Blog Post #11: Our Relationship With Technology

  

 One of my most treasured values is my family, due to how I grew up. I am from New Jersey, therefore when I am at school for eight months of the year, I am apart from all of my family who are seven hours away. However, technology allows me to remain connected with them in some form. I manage to stay up to date on their daily lives even from far
away. In addition, I also have been in a long distance relationship for a year now, and I couldn’t imagine not having access to my phone and features such as facetime, text messages, snapchat, my camera roll, and so on. It allows me to not only communicate efficiently and effectively, but it has provided me a way to continue fostering my relationship with friends, family, and my significant other. Lastly, I also use the camera roll on my phone religiously. This allows me to reminisce on times when I was home, adventures me and my friends have gone on, as well as providing me a way to document my days and nights, that I then send to my relatives to keep them in the loop of my own life. The features and technology within smartphones has developed significantly and I am so fortunate to grow up in an era and environment where I have access to these innovations. However, with all things good, comes some bad, and this certainly applies to technology.

    I think society is becoming a bit too attached and dependent on technology. We use it as a crutch in social settings and more, ultimately ruining a lot of our emotional and social skills. For instance, everyone knows about the weather app joke; when you’re in public and are feeling socially awkward you turn to scroll through your phone and when you can’t think of something to do on it, people will gravitate towards anything even the upcoming weather forecast. This joke honestly has such sad implications and an inside look into how technology has negatively affected society. Research over the past decades have shown more than enough downsides to technology, especially for childhood developments. These downsides involve social and emotional growth being stunted, a rise of obesity, sleep disorders, and mental health conditions like depression and anxiety – a far too common issue today. 

    Furthermore, technology such as social media has also impacted young generations in a very

negative way. I think a lot of kids lead very unhealthy lifestyles due to overconsumption of technology. They are given iPads and cell phones at very young ages which ultimately leads to endless access to apps, online sites, and an unfiltered version of the world. Eleven year old girls are scrolling through social media, seeing an almost unachievable beauty standard that they will spend the next 20 years trying to replicate and never quite feel like they reached it, no matter how many compliments they receive, how much weight they lose, or how many likes they get on their posts. There is a commercial by Dove, called the reverse selfie and it begins with a little girl editing and face-tuning a picture of a model who is her editor. It shows her getting ready in reverse, curling her hair, putting on makeup, editing away pimples, filling her lips, and practically changing her entire face. This commercial ends with the little girl who is around eleven or twelve, sitting in a dark gray room, clearly upset with herself, then the message “the pressure of social media is hurting our girls’ self-esteem, more screen time during the pandemic has made things worse” urging parents to have a talk with their kids now appears. This commercial is heartbreaking and sadly extremely true. If one were to ask any girl they know if they ever felt they needed to change something about themselves, they’d sadly respond with yes, and probably a laundry list of things they’d change. This same message was also shown in the Mad World Remix by Moby, when a girl moves in and out of the frame of her phone, resulting in her appearance changing from being dolled up in her clean and colorful room through the phone lens, to the reality of her being depressed, surrounded by a messy room, and clearly unhappy with herself. These are just two examples of this issue being recognized by society, but certainly are not the only ones. This has become a big social issue that for years people have tried to bring attention to, now leading to many brands having programs and projects, such as Dove’s Self-Esteem Project, trying to correct this issue. 

    Overall, there are a lot of positives to technology however the unintended consequences to it infiltrating so many aspects of society and individual’s personal lives has been quite negative. I am not advocating that we should get rid of technology in our lives, but rather that there should be a reduction to how much we use it and for what purposes we do. I have begun utilizing the screen time feature, in Apple’s iPhone settings app. I currently only have a limit on TikTok, as I found myself getting sucked into the habit of endless and mindlessly scrolling for hours. Not only did I waste so much of my time on social media; but I began noticing a lot of different health impacts in my own life. I was significantly more tired throughout the day, more unproductive, I was getting poor sleep as I would fall asleep on it or wake up and immediately begin scrolling. However, most importantly I noticed how unhappy I was due to the amount of scrolling. I would sit in my room isolated from people, scrolling, and although when you scroll you feel as though you are a part of something, I realized that I was watching people through a screen doing things I wanted to be out doing and would have been. 

