Blog post #11: Final Blog

 My Relationship With Technology

As someone who was born at the beginning of the 21st century, I have grown up with technology in the back of my pocket, literally. Having a cellphone at such a young age and being such an avid consumer of news through technology so early in life, shaped the way I grew up and the way I use technology today. However, I would not necessarily say I love the way that I grew up relying on technology or that I have the healthiest relationship with technology and social media as a whole. In this age, with mental illnesses on the forefront, teen suicide rates rising, low self-esteem and body image at an all-time low, and technology at an all-time high, it's hard to think that these things are not related. With the prominence of social media in a young person's life, so is the pressure of living up to others' standards, wanting to have the picture-perfect look that the social media and vogue models have, and hating yourself because you want to be someone else. This balance between learning to love yourself for who you are and not sinking to the media's standards is something that is very hard in today's world. 

As someone who has struggled with wanting to fit in with the look of the media, I am aware of my not so healthy relationship with the internet and social media. However, technology itself is a different story. While social media use has been linked to unhappiness and rising levels of anxiety and depression, which is shown in this article here, technology is not the same. In my opinion, there are many different ways to look at the damages and impacts of social media and technology, but with technology itself, the good outweighs the bad. Take out the social media, the texting, all of that. Technology stripped to its core acts as a pocket-size and constant GPS, MP3 player, etc. Technology was made to make people's lives easier, to make finding out information quickly easier, and to make getting places easier. 

Technology is something I have grown up with and something I have very much come to rely on in my everyday life. Whether it is negative or positive, social media and technology have become so prominent in the way I live my life and I can't imagine it without it now, healthy or not. 

      

Blog Post #10: EOTO

 Net Neutrality 

Net Neutrality is the act of having free internet and is the basic principle that prohibits internet providers to slow down, speed up, to block any content like websites or applications. Net Neutrality also gives cooperations and companies that run solely on the internet the possibility of innovation. Without Net Neutrality, people would have to buy internet packages and pay x amount of dollars just to receive a certain number of social media websites, applications, etc. If people had to buy these subscriptions, companies that run solely on the internet would suffer greatly and not have as much room to expand.  If even the most basic internet package, which includes half of what we use on a daily basis, costs around $80, subscribers to these websites and internet-based companies would dwindle, giving them less and less room to grow. 

If we did not have Net Netruality, basic freedoms, and luxuries that we use every day without a second thought would be gone. Cell phone providers would be able to block calls and texts from your phone without net neutrality, and that basic principle of privacy is no longer applicable without it. 

Basic freedoms, the small bit of privacy we still have on the internet today, access to free internet, etc would vanish in the blink of an eye without net neutrality. We use the internet more than we even realize, and we take free internet access for granted in our everyday lives. Imagine having to buy an internet package just to do your homework, or just use google, or just check your social media. People in low income homes, who can not afford to buy these internet packages, will not be able to get online at all, which makes it hard from them to do simply things that we don't even think about. 

Overall, not having net neutrality would make our lives 10x harder since we have become so accustomed to living a certain way. We have become so used to have the internet at our finger tips, and we are holding on to that last bit of privacy that we still have on the internet. Without net neutrality, we would not only have absolutely no privacy but cell phone and internet providers would be able to intercept calls, texts, emails, etc from our phones and from the internet which is a complete invasion of privacy. 

Blog post #9: Privacy

 Privacy on the Internet

After watching these Ted Talks, and researching other articles about the lack of privacy on the internet, it has become clear just how little privacy we actually have in our day to day lives. Growing up in a world where cell phones were just becoming popular, I grew up with a birdie in my ear telling me to be careful of what I put on the internet everything is permanent once it is on the internet. I have since learned the importance of being careful what you post not only on the internet but on social media in general. After watching these ted talks, the idea of a lack of privacy on the internet was just completely increased and makes me nervous about what can be trusted when it comes to technology and what can't be. 

