Link to my Final class Presentation
My final presentation for this class focusses in specially on one aspect of my final blog post which looks at world wide poverty and the disconnect we have a culture concerning the problems many individuals deal with world wide.
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I myself am a user of technology. Surprise. But to kick off this post, I will provide an accurate breakdown of my typical school day concerning my technology usage. Then, I will get into some of my other commentary concerning society and how I feel about technology.
Most mornings I wake up naturally around 9:30AM to the sunlight coming through my window because I don't have early classes. However, on the days that I do need to be up earlier, I have a "smart" alarm clock. That way I can just yell "stop" or "snooze" from across the room and keep sleeping without even moving. Probably not the best practice but it is extremely convenient to me!
This clock has the Google Assistant built in so I often have it play music, tell me the weather, the daily bible verses, and things of that nature. I use this device so often because being able to speak to a device is often just quicker than writing something down or getting my phone/ laptop out. For example, if I need to remember to do laundry the next day while laying in bed, I can just say "hey google, remind me at 4pm tomorrow to do my laundry" and sure enough, I will get a reminder in my room and on my phone. So all in all, I think this is a pretty intuitive technology that 100% tracks my every sound but is also extremely helpful too.
The next piece of technology that I really appreciate on the daily is my watch, however, most people wouldn't even consider this technology because I'm not referring to a smart watch/ apple watch (which is the best selling watch in the world fun fact). I am talking about an actual mechanical watch. However, I still include this on my list of daily technologies because it, nonetheless, "automates" a task for me. In my opinion, watches are just classy accessory's and serve as a reminder that time is one of the most valuable things we have in life. I opt for a traditional watch because the last thing I need tied around my arm is a second cellphone. It allows me to keep track of time which is very important without feeling the need to stay tied to my cell phone 24/7.
While most people view watches as an accessory, I think they serve a legitimate purpose, especially when looking at your cell phone isn't proper; like a nice dinner, job interview, church gathering, classroom setting, one on one conversations, ext... which are ironically all things I do on a normal, daily/ weekly basis!
The next item on this list is perhaps the most anticipated, and that is my cellular device. For me, I have a Samsung Galaxy s9+ which is a couple of years old (2019) but is still a state of the art device. The apps I use most often on my phone are Snapchat, text messages, YouTube, Instagram, Fidelity, and then Google Chrome. I don't consider myself very active on Social media apart from Snapchat. And to break it down by the numbers, I send and receive a total of 70 Snapchats per day on average. The average amount of time I spend on Instagram each day is 7 minutes according to the app itself. You can view in the screenshots below that I have an average daily screen time on my cellphone of 2 hours and 35 minutes per day (the screenshot below does not list my average time by the time I used my phone that day in particular), and I unlock my phone 81 times per day on average.
Apart from my cell phone, I use my laptop heavily on a daily basis and at some points my Xbox gaming console; although I haven't been playing my Xbox at all this year which I think it a good thing. Concerning my laptop usage, I would say that I use it 60% for school work, 40% for non-school related tasks. I often get distracted very easily when tying to do schoolwork on my laptop; finding myself venturing to YouTube or just browsing the web so that is certainly an issue that I need to work on.
The screenshot below, similar to the one of my cellphone, has my laptop battery usage for the past week. The top three are Google Chrome, Microsoft Word, and Adobe Premiere Pro, with the runner ups being file explorer and Microsoft Outlook. This seems pretty accurate considering most of what I do on my laptop is on the internet, however, I usually do all my typing in Word and I use Premiere Pro for my campus Job (editing videos). Within Chrome, I am most likely doing homework, reading/ browsing the web, or watching YouTube videos. The only thing that should probably be included on this list but isn't is Spotify; where I listen to music.
I do not have a large social media presence, so rather than talking about social media I would like to talk more about what I think are some of the downsides of technology for both me and the world around me.