Blog Post #10: Progressive Era

    Dissent is a foundational aspect of democracy. One of the greatest parts of American democracy is that each individual is allowed to think and vote however they want, whether they align with the majority, the minority, or no one but themselves. Dissent is also one of the eight values of free expression we discussed this semester. The First Amendment protects dissenting opinions and views, allowing our country to be ruled by differing groups and opinions, rather than just mob rule like some other countries. However, this was not always protected especially during the Progressive Era. The Espionage Act in 1917 and the Sedition Act in 1918 were both passed in order to punish anti-war voices – which was a dissenting opinion from the government at the time. These laws being passed caused several Americans to be arrested and serve time in jail for their “crimes”, which were really just dissenting views.

    In terms of anti-war voices and protests, dissent is a major topic of discussion. There have been several famous protests within the United States, urging for US forces to be pulled out of war efforts. For instance, the infamous Kent State shootings, involved the death of four college students and nine to be injured during a protest of the Vietnam war. This famous example of dissent had a significant impact on politics and war efforts. It began a wave of other protests against the war efforts and the military draft, as well as politicians to begin making changes.

    Moreover, the Near rule is also extremely important, as it states that prior restraints are almost always unconstitutional except under three circumstances; if it is obscene, threatens national security during war time, or threatens to incite violence. This supreme court decision is pivotal and explains exactly why the government ignores and attempts to silence anti-war voices. The only times that the First Amendment does not immediately find prior restraint unconstitutional is when we are in war time, because a lot of rights of citizens change during those instances, giving the government more power and control. Therefore, the government supports war because it allows them certain freedoms that otherwise they don’t have. This is why websites that are anti-war and support those sediments are often hard to find, such as ANTIWAR.COM and The American Conservative. The government does not want anti-war voices to become the majority by being able to promote their views and information to citizens.

Blog Post #9: EOTO Reaction 2

 One of the most interesting topics that was discussed during the EOTO presentations was those of the mediasphere, specifically online influencers and echo chambers within media. Online influencers range from all types of groups and categories, such as fashion, fitness, travel, activism, politics, environmental and sustainability issues and awareness, and more. Sometimes these influencers will even reach beyond their category and touch on other aspects. This is often seen when influencers use their platforms to spread awareness for political or social issues. Influencers hold a lot of power given to them by platforms and their followers; they shape trends and form their own types of online communities. 

    Another major aspect of social media and specifically online influencers is echo chambers. Echo chambers are when someone is in an environment where they are only confronted with beliefs or opinions that align with their own. This causes them to be constantly reassured in their own thoughts and never have the chance to explore outside information or opinions. This has very negative effects especially on young people who are still trying to figure how to think for themselves, and online influencers and social media contribute greatly to this isolation of ideas. Another phrase for this isolation is a bubble, as it leads to narrow-minded thinking. This type of isolation can occur in person depending on who you surround yourself with as well as online. Moreover, the online echo chambers often go unnoticed as they occur not only by the groups users choose to follow but also due to the algorithms used by social media platforms. These algorithms filter what a user posts, likes, comments on, and who they follow; then it uses that information to suggest similar posts and followers. This contributes greatly to a user's existing bubble, as they are not given access or exposure to opposing views or new information but rather just reinforcing their current likes and thoughts. 

    Furthermore, an interesting study was conducted that showed that it is the influencers that amplify differences between people on social media. The experiment involved two groups, each full of like-minded political individuals, who were then put into these echo chamber discussions. After the discussion it was revealed that the opinions of each group became more moderate and somewhat neutral compared to their strong and polarized views before. Therefore, the researchers then asked why does social media remain so polarized if this is what can happen after discussion? The answer they discovered is social media influencers. Influencers, as previously mentioned, are often at the center of online platforms and given a substantial amount of power over users and how they think. Although many people may casually choose to follow an influencer, they unconsciously or subconsciously begin to align with their views and allow them to “influence” their own lives. This might not always be in a political sense, but rather could take the shape of them promoting a product and how great it is or a certain exercise to help with weight loss. The user may then choose to buy the product for themselves or do the same workout and begin expecting the same results of the influencer.

