Final Blog: Me and Technology

Technology has become an essential part of my everyday life. I rely on technology to wake me up for class every morning, to communicate with family from far away, to be informed about what is happening locally and around the world, and much more. I spend more time on technology than I would like, but it seems like I do not have another choice. 

Yes, there are times I could eat and just sit there in my thoughts, but as an escape from my thoughts, I might watch television or sit on my phone instead. Sometimes this is healthy, other times it may be much more beneficial to mindfully eat my meals. 

According to this website, the average adult spends 5.9 hours a day with digital media. If I did my math right, that amounts to about 25% of the average adult’s week being spent using digital media. This number is from 2018, and due to the pandemic I am almost positive the numbers have increased tremendously. 

In a situation like the current world circumstance, I am thankful for technology. It has allowed so many opportunities that were not available or as considered before. For example, last Summer I was still able to gain hands on experience through a virtual internship. Working remotely was not previously on my radar of options, but because of that experience I know that it is something I can do. 

The more I think about it the more I realize that technology is all around me all the time, there is not an easy escape. Our society has become focused on the right now and knowing everything that is happening in others lives all the time. Personally, I do not care to share what I am doing all the time because I do not care for other people to know. 

It is not because I am doing something I shouldn't be, it is more that I try to focus on living in the moment. When I am with other people, I find it disrespectful to constantly be checking my phone. There is no way I can actively listen and respond in a conversation if my focus is elsewhere. 

Technology is incredibly distracting. This article emphasizes the importance in stepping away from your phone because it decreases motivation and productivity. 

Whenever I am writing a paper or need to focus on an assignment, I have to put my phone and other technology distractions away where I will not hear or see them. It is too easy to see a notification then get brought down the rabbit hole just to realize you have wasted an hour looking at your Instagram feed. 

Technology brings a lot of opportunities to explore curiosity. The internet allows any question to be explored and likely answered due to the level of access it provides. The question about rather or not technology makes us smarter is interesting because it is two sided. 

While we may not have the information stored in our brains for quick responses, answers to questions we do not know can be answered with the click of a button. This factor of exploration can increase our levels of knowledge if the information is actually retained. 

On the other hand, easy accessible technology like a calculator has taken away the need to process basic math equations in our heads. Equations like giving change from a cash register should be done with ease, now I honestly question myself. This is not something I am proud of, but technology has made it where I don't feel as though I need to focus on that skill. 

The use of technology is not something I spend my time worrying about. While I would like to decrease my use of technology, I know that I have the ability to put it away and disconnect from time to time. The use of technology like cell phones has become essential to living.

The kinds of things I do worry about is if one of my family members or friends need me and are not able to get in touch with me or vice versa. Technology has become somewhat of a safety net in this sense. 

Technology will continue to change, develop, and improve, and there is nothing I can do to totally escape. It is something my generation and the generations to come will have to keep adapting to in order to stay up to date especially in our future career paths. There are many technological tools I have yet to explore, and many skills I should focus on improving my own ability to perform. 

Blog 11 - Propoganda

Today in class during the awareness presentation, I learned more about propaganda. I learned that propaganda is information that is biased and intentionally misleading information shared to promote political stances or agendas with the goal to influence public opinion. Propaganda often shares the half-truth which is what makes it misleading. 

Every time I hear about propaganda, there is always mention of its use during wartime. Propaganda was very popular during World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. The posters often shared messages trying to persuade the audience to join the army, or influence their stance on the current controversy. 

The presentation on propaganda led me to do a little more digging. I found in this article that there are four common techniques used in propaganda including emotional persuasion, disinformation, denial of truth, and fight against propaganda. 

Emotional persuasion uses messages to pull at people’s heartstrings because many human opinions are based on feelings and emotions rather than facts or reasons. These messages rely on logical fallacies and cognitive biases. Logical fallacies are sneaky errors in reasoning while cognitive biases are errors in the interpretation of information from our brains. 

Disinformation is basically fake news, it may look real and truthful, but the information is false or not the entire truth. In order to use disinformation, propaganda would exploit some crack in the story then find a way to mix the truth and lies. Sometimes conspiracy theories or rumors are presented as news and create disinformation. 

Denial of truth is when someone denies that a fact is truthful or that something doesn't exist. People using this method try to persuade people to be on their side of denial. Denying that climate change exists is an example of this method. 

Propaganda can be effective, but it can also be dangerous due to its persuasive effect. The internet and social media have impacted the way propaganda is spread and has changed the form. Instead of existing in the form of printed posters, propaganda can be rapidly and widely spread on social media and websites. This encourages me to do true and factual research before basing my opinions on a single Instagram post. 

