My World of Technology: Social Media and More

My View on Technology

Technology is our world, it's how we contact with people, or how we get the answer to questions no one seems to know. Technology can be very beneficial and it can be very dangerous, the internet is a place where people can create what they want people to see and think about them. Sometimes I love the internet, and sometimes I hate it. Is my relationship with technology healthy. I would say yes and no. I believe that once you get accustomed to being on social media everyday, it's hard to take a break or even taking a break from your phone. Some may call it FOMO, fear of missing out. It's like when I need a break from school or work, I tend to use my phone and social media to relax. There can be other means of relaxation, such as reading or taking a walk. I feel very attached to my phone, its my source of entertainment. I use my phone to contact and connect with friends and family. I used social media to also stay connected with friends and family that I may not see on a regular. Technology has made everything easy for our generations. 

I would say that since COVID-19 and being in quarantine my technology intake has increased. It's hard to break away completely from technology or spend time away because everything we do today is influenced by technology. Social media and technology became a very big factor when COVID-19 happened. We were all sent home to complete school, and without Twitter, Facebook, Webex, Zoom, and Google Meet a lot of us would not have made it through. I personally know that Zoom has became apart of my everyday life. I am constantly using Zoom or Webex for meeting and conferences, related to school and my sorority. Zoom and Webex are also essential to those that have COVID-19. There were a lot of travel restrictions at the beginning of the pandemic, and technology created a space for us to connect, work, finish school, and socialize.

Technology can be very informing and helpful in become smarter, if you are using it in the right way. There is a lot of false and misleading information on the internet. A lot of things are said and done via internet/social media. I believe that an intelligent person, should be willing and able to research things and know what is true or misleading on the internet. I do feel concerned about the things that young kids are exposed to on the internet and social media. I see a lot of younger children with cell phones, instagram accounts, tik tok, etc. I believe that the generations to come with be more dependent on social media and the internet than my generation. I can still remember when a lot of kids my age had iPods, and Nintendo DS, or even went outside to play. I don't believe that my kids will experience the same thing, even if I don't expose them to the internet at a young age. It is still something that will influence their childhood through school, or at home. Social media has become a norm. 

I can say that you can see a change in the way social media effects teens and young adults, people try to uphold a social media presence and look. There are trends that people do to show what they look like on instagram or twitter vs how they look when they aren't around people or being seen. With that, I believe that social media plays a huge role in relationships. People want and seek the relationships that they see on social media, but everything that glitters ain't gold. Although relationships may look perfect on the outside, or on social media they aren't. I feel that my generations, wants to chase the perfect relationship as they've seen on instagram. Social media limits our personal interactions, we don't know how to be around people and enjoy each other without posting on social media or without technology.

The Digital Footprint

With those comments and opinions online comes the digital footprint. What may be deleted on you Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter may never truly go away. You never notice how the internet has been or will track you. Every time you log into an account, it ask if you would like to "save the password" a lot of us say "yes".. I know I do because it's easy, but little do we know that know our information is apart of the digital footprint. As we have seen many times over on the internet, people and celebrities are exposed for things they have said in the past that may paint them out to be a bad person. Who is to say that person hasn't changed, learned, or grown from that situation. Like I said before, people are very likely to post things on social media and in the year 2020 a lot of people were "cancelled" or exposed for the things they say and do on social media

There is good, and there is bad to technology. I know that people need to find there balance and allow themselves a break from social media and technology often. I hope for our generations and the next, we can do positive things with technology. I hope we will be more aware of the negative and positives associated with technology. I can't say that the impact of technology will change, because it won't. Technology will only continue to get more advanced year after year. Technology can be used to foster, and uplift people, never for bullying or hatred. What can our generation do to change that?