    Overall, I think that influencers can be a positive presence on social media, however I also am an avid believer that they hold too much power. Their platforms may start as fun and casual videos, but once they gain a following they have the power to sell out products, start a new trend, give thousands or even millions of supporters over to a cause, and much more. This is a new type of power that has begun to influence a lot of people, especially children and young adults. Numerous studies have revealed that “consuming influencer content directly affects the way teenagers behave”. They “feel as though they trust or know social media influencers personally” when in reality they may only be getting a small glimpse into their lives and one that may or may not be fabricated for the sake of entertainment. This creates fake lives and standards that young users often become obsessed with and try to replicate in their own lives, affecting their own beliefs, morals, and behavior.

Blog Post #8: Confirmation Bias

    Peter Wason, a cognitive psychologist at University College, coined the term “confirmation bias” in 1960. This phrase has since become a very important theory, discussed in several different kinds of textbooks, research papers, and so on. It is just one of 175 different types of cognitive bias alone that could interfere with research or just everyday decisions. Dr. Wason believed that humans do not try at all to test their hypotheses critically but rather to confirm them, therefore the theory of confirmation bias began being researched and tested. It is now one of the most common theories about the psychology of reasoning that is studied. 

    Confirmation bias is people’s tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with their existing beliefs”. This type of bias is often unintentional, and draws primarily from pre-existing beliefs, values, and experiences. Once someone develops their own opinions about an issue it is hard for them to remain unbiased. That decision or opinion now will sway them to feel a specific way about future information or debates, as well as make it harder for them to be swayed to change their mind or consider opposing sides.  

    The experiment that Peter Wason used to test his theory of confirmation bias was quite interesting. Participants were told to guess what the rule would be for a three digit sequence and that 2-4-6 satisfied the rule. This caused participants to often assume – due to confirmation bias – that the rule was that even numbers were increasing by two. This led to them guessing sequences such as 6-8-10 or 20-22-24. However, the rule was actually just that the numbers were increasing. 

    There are three ways that people display confirmation bias: selective search, selective interpretation, and selective recall. All of these demonstrate ways in which individuals search to confirm their own beliefs rather than seek new or challenging information. Selective search is when an individual only searches for sources that confirms their own beliefs. This can occur through how they go about looking for information, the types of sources they use, or even just the way they phrase their search. For instance, when two options are typed into a search engine, option A is assumed to be more favored than option B and therefore the search engine will populate sources that favor option A closer to the top of the page. Thus, the information found agrees with what the individual already thinks to be true whether or not they are aware they believe that or if it is subconscious. Furthermore, selective interpretation refers to the fact that even if two individuals were given the exact same information the way that they interpret it may differ due to confirmation bias. The individuals may have different values, beliefs, or experiences that have shaped the way that they think and process certain information. Lastly, selective recall claims that due to confirmation bias the information that people are able to recall is only the parts that support their own beliefs. For instance, in terms of a political debate, people often only know facts, information, or statistics that make their political party seem “better” or more positively favored. 

    However, confirmation bias can fortunately be limited. Although it cannot be fully avoided there are a few suggestions on how to limit the amount of bias that one — while taking in information. Firstly, in order to begin correcting this issue, one must admit that they have a problem and that they actually have confirmation bias. Thus, from there one can ensure that their research is thorough. This means reading numerous sources on topics including from a point of view that challenge or disagree with one’s own side. These sources must be credible and should be from all different types of media or news outlets. Finally, all research should be read fully. Individuals cannot stop after just the hook or the headline; they must read all of the information there is to offer and then carefully analyze it prior to making a decision. These steps will allow an individual to become more conscious of their bias and therefore process information with as much of the facts as possible. 

    Overall, confirmation bias is nothing new to society. It has always been around and even after Wason’s naming in 1960, it is still very much present within society. People rely heavily on their own “gut” and split seconds to make decisions, but are they aware of just how much of those decisions are already decided or being influenced due to confirmation bias? This is most easily seen when it comes to political discussions. It has become a new norm today for people to no longer be involved in political debates where they listen to all the sides and opponents, and then amend or at least acknowledge their own opinions. Today everyone is pressured into picking a side and then somewhat forced by society to stay there. There are no longer conversations or debates, but rather arguments over who is right and who is wrong, as it is now the belief for some reason that only one side can be "correct".   