Additionally, this article shares many examples of how past propaganda has been transformed and used in other ways like memes or the same images but different messages. 

Blog Post 10 - The Spiral of Silence Theory

The Spiral of Silence theory was created in 1974 by a political scientist in Germany named Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann. The theory claims that people tend to stay silent when they feel like their views do not align with the majority’s view of the subject. The theory also claims that the main reason an individual will stay silent is due to a fear of isolation. This isolation does have a spectrum. There could just be isolation from one friend or one friend group. On the other hand, a person could have extreme isolation such as losing their job or status. 

One important concept of the theory is that it revolves around major controversial topics such as abortion, presidential candidates, and legalizing gay marriage. People are not typically silent about their opinions for things that are not as relevant and controversial as their favorite fast-food restaurants. 

The internet has opened up a world of opportunity for the people in the minority opinion groups. Being able to voice your opinion through a screen is a lot less intimidating than facing an entire group of people at an event that has opposing views. There can still potentially be extreme isolation consequences like losing your job depending on the manner of the message. The internet also gives the silent minority a way to connect with others with similar views that they otherwise would not have met. For example, Facebook groups are a great way to connect with like-minded individuals and groups. 

Throughout the presidency of Donald Trump, there have been extreme actions taken against Trump supporters. These actions have led to many Trump supporters not speaking up and sharing their side out of fear of isolation, judgment, and hate. 

One example comes from Manchester, New Hampshire where homeowners in Milford and Brookline received letters threatening them for supporting President Trump in public. The letters claimed that the receivers had been identified as Trump supporters and their address been added to a database. The database serves as all of the places they should attack if Trump wins the election. The letter also recommended that they ensure they have quality coverage for fire damage on their home insurance policy. 

I have also seen many statements posted on social media claiming that if you support Donald Trump then you automatically are put into a certain category or label. The article I read provides the following quotes. 

“You cannot be a leader on racial justice and support Donald Trump.” - Dan Felte

“You cannot support Trump without implicitly endorsing his white supremacy.” - Dan Bristol, NextGen America

“Donald Trump is racist. If you still need to be convinced of that fact in 2020, you’re either also racist, due for some serious self-reflection, or both.” - Ronelle Tshiela

The University of New Hampshire Survey Center reported that ⅔ of Donald Trump supporters didn't want to put a Trump sign in their yard or a bumper sticker on their car out of fear of vandalism. The report also shared that 45 percent claim not to discuss their support for Trump with friends or coworkers.

I personally noticed way more social media posts, signs, commercials, and other advertisements supporting Joe Biden than I did for Trump. This could potentially be because of people’s fear of judgment, isolation, or another potential backlash. 

This specific example of the Spiral of Silence theory could impact the outcome of the election. Only time will tell.

Blog 9 - Privacy

I have accounts on several social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Linkedin, and more. I use an iPhone that has my fingerprint as a login method. Prior to this school year I never thought twice about the information I put on the platforms regarding the information that could be gathered. 

In the past year, I have noticed more where after searching for products on a website or talking to a friend about a product, I would later see what I was looking at being advertised on social media. A strange example is that I was once talking to a friend about something regarding being TSA pre-checked at the airport. Later in the day I was scrolling on Twitter and there was an advertisement about TSA Pre-checking. This was so strange to me because I never searched it, and that is not something that would typically be advertised to me. 

From that point on, I am convinced phones and other electronic devices are listening. This article backed up my belief and provided some tips on what to do about it. These devices likely know more about me than my parents or best friends. While this may totally freak out some people, I just go on about living my life. Most of the data they collect is in order to target me more directly with products, services, or events I might be interested in. I honestly do not mind this because I get exposed to brands and products I otherwise might not have seen. 

The information that is gained that can be concerning includes location or bank account information. I try to be careful in these areas because I don't want someone to use my account and I'd rather live without getting kidnapped or stalked. 

I should be smarter about how I search and do things online. Today in class, I learned several ways to protect some of my privacy. For example, I could use a search engine like Duck Duck Go instead of Safari or Google Chrome because that engine does not use cookies or hold my information. I read more about this search engine on the about page. I also learned it is important to close out of browsers so that next time I go online, I am starting fresh. Additionally, I can start using a VPN to encrypt messages and data so that they do not get stored anywhere, rather only the person I send the message to is receiving it. 

There's truly no telling all of the information that the government has on me from these third party platforms, and honestly I am okay living in the unknown. I just hope it is not used against me at some point. The technology world is constantly changing and becoming more advanced day by day. It is important to be smart online with the information being shared, and I pledge to improve my privacy settings from this point forward.  