First, it confuses me. It confuses me very much. Taking a step back and looking at the state of our world as a whole. Right now, I am typing this blog post on a computer where I also, just so conveniently, have a world of information and opportunity at my finger tips. However, there are two things that we odd about this revelation. One is the fact that I could go out to the store right now and buy multiple computers, no problem. Or I could go to the public library and use one for free. I could even use the public restrooms for free. However, the fact of the matter is, that today, 785 million people – 1 in 9 individuals– lack access to safe water and 2 billion people – 1 in 3 – lack access to a toilet. According to a study published by UNICEF, Dirty water is 20 times deadlier to children in conflict zones than bullets. Every day, 2,285 people die from an illness related to unclean water. That is a life that is lost every 45 seconds.
Yet as America's, or simply as citizens of a developed nation, we have the audacity to complain about... anything and everything. To complain about how the social media platforms we voluntarily use are ruining our lives, ext. As a culture, myself included, we are seemingly ignorantly about how many people in this world live. If there is a plumbing issue in a major US city, it would be plastered on the national use; it would be considered a state of emergency in the US, when in reality, how 1 out of 3 people world wide live.
Yet, to relate this back to the topic of technology, there are a few thoughts that I have. First, it is perplexing that I have the privileges of using highly advanced and productive devices such as a laptop when there are people living in the same world as me that don't even have clean water, which is life the most basic thing imaginable. I also believe that technology is the best answer to the world's water crisis, but I am not sure if it is being used in that way. And lastly, I believe it is technology that has led us to thus bubble of ignorance surrounding how many people live lives that are very poor. That while the internet gives us access to learn and to help others who are less fortunate , the opposite effect has happened and has caused is to only seek out information and news that we like hearing.
However, as I concluded in my class presentation. Things do not have to be this way, and ignorance does not have to be a pretext of social media and technology. In fact, It think it would be the opposite. Mark Twain once said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all of one’s life". Not all people have or will have the chance to travel the world, especially to the poorest regions. However, that is okay because gaining perspective about the world no longer requires travel, in fact you don't even have to leave your seat. Perspective comes from the way we chose to use technology and social media; the choice is ours.
Social Media's effect on culture
Here are some of my thoughts on social media. One of the many dangers of social media is that I believe: you stop living your life for yourself and you start living it for other people. Who cares about what other people think? Literally, who cares? But the reality is that as a culture we care intimately about what others think, impart due to social media. And I know this just by looking at my own actions and the actions of others. And I believe it is running our lives and destroying our social fabric.
Reflecting on my own relationship with social media, I think that it is decently healthy. But it could certainly be better too. I don't struggle so much with comparing myself to others on social media as much as I just get distracted by it. I am especially distracted and spend to much time watching snapchat stories or YouTube videos when I need to be doing other work. Another negative part about my relationship with media/ my cell phone is that as sad as this sounds, sometimes I instinctively turn on my phone just to see if I have any messages (usually to find that I don't). And sometimes it makes me sad. But I also have to realize that worth is not measured by anything on a cellphone and that honestly, my life is pretty good I cannot expect people to reaching out to me 24/7 especially when we all lead our own busy lives.
Some of the positive things about social media, and more generally the internet, is that I think I have actually learned a lot of things I otherwise would never have learned. Like I have been able to learn quite a bit about the Stock market solely form the internet... something I would have never learned otherwise. Also, just things as simple as applying for a job is made covenant and easy. And speaking specifically about social media, it is legitimately nice to get to see old family photos on Facebook.
In conclusion, thinking about anything and everything, I think awareness and accountability are vital. First, I think we need to be aware of our own habits, and we also need to try our best to be aware of the world around us so that we can be moral and responsible citizens not just of High Point, NC, or even of the USA, but of the world. Especially since every internet users basically is a citizen of the world considering you can talk to people anywhere. And secondly, accountability is important too. You are the only person in charge of your relationship with social media. Sure the addictive algorithms don't help, but at the end of the day, the choice is up to us all to make.
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