Blog Post #7: Diffusion of Innovation

    Gutenberg’s Printing Press was a revolutionary invention from 1440, that significantly impacted the time period it was created as well as innovations that came after it that are still used today. The reason as to why the Printing Press was adapted and so successful can be explained by Roger’s Diffusion of Innovations theory. This theory provides a timeline which outlines how new technological and other advancements spread throughout societies and cultures, from introduction to widespread adoption. There are five main elements of this theory, the pioneers, early adopters, early majority, late adopters, and laggards. All of these elements play a crucial role on the timeline of an idea or innovation, and can be analyzed to study the decisions made by society. 
    Firstly, the pioneers of the Printing Press were Johannes Gutenberg, and those before him who invented the idea of printing. Prior to Gutenberg’s invention there were already moveable types of printing created in Korea as well as woodblock printing in China. However, Gutenberg is attributed as the mind behind this genius invention due to his specific form of the printing press, which involved a screw-type wine press that squeezed down inked metal pieces evenly. Not only did his invention improve upon the world of printing, but it allowed for literature to now be easily and inexpensively printed, leading to more accessible written knowledge.  

    The early adopters were the leaders of the Protestant Reformation, as they began utilizing the printing press to help share their thoughts to their followers. This invention greatly helped in the rebellion against the Catholic Church, especially for leader Martin Luther. He used this to print his works, thoughts, and more into books and pamphlets and then spread them across the country. The use of the printing press really set Protestantism apart from the Catholic Church as they were not utilizing it nearly as much, and therefore missing out on the opportunity to reach their followers and critics in a convenient way. 

   In addition, the early majority who followed were the middle class as a whole. As previously mentioned, prior to the printing press’s invention literature, especially books, were very expensive and hard to come by. This was due to the fact that each book would have to be copied page by page, by hand. Therefore, the middle class was not able to spend their money on such a “useless” indulgence. However, the printing press made it affordable and so a lot of people from the middle class were now able to own their own books. This led to an increase in literacy and education as a whole, causing a much more intelligent society. Also, this helped in the spread of ideas as more people were informed and able to join in on conversations, as well as share and send printed copies of works to one another therefore spreading ideas and topics across countries and cultures. 

    Moreover, following right behind the majority in Europe, the late majority of the printing press was the West. The exploration of the West such as the Americas was all the rage during the 15th and 16th centuries. The Europeans brought much over to the Americas including horses, crops, disease, and inventions such as the printing press. It was used by traders, colonists, and missionaries who traveled across the sea to the Americas. This made a lot of sense as the Americas were mostly just an extension of Europe, which at the time was where the printing press was most popularized.

    Finally, there are the laggards, which is the group who lags behind the general population in adopting innovative products and new ideas. In the case of the printing press, the Ottoman empire is certainly a part of the laggards. The Ottoman Empire, also known as the Turkish Empire, put off using the printing press for 290 years and more. The scribes, calligraphers, and professional manuscript scribes were adamant about not participating in the printing press wave. This grudge was due to the fact that they made their living off of copying texts and were quite wealthy from it. Therefore, they pushed off bringing the printing press to the Ottoman Empire in order to stay employed. At one point, it was actually illegal to use the printing press in the Ottoman Empire and potentially could lead to a penalty of death. Additionally, it not only took 290 years to approve the idea of the printing press but then another 100 years in order to fully build the printing house and machinery. Therefore, the Ottoman Empire was q
uite behind on the trend and implementation of the printing press. 

    Overall, the printing press was such a significant and impactful invention that was adopted for several different purposes by many different groups. It was used to help promote education and literacy, to spread religious ideas and propaganda, as well as a way to spread new ideas such as during the Renaissance. Each group that utilized the printing press had their own motives which pushed them to get involved at the point that they did, as people only sought after it after realizing how much easier it made their work. However, as mentioned it made publishing literary works much quicker and cheaper. Therefore, it took away the need for scribes as the machine was able to print at a much faster rate, and needed only a few workers to operate it. Regardless of the loss of jobs though, it was outweighed by the new access to literature that was made possible to people of all social statuses, religions, and languages. In all, the adaptation of the printing press was positive for most aspects of society and went on to influence and inspire how communication and print happens even today. 

Blog Post #6: EOTO Reaction 1

    The EOTO presentations taught me about a range of different technologies that have been invented along the way, impacting society greatly. We were taught about the postal service, cassette tapes, emojis, Facebook, and what stood out the most to me, Amazon's online shopping. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, created this revolutionary business that so many consumers rely on today, by first selling books online out of his garage. 