We have all experienced the horrors of talking about something near your phone, and ads for that product or website coming up all over your browser and social media for the next few weeks. That is exactly how invasive the internet can be. Google, Facebook, Youtube, and many other social media websites and search engines are always listening, and keep a record of everything you have ever searched or said. These websites really get you when it comes to the terms and conditions. Let's be honest, no one ever really reads all of the terms and conditions, but we really should. Platforms like Facebook and Youtube sneak clauses about lack of privacy and invasive tactics into these terms and conditions and get away with it because hardly anyone reads the fine print. When it comes to 2020 and the internet, we have little to no privacy and the internet cannot be trusted. 

Blog post #8: Diffusion of Inovations

The timeline I decided to write about is Netflix because I find it so interesting how quickly it picked up from DVDs being mailed to your house, to the first widely known streaming service that we use every day. 

1997-1998 - PIONEERS: Netflix was originally founded in 1997 but the website did not officially launch until 1998 and at this time there were 925 titles available for rent, but you paid by the movie that you rented, and late fees applied. 

2000 - EARLY ADAPTERS: Netflix pitches their "monthly subscription" concept and they offer themselves to BlockBuster for $50 million, but blockbuster turns it down. At this time also, RedBox was founded which gave Netflix more competition. At this time, they were still growing though, and were gaining more subscribers and attention. 

2003 - EARLY MAJORITY: In 2003, Netflix reached 1 million subscribers to their website and had reached 4.2 million subscribers by 2005. 

2007 - LATE ADAPTERS: In 2007, Netflix changed its website into a streaming platform, which not only began the start of streaming platforms but also changed the game and started the phenomenon of "binge-watching".

2020 - LAGGARDS: There are currently 78.03 million subscribers to Netflix nationally and over 160 million international subscribers and Netflix and other streaming services have become so popular that many people across the globe have begun to cancel cable and satellite tv. 

Over the past 20 years Netflix has completely swept the globe off their feet and changed the world of streaming and watching tv and movies forever. 

All information was found here

Blog post #7: Technology #2

 Twitter

    One of the technologies that someone did was Twitter, and I was very interested in this one because I am such an avid twitter fan. Danny Shay talked about the invention of twitter and how it was originally "twittr". Twitter was invented in 2006 and was originally used for podcast makers to speak with other podcast makers to discuss their podcasts. However, by 2012 over 100 million users were actively tweeting and checking twitter daily.

Throughout the last few years, Twitter has blown up and has become so important in today's culture. Twitter has become a news source and a resource for so many young adults, including myself, to stay informed and updated on what is going on in the world. Personally, I don't watch the news regularly so I use Twitter as a way to stay up to date on what is happening worldwide. However, with twitter, you have to beware of fake news, as with every news source, but be extra careful with twitter because anyone can post anything on twitter, which is one of the negatives of this platform. But like I said, the positive side is that it keeps people in the loop and continues to help people stay informed. 

Twitter is my personal favorite social media platform and I enjoyed learning a lot more about it and how it was made by Danny Shay!. 

Blog Post #6: Technology

 History of Google

In 1995, Sergey Brin who was a Ph.D. student at Stanford at the time, gave Larry Page, a prospective student at the time, a tour of the school. At first, they did not get along at all, and butt heads on most subject matters and it wasn't until a year later when they first struck up a partnership. When they first developed the idea to launch a search engine, their original name for it was "backrub" until they launched in 1998 and changed the name to Google Beta. Google Beta was a very small version of the Google we know now and did not have any applications associated with it at the time. As we know now, Google has many different applications and even their own browser now since launching 20 years ago.

After the original launch in 1998, they removed "beta" from the title in 1999 and became known as what we know today, Google. After they changed the name, Page and Brin made the move to Silicon Valley to move operations out there with their single employee at the time. Moving into the 2000s, Google was picking up and expanding like wildfire. In 2000 they had added new languages to google so it was no longer just accessible for people who spoke English. 