Blog Post 8 - Texting

The idea of texting, also known as short message service (SMS), first began in 1984 by Friedhelm Hillebrand and Bernard Ghillebaert. This website shared that the first message was sent in 1992, but at this time cell phones did not have keyboards, so the message was sent on a PC. 

Nokia was the first company to support sending text messages in 1997 with a full keyboard on the cell phone. This product was called the Nokia 9000i Communicator. Pioneers would be the people who first tried texting. The average American sent .4 texts each month in the year 1995. These Americans would be in the pioneer group. 

In 2000, the average number of texts increased to 35 a month for each user. The people that adopted the innovation at this time would be considered the early adopters because they saw how useful texting could be from the pioneers, so they started using it as well. 

The pioneers and early adopters see the benefits of texting and learn as time goes with different types of keyboards such as the slide phone keyboard, touch screen keyboard, and 9 touch keyboard. These groups also see the benefit of sending a quick message that the receiver can read and respond to easily without having to take the time for a phone call. SMS allows users to respond on their own time, or not respond at all whereas phone calls require both people to be available and at a place they can speak to one another. 

Other benefits as time goes on is that images and videos can be sent through a text message. This allows users to send more types of messages and benefit users. 

The early majority in this example would be the people who watched texting increase in popularity then decided to adopt the innovation because they saw the need to have the skill. The late majority would be the people who adopt the idea of texting way later. They might have begun texting in 2007 with new cell phone inventions and innovations like the smartphone that has touch screen keyboards. 

The laggards of the texting innovation are likely elderly people who did not grow up with the innovation and would have to learn from scratch. A few of the laggards may adopt, but it is likely after years of refraining. I picture the people in this group as grandparents who hold the cell phone close to their face and type using one finger. 

The late majority and laggards may have taken longer to adopt or not have adopted texting at all because they focus on the negative aspects of the innovation. One negative aspect is it takes away the tone of voice from the message. The sender may have one way of saying the message while the receiver may read the message is a differing tone that creates a different message than intended. These groups may also think that texting takes away from communication skills. Many texts include abbreviations or do not include proper punctuation. Late majority and laggards, who are typically in the elderly ages, prefer proper punctuation and in-person communication because that is what they grew up with. 

They may decide to never adopt because they do not want these negative benefits and other personal reasons. For them, the benefits may not outweigh the cons or negative aspects. These groups may really value actually speaking to a person or are set in their ways and not willing to learn anything new. The benefits of resisting the adoption of texting are that they get more human connection and potentially have less confusion of tone. They also get an instant answer rather than waiting for when the receiver sees the message and takes the time to respond. 

I think that the pros of texting outweigh the cons because you can always call or ask for clarification when needed. In situations where you don't need an instant answer, texting is often more convenient. Texting also provides written proof of a conversation if you need to provide answers for other people. The written proof also can serve as a memory. For example, if someone texted their address then you could go back when you are headed to their home. 

Texting also provides time to think of a response when it’s a tough statement or question whereas in person or on the phone one must respond immediately. The innovation also allows me to easily keep in touch with people who are especially busy. I still feel close to them, but do not have to find a time in their schedule to make a phone call or get together all the time. 

Texting has both positives and negatives and people have adopted the innovation over time to fit into the categories in the Diffusion of Innovations theory. 

When new technologies come out, I usually find myself in the early adopters or early majority groups because I like to see what it is about before adopting. I see how if the innovation is worth my time or funds and then assess if the innovation is for me. Check out this list of pros and cons to decide for yourself what category you are in!

Blog Post 7 - The Typewriter

When I was in elementary school, my grandma worked in an office and every now and then my mom would drop me and my brother to hang out with her for a little while. At that time, I was really into writing, so the typewriter fascinated me and kept me busy. I didn't know how to formulate words on a typewriter or keyboard yet, so I mostly just typed random letters, but I had a great time doing it. 

In class today, group one presented on the typewriter’s history and advantages and disadvantages. I learned a lot about the typewriter that I did not know before. For example, the first typewriter was created by Christopher Shores, then was sold to a gun manufacturer in 1873. At this time, no two typewriters were the same and the keyboard was purposefully spaced out to prevent jams. 

At this time in history, the typewriter was a great and useful invention, but does not compare or outdo any of the newer technologies that we have today. The disadvantages seem to outweigh the advantages of the typewriter when compared to the technology we have today such as laptops. The main advantage is that they are distraction free because their only use is to type rather than searching on the internet, email, etc. Another advantage is that they do not need electricity to work, so they can be used at any time. 

