with advanced surveillance equipment. For instance, just with street cameras scanning license plates, the government keeps tabs on every single place each car is located throughout the day. This can infringe upon our private business, as officials know when we go to church, see our family, and conduct other personal tasks. This becomes an even more concerning issue when the government observes people's lives with a discriminatory agenda. This happened in New York City when the NYPD would drive police cars with surveillance systems by mosques to determine who was attending the Islamic services.

One way we can protect ourselves from such situations is to be careful what we display to the public. This could look like choosing not to post a photo we wouldn't want our employer to see. We can also invest in applications or devices that automatically protect us. In Christopher Soghoian's Ted Talk, he shares that companies like Apple and WhatsApp, by default, set messaging systems to use encryption to protect user's private conversations. While there seems to be a lot consumers and businesses can do, there is more controversy surrounding government involvement. It becomes a difficult subject to discern what the best course of action is because the government utilizes surveillance technology and social media tracking for national security purposes. Their use of such technology has helped them to catch terrorists and other threatening groups. The main concern with this is that the general public's privacy is compromised or jeopardized in the efforts to have such security. 

Ultimately, it's important that the government still respects and aids people in their digital privacy because unprotected online actions still subject the public to being tracked by groups other than the government. People like stalkers or identity thieves can more easily collect private information when security barriers are low. As we go about our days and browse online, we must be aware of what our physical and digital imprints may mean for us.

#6

 Antiwar Sentiments: Why We Never Hear of Them

In a society that pushes for free speech and the welcoming of different ideas, I'm surprised that we never hear about antiwar sentiments in the mainstream media. After taking a look at the two websites provided, I can make an educated guess as to why this is the case.

Many of the features on the websites criticize the current President, Biden. For instance, on ANTIWAR.COM, one of the spotlights is entitled, "Biden Makes Americans Targets in the Middle East, Then Campaign on Their Deaths." I can think of perhaps two reasons why content such as this would fail to make popular headlines. One is that those who are writing such articles may be worried about speaking against the government. Clearly, some of these headlines are directed strongly towards political figures themselves, not just their policies. Maybe the writers are fearful of what the government may do if they speak out so boldly. The only caveat with this is - as we learned in class - the government can't do anything unless the writer's content has the potential to threaten or harm someone. The second reason that came to mind is the government may be discreetly preventing such content from going past obscure websites. Especially with it being an election year, many politicians, including current ones in office hoping to keep office, are working to push their individual agendas and frame themselves in a positive light.

These websites also take a clear political standing. One of them is even called theamericanconservative.com. I feel that most mainstream media doesn't vocally lean left or right. Take Fox News for example: while it's common knowledge that the news channel has conservative biases, the anchors and its website never outright claim a conservative viewpoint. I think popular media avoid claiming a political side because putting out biased content could decrease credibility in the public's eyes. Perhaps it would be the same in regards to taking a strong antiwar stance. Since an antiwar stance goes against the current administration's actions, it could hold implications for whether the public views these opinions as credible or not.

Regardless of why we rarely hear of strong antiwar sentiments, I think it's important that these voices start being heard more prominently. It is not a light subject, as it quite frankly involves life and death. Thankfully, some people are speaking their opinion. Although they are publishing their work on more obscure platforms, they are still making way for other people to possibly feel more comfortable sharing their own opinions. As we've reiterated in class, speaking our thoughts on government action is a responsibility we all have. I commend those who strive to do so.

#5

Class Communication Technologies

After listening to my peers' presentations, I learned a lot about the evolution of technologies throughout history and the impact of those technologies on today's world. After multiple presentations, I also noticed patterns and themes among the introduction of each new technology.

Pop Culture & Historical Events

One pattern I drew was how emerging technology plays a huge role in pop culture and major historical events. The most interesting, I thought, was how the iconic guitar riff in the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction was recorded thanks to the cassette tape. The other more modern technology of SMS Messaging introduced the common use of abbreviations and slang. In the past decades, different generations have been identified by their slang. Oftentimes we can tell the age group a person is in just by the way they speak. We likely wouldn't have these generation-defining words or phrases if not for the invention of SMS Messaging.

New Technology is a Catalyst for Newer Technology

A second pattern I drew was how new technology is a catalyst for newer technology. For instance, the phonograph wasn't a completely original idea. It was actually innovated off of Thomas Edison's first model which used tinfoil instead of wax. Alexander Graham Bell took what Edison created and built off of it, later renaming it the gramophone. The same thing happened with many current Instagram features. Instagram wouldn't have short reels if it weren't for TikTok and it wouldn't have stories if it weren't for Snapchat. Other apps released new features and Instagram adopted them, helping it to turn into the social media app it is now. The interesting concept is that Instagram was created before TikTok and Snapchat, so its creation sparked a line of new features from the other two applications.

Globalization

Lastly, new technology plays a huge role in globalization. Our world gets more and more globalized every year. We seem to learn about globalization in every single class: economics, English literature, and music. It only makes sense that in our Media Law class, we can clearly see how globalization has influenced and has been influenced by communications technologies. As mentioned before, Instagram was one of the first of its kind. It started off as a way to share global travels with friends and family. This meant that people could share fun times with people all the way across the world. Another modern technology that has emerged in global markets is Netflix. Not only are multiple Netflix originals set in foreign countries, but Netflix also offers foreign work like Latin telenovelas, Korean dramas, or dubbed European movies. Netflix also looks different depending on the country you reside in. A certain movie may not be available in the USA, but it could be available in the Philippines. Netflix has now expanded to 190 countries, making it an incredibly globalized streaming service that allows people from different locations to bond.