    Amazon was originally named Cadabra in 1995, in reference to abracadabra since the idea of online shopping was like magic. However, Bezos’ lawyer said that it sounded too close to cadaver and it was then changed to Amazon, a name that is widely known for its convenience and efficiency today.

    Amazon has developed significantly over time. As previously mentioned, it began as an online book store with personalized recommendations for consumers. Bezos soon added selling CDs and later videos in 1998. Once competition with online selling increased, Bezos improved Amazon again, by adding a range of new types of products including electronics, apparel, hardware, in addition to their original products of books, CDs, and videos. Furthermore, Amazon didn’t stop innovating with these new additions. They went on to release Amazon Prime in 2005, a service that promised members free two-day shipping. This added to the efficiency and convenience of Amazon for consumers, therefore adding greatly to their appeal rather than physical stores.

    One of the most impactful parts of Amazon is its reveal of the popularity and success of online retail shopping. Amazon was a trailblazer in the online shopping world, causing several other retailers to soon release their own version of online stores. It also made the idea of Prime or faster shipping a new normal for online stores through the introduction of Amazon Prime. Several companies have followed Amazon’s innovations and been forced to keep evolving themselves in order to stay in competition with Amazon. This competition was seen greatly during the 2020 Pandemic, where online shopping – specifically through Amazon – was a daily activity for many consumers.

    The EOTO presentation on Amazon caused me to want to learn more about the company and it’s impact on online shopping and retail today. In my outside research, I came across the Amazon Effect, which is an idea that attempts to describe consumer’s behaviors and habits through tracking their purchase changes through their Amazon presence. This study of consumers also attempts to follow and explain the increasing success and growth of Amazon through studying the Amazon consumer’s purchasing habits.

Blog #5: The Printing Press

The History & Impact Of The Printing Press

    The printing press was a revolutionary invention that re-imagined the world of communication. Johannes Gutenberg was a metalsmith, born in Germany in the 14th century. He invented the printing press around 1436, which changed the publication of literature entirely. His machine allowed for ideas, words, and thoughts to all be published and mass produced in a new and inexpensive fashion. This changed the world of literature and society in several impactful ways. 
    The printing press was a machine that utilized “moveable type”. Paper was laid across a wooden plate of arranged moveable letters covered in ink. Another wooden plate above was then used to press the ink into the paper, allowing for pages to be printed much more efficiently. This invention made the entire publishing process much cheaper, therefore allowing literature to become more common among people of all economic backgrounds. 
    In the 14th Century and previously, books were rare and reserved for only the upper classes as they were quite expensive. This was due to the fact that people had to copy each word of a book by hand, in order to make a copy of it. This took a lot of time and dedication, as well as the ability to read and write. Therefore, books were an expensive purchase. In addition, prior to the 14th century it was not common for anyone except for members of the upper class to be taught how to read, so there was no demand for a mass-production of literature. However, by the 14th Century, according to Steve Heimler, there was a new growth of literacy among individuals. People began learning how to read and therefore the demand for printed literature was on the rise. 
    The first work that was printed on the printing press was the Gutenberg Bible, which “was printed in 42-line columns”. Several other religious works soon followed on the printing press, along with other works. This invention not only made it cheaper to print pages, but allowed information to be shared and distributed in a much more efficient way. Thanks to Gutenberg’s invention, news was able to travel across Europe. This promoted the sharing of ideas, thoughts, religions, and so on especially during the Renaissance. The Renaissance, from 1490 until 1520, was a time of “rebirth” after the dark times of the Middle Ages. This was a time of cultural growth, creativity, and invention in Europe. The printing press made these ideas possible as it helped to share plans, news, and art across all of Europe. 

    In addition, the printing press was also extremely impactful for the Protestant Reformation, a religious reform movement in the 1500s. It was through the utilization of the printing press that reformers were able to share their ideas across Europe. Reformers printed pamphlets and distributed them to large audiences. Famous reformer, Martin Luther, relied on this invention heavily to challenge the Catholic Church’s authority.
    In all, the invention of the printing press impacted so many aspects of society. It aided in a rise in literacy, helped share information among individuals, produced a new way of documenting history, and provided new ways of entertainment through literature. This invention positively shaped the world of communication and provided the basis for so many styles of communication that are used today.