However, it wasn't until 2004 that google really picked up when they started adding applications to the Google database, which started with Gmail. In the next four years, google continued to expand and add more apps and in 2008 they launched Google Chrome. Things continued to change over the next few years as they got a new CEO in 2014, Sundar Pinchai and they released the first Google smartphone in 2016. 

In the past 22 years, Google has truly started from the bottom and blossomed into something that has become so prominent in our daily lives. That's not to say it is all positives because it is still the internet which means there are a lot of fake news sites, as well as a lack of privacy but for the most part Google has made finding information so much easier and accessible to everyone. 

Sources: https://www.mirrorreview.com/history-of-google-from-1996-to-2019/ 

https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/5/17823490/google-20th-birthday-anniversary-history-milestones

Blog Post #5: Eight Values of Free Expression

8 Values of Free Expression

This week, we learned about the 8 values of free expression in this country, and how they are seen in action today. The one that connected most with me and that I see at work mostly today is "Promote Tolerance". 

In today's society, social media websites such as Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, etc. run the world and inform us not only on what is going on in our society but give us information that we as a young society will not see on the news or anywhere else. The thing about these social media sources is that it is not filtered or controlled by anyone except for the person behind the computer that is writing these posts. Meaning, while these posts may sometimes give us a deeper insight to what is happening, and show us things we would not see otherwise, there are lots of instances of these websites being used for negative reasons as they can be used as a platform to put others down or use foul and intense language about other people. However, it is technically their right to make these comments because it is in their first amendment rights, but society as a whole will "cancel them" which is why the government does not have any direct ban on these posts. If the government were to prohibit these types of posts, we as a society will never learn. Whereas, if we as a society have the right to post anything we feel and criticize and attack others for no reason, we will learn the consequences of these actions by seeing the way society treats sed person after sed post was made. As a whole in 2020, society has become very iltolerant to intolerance, which proves how valuable this right to promote tolerance is in our country. 

Another example of promoting tolerance can be seen in the field that I hope to go into one day, the TV and Movie industry. The writers and producers of these shows and movies have the same basic freedoms and rights as any citizen and have the freedom to write however they feel. However, if a show or movie were to be released in today's day in age either attacking a certain race or gender, this production would receive extreme backlash. Our country and society will not stand for this intolerance not only on social media. but in the entertainment industry. Many people in our country look to the entertainment industry and famous celebrities and actors to set an example, and if these people in the spotlight set a bad example, or make a racist comment, they will be "cancelled" and riducled by society, which again proves this free expression of promoting tolerance instead of intolerance. 

Overall, as a society, we work in a way as our own system as "checks and balances". We, as a society, the backlash on people who make racist and facist comments, which promotes tolerance and decreases the chances of these comments repeating themselves. 

Blog Post #4: The Progressive Era

Anti War Blogs & Websites

Before this blog post, I had never heard of Antiwar or American Conservatives which is most likely due to the fact that the mainstream news covers up sources and websites like this. The government hides sources like this that criticize the government and they disagree with what the government is doing. However, the government cannot prohibit these types of new sources because that would be against our first amendment freedoms as citizens. These types of website can still exist and can continue to criticize the government and act on their opinions against the government, because it is their duty as citizens to criticize the government when they disagree, however, the government and the main stream news sites can do everything in their power to hide these websites and not display them. 

Blog Post #3: Black Lives Matter

The First Amendment taking place in the BLM Protests

The first 5 words of the First Amendment state "congress shall make no law" meaning as American citizens we have freedom of speech, religion, from religion, assembly, petition, and press. Therefore, it is our duty and right to not only criticize the government but to have the freedom to petition and protest the government. However, there have been several debates over the past few months to decide whether or not these protests are protected by the first amendment, because of the looting and riots that have seemed from the protests. But around 93% of the protests have been peaceful and became violent by both the involvement of the government and outside participants that have begun looting in protest of the BLM protests. The very fact of protesting for Black Lives Matter, then looting and destroying local black businesses, does not add up. This points even further to the fact that the protests and looting are not being done by the same people. Since 93% of all protests related to BLM have been completely peaceful, despite what the Trump Administration has said, these protests and the right to participate in these protests are 100% protected by the first amendment. However, the other 7% of possible violent protests are the ones that have been at the head of the news and not the other 93% of peaceful protests. Additionally, it has been documented that over this past summer, there were 392 incidents of police using force and violence on peaceful BLM protests, which again points to the fact that all of the protesters had good intentions during these protests and the violence was rarely started by the protesters.

