Our Relationship with Technology

 My Relationship with Technology 

 

     Technology is an ever-evolving world, but the more the technology improves the more of our lives it takes up.  Technology is beautiful when it is used positively, but when used negatively technology can be ugly. Technology has many different forms and faces. The most predominant one however is Social Media. Without technology, we wouldn't have social media. Social Media is defined by Tuft University as,  "the means of interaction among people in which they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. "  According to data recorded by Investopedia, "More than 4.7 billion people use social media, equal to roughly 60% of the world’s population."

 

    Social media has been in my own life since I was in 4th grade or so. Vine, Tumblr, and KIK were the forms of social media I used then. I wasn't even really sharing anything because all I did was go to school and do gymnastics, plus I was 10. I wasn't doing that I could've shared with the internet. Now I have Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, VSCO, Pinterest, Spotify, Linkedin, Twitter, and Youtube. As a 20-year-old in college, I have a lot more to share online and I love being able to do so. My family and friends I don't see all the time can keep up with me through various different platforms, that is my favorite part of social media. It is fun at the end of a semester to see everyone's highlights, celebrities announcing tour dates, or shopping for a birthday present social media has something for everyone. There are also so many different platforms for all different purposes.

    

Facebook is where I post pictures and videos for my older family members to see. Snapchat I use to communicate with my friends by sending silly pictures or videos. TikTok is just fun to scroll through at night or make funny videos with your friends late at night. Instagram is where I post my "highlights". This just means I post the best pictures of myself and my friends. Instagram is more of a highlight reel because that's just how the app is used, but for me, I like to post for brands and I like those shots to look good. As I said, all of these platforms can be used differently so just because that is how I use them doesn't mean that is how everyone uses them. With all of the different apps and content to digest it also becomes quite addicting. Nowadays if you look at most dinner tables while out you see at least 2 tables where everyone is on their phone. It is crazy how consumed we are with social media and technology even while eating our meals. I am guilty of it too don't get me wrong, but it is still so sad to see. We as humans, especially since the pandemic, have become less and less face-to-face interactive and that was mostly due to the massive rise in social media and technology during the pandemic. According to a study done by Pew Research Center, 90% of people would say that technology is essential in their everyday life after the pandemic. That number is outrageous to me considering we didn't have half of the apps let alone the technology to occupy our time before. Think about that for a minute. How does that statistic make you feel? 
   

    As technology continues to develop, it learns more and more about us and ways to help us get through the day-to-day. As it begins to learn more it gets to be more and more dangerous place to be. It knows what we like, what we don't like, our location, and any information you give it. That is a part of our digital footprint. Our digital footprint is "one's unique set of traceable digital activities, actions, contributions and communications manifested on the Internet or digital devices." Digital footprints didn't exist 30 years ago, but now everyone has one with hundreds if not thousands of "footprints". In my opinion, that shows just how fast technology is growing. Technology is fantastic and if used properly can be beautiful. So try to use it for good and positivity above all.