One disadvantage is that when typing, if you make a mistake you can't backspace like on a laptop. Instead, the user had to use white out and let it dry then type over it. Another disadvantage is that they have no memory, so if you lose your papers after typing something then your creation is not stored anywhere. Instead, the user would have to type it again. 

After learning about the typewriter in class, I was interested in getting more details. Throughout this webpage article, I was able to broaden my knowledge of the typewriter. I learned that the QWERTY keyboard we still use to this day originated from the first typewriter. I find it very interesting that the typewriter was sold to the Remington gun company which you can read more about in this article as well. 

Typewriters were a great invention in the past, but they are hard to come by these days. If you see one while out antiquing you might want to get it now as it could be very valuable in the future. Or it could just be a fun pastime way of writing!

Blog Post 6: History of the Radio

Introduction 

Radio was the first wireless mode of communication. It sends messages by radio waves instead of wires. There were a lot of developments that lead to the capabilities that the radio has now. Whenever I get into deep thought about the concept of radio waves, I am baffled by their capabilities and how someone discovered them. 

I think about how I may be driving down the road and a radio broadcast in my vehicle while the person on the other end could be thirty minutes away. The more I think about it the more confused and baffled I become, but in this blog post, I will be sharing my research on the history of the radio and discuss a research study about the current perception of radio broadcasting music. 

History

In 1877, Heinrich Hertz discovered the ability to transmit radio waves. In 1894, Guglielmo Marconi uses discontinuous waves to send messages in morse code. Originally he sent these messages over land in a short distance and later sent them over the Atlantic. In 1904, Ambrose Fleming, inspired by Thomas Edison’s research, wondered if the Oscillation Valve could be used to detect radio waves, and it did. Lee de Forest developed receiver technology called a triode in 1906 but later became an amplifier in 1911. 

During World War I, the direct conversion receiver was used to allow direct conversation through military circles, but the size and cost of the valves and batteries were a barrier to their use. There were many other challenges to radio use of radio during World War I and since it was a relatively new technology to work with, the radio had a short-range and was very bulky. 

In the 1920s, crystal radio set sales boosted and the popularity of listening to radio broadcasts from home increased. The crystal set took away the need to have batteries or an electrical source because they used the tuning of a coil, a crystal detector, and headphones to work. Popular broadcasts included various news stations, sports broadcasts, and others. By 1934, 60% of households in the United States had radios. The radio shows broadcasted were like television shows now, except they were only in audio form. 

While some shows died off, the most popular radio broadcast shows turned into television shows with the invention of the television. In the 1950s, radio communication became increasingly popular among groups such as the police or truckers. Their need for this type of communication made the invention of portable radios very popular. 

Where is the radio now?

As far as radio broadcasting goes, the younger audiences have turned to stream music applications rather than live listening to the radio. The benefits of streaming are that with premium memberships, listeners can listen to any song, any time, and without commercials. These factors are appealing to millennials and younger audiences because they want to listen to a variety of songs, make playlists, and not listen to interrupting commercials. I read a study about millennials perceptions of substitutability and complementarity of these music streaming apps to broadcast radio. 

The study shared the statistic that, “Almost 60% of millennials use two or more mobile apps to stream music, while less than 40% of consumers aged 35 or older do so.” Newer vehicles support this trend by being compatible with smartphones and mobile applications. Another change is where historically, before television and in the early television days, radio sets were in many homes. These days, I would be surprised if someone has a radio in their home that gets used. 

The main study included 1,095 participants aged 18-36 and had listened to broadcast radio in the past two weeks. The survey identified their usage of audio media and social media then assessed the substitutability and complementarity of offline broadcast radio, broadcast radio apps, and music streaming services.

The researchers found that millennials perceive broadcast radio and music streaming apps as similar products, but there is still a differentiation between the two. The motivations for listening to one over the other include information, entertainment, socialization, and escapism. 

Conclusion

Radio has made an impact on the world and has led to many developments over time. There are many contributions and developments that went into the radio and radio variations that we have today. The technological advancements throughout the years including the invention of the television led to a decrease in broadcast radio popularity with the younger generations and was shown throughout the research study. 

Below is a list of sources used to create this blog post. Check out the links for more details and information on the history of the radio!

https://www.eh.net/?s=the+history+of+the+radio+industry+in+the+united+states+to+1940+

https://www.electronics-notes.com/articles/history/radio-receivers/history-of-the-radio-receiver.php

Interested in reading another study about young adult audiences and radio listening trends? Check out this study!