Pictured: a group of peaceful protesters during the BLM protests. 

All of the information that was referenced in this blog post can be found here. 

Blog post #2: SCOTUS

The Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court is the highest federal court in the United States of America and was established in 1789 when article 3 of the constitution was made. In the constitution, stated that Congress could decide the organization of the Supreme Court, acting as a form of checks and balances. The Judiciary Act of 1789 was then passed by the legislative branch that stated 6 justices would serve on the Supreme court until they died or retired. The number of these justices have fluctuated over time but has sat at 9 seats since 1869. The Supreme court justices are nominated by the President of the United States and the Senate either confirms or denies these nominations (acting as another form of checks and balances). WIthin those justices, however, there is a chief justice who is responsible for leading the supreme court and setting the agenda for the upcoming week. Additionally, the Cheif judge presides over the trails of impeachment, if that were to occur. Over the years, there have been 113 Supreme Court Justices and currently, the 9 Justices who serve on the Supreme Court are John Roberts (Chief Justice), Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh. The Supreme Court has tried many important cases, many of which have long-lasting impacts on the nation as a whole. Some of the very important cases that decided precedents that still hold true today are Mapp v. Ohio, Roe v. Wade, Lawrence V. Texas, and Obergefell v. Hodges. Overall, The Supreme court continues to not only be the highest court but tries the most impactful and lasting cases in the country that continue to set precedents to help many others. 

Blog Post #1: My News Sources

Top 5 Sources of News & Information

Looking for News sites that I trust and are reliable in 2020, is not as easy as it sounds. In a world where "Fake News" has been so normalized and common, its hard to know what to believe and what not to believe. However, growing up in a small and mostly liberal town, I have come acustom to a few news channels and sites that I go to first when I want information fast, and information that I know is reliable. 

1. The first site I always go to when looking for information is CNN. The reason I always look at CNN first is that this is a news source I have come accustomed to and a site that I have always found to be reliable. CNN also offers National and International News, and not just local or regional News, which is something that I look for when I need information or want to educate myself on what is going on in the world. 
   
2. The second place I look is my local news site, Delaware Online. Because I live in such a small state, Delaware Online News Journal has everything from major DE news to the reason I heard fire trucks in my neighborhood at 3AM. When I need any information about my hometown, this is where I go. If I am driving down the road and see police cars and ambulances go past me, the first thing I do when I get to where I'm going is look on Delaware Online to see what's happening. Delaware Online has been my news source for all things Delaware for as long as I can remember and is something I will always find reliable. 
   
3. The third place I look to get news is Good News Network, however, I don't look here for national news or information, I look here when I need a good pick me up or inspiring story. When I did TV production in High School and wrote the news every morning for our shows, I would immediately go to Good News Network when writing national or world news stories so that our show had some positive notes to it to brighten everyone's day. 
   
4.  The fourth news source I find most trustworthy is NBC News, but more specifically NBC10, which is my local news station. In high school, I met many news anchors and reporters for NBC10 and they inspired me to go into communications, and ever since then, I have had a connection to NBC10 and they have become a news source I find very trustworthy. 
   
5. The last news source I find trustworthy is Twitter. Over the past few months with everything happening in this country, I have found twitter as a valuable resource to get information that is not shown on the news, however I am aware that with twitter you must take everything you read with a grain of salt because you never know how accurate it is. However, I find a lot more truths on twitter than anywhere else on the internet.