BLOG #5: Tech Ted Talk Reflection

As a young college student, I’ve noticed how much technology shapes the way we live. It can be helpful in many ways, but it also comes with risks that many are unaware of. Whenever we use an app, send a text, or post something online, we give away bits of personal information. This creates a digital version of us that keeps growing. Most people, including myself up until now, don’t realize that this information is often being tracked and shared with companies without our permission.

    In the TED Talk, "Your Online Life, Permanent as a Tattoo," Juan Enriquez talks about how the internet leaves a mark on us, kind of like a tattoo. Once something is online, it is very hard to erase. These digital trackings show more than just our hobbies or interests and they help big tech companies learn about our habits which could then affect our choices. While we may move on from a site, our online data stays with it. Most of us, again including myself, agree to terms and conditions without reading them, not knowing that we might be giving up our privacy because of that small action.

Another Ted Talk speaker, Finn Myrstad, explains how companies design apps and websites in ways that push people to share more than they mean to. He prompts the question, if you lock your front door to stay safe, why let your devices give away your private life? This shows a bigger problem and really puts things into perspective. It also made me wonder, why aren’t leaders and lawmakers doing more to protect us? I believe the government should take responsibility in protecting our privacy online. They should create rules/laws that stop companies and law enforcement from misusing our personal data. There are already global guidelines that protect privacy, and we should be following them and they should be enforced more strictly.

The only way we can get the change we need is if people understand what’s happening and decide to take action. While we wait for the government to implement laws, we need to do what we can to stay safe and become more educated. We need to be more careful about what we share online, reading privacy settings, and understand that our data could be collected at any time. The more we learn, the better we can protect ourselves and speak up for our rights online. I would encourage everyone to become more educated on this topic because it has completely changed my perspective on how I use the internet now.

BLOG #3: Key Post | Eight Values of Free Expression

The Eight Values of Free Expression are all very important values and help frame why the First Amendment is so essential in our society. After a careful reading and conducting brief research on all of them, I found I resonated most with the sixth and seventh value, promote tolerance and promote innovation. I also found that in a way, these two are the most connected values out of the eight. The promotion of tolerance and innovation are also areas our country is lacking in a lot in right now. Therefore I feel they are not only relevant to my life but also our current state of life right now in the US. 

Promoting tolerance is a skill gained by letting people say what they want, including words we may find offensive or hateful. By allowing things we don’t morally agree with to be said around us, we learn more about our own speech and morals. What I mean by this is hearing hateful speech, we can decide for ourselves if we think that should be an acceptable thing to say in society, therefore making us more tolerant and understanding as humans. 

I find this concept very relevant to today's world, mainly in politics. Politics have become a huge staple in our society and divided many people. Often, political conversations are taken too far and hateful words are said which can escalate into heated fights that sometimes even get to the point of being physical. We are forgetting as citizens our First Amendment right and that Eight Values of Free Expression which are a part of that amendment. It is ok to not agree with everything we hear, even if it may be offensive to our own beliefs at times. Instead, when listening to something we don’t like we should put more effort into being understanding and tolerant towards that person because it will help us grow as individuals. 

Similar to this, promoting innovation follows almost the same guidelines as promoting tolerance.  Not everyone we meet in life is going to have the same opinions as us and that's ok. If we are willing to listen to those with different ideas we can gain knowledge on new perspectives and maybe spark new and creative ideas we wouldn’t have thought of before. Not every conflicting conversation has to be about changing people’s opinions because that is a very hard thing to do. Instead, the conversation can be focused on pushing boundaries and thinking outside of the box, creating fresh and new perspectives on life.  

Now more than ever it is important we re-emphasize these concepts, especially when it comes to political conversations. Friendships end, families stop seeing each other, riots break out, all because as a society we have decided to stop allowing opinions that contradict our own to be shared. 

As someone registered as an Independent in voting, I find hearing from both sides, agreeing or not, strengthens my own thoughts. This process allows me to gain perspective on how people form their opinions and even when I don’t agree with what someone is saying, I have never left a conversation feeling like it was a waste of my time. Nobody is asking you to change your opinion on something, all these values are asking is for people to be more tolerant and understanding with each other because conflict is the best way to form new ideas and become more educated.

BLOG #4: EOTO | Facebook & Instagram

Social Media is a huge part of our world today and many of us can’t picture life without it. It has done some great things for the world but it has also had many negative impacts. To fully understand some of these impacts let's look into the history and both the good and bad that came from social media’s two biggest platforms: Facebook and Instagram.

Facebook was originally founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz,and Chris Hughes. It was initially created to solve the problem of connecting people, particularly students within specific universities. Although when the first version of Facebook came out in 2003, it was called Facemash and was only at Harvard. It was used as a website that allowed male Harvard students to rate the attractiveness of the female students. This early version of the app was shut down almost immediately by the school, but it laid the origins for what Facebook would look like in the future. 

In February 2004, Mark Zuckerberg and his team launched TheFacebook.com. This version was originally only available for Harvard students and they used it to post personal information, photos and even share class schedules in order to connect with potential classmates. As the site gained popularity at Harvard it expanded to other universities similar to Harvard like Yale and Stanford. Then by June 2004, only a few months since the initial launch, over 250,000 students from 34 schools had signed up. 

Facebook was completely changing the way people communicate by connecting individuals from different states, universities and even globally. The app did this by allowing people to share life updates, photos, and personal experiences with friends and family now matter how far the distance. This increased global connections and completely changed how people stayed in touch since nothing like this had ever really been done before.  However, although this was a great communication advancement, the creation of Facebook also introduced several negative effects that are still relevant today. These include issues like privacy violations, cyberbullying, and the spread of false information. Although, despite these issues, Facebook’s effect on how people communicate was revolutionary and opened a whole new opportunity for global communication and still to this day has completely changed lives for some people. 

Now switching focus to the next biggest thing in the social media world, Instagram. This app was launched in 2010 by co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and was created to solve the problem of not having a way to share photos and experiences. Although Facebook sort of allowed users to do this, Instagram made it so users could post life updates along with photos, which at the time, it was not common for social media apps to prioritize photos over words. Instagram quickly gained popularity due to its simple focus on image sharing and offering an easy way to enhance photos with filters, which was a very new and popular concept at the time. 

Alix Early; Very Successful Influencer
of our Time

As Instagram grew in popularity, it became the birthplace of the “influencer” trend. These influencers were originally described as individuals who built large social media followings, used their platforms to promote products and services and transformed marketing strategies forever. This new concept completely changed the world because as we know today, influencers are still extremely popular and the ones with the most fame, have become extremely wealthy and successful. 

Although, Instagram struggles with issues very similar to Facebook such as, moderating inappropriate content, misinformation, and disinformation. Additionally, studies have shown that Instagram can have very harmful effects on teen mental health, particularly influencing the self esteem and confidence of young girls. Instagram has increased the promotion of unrealistic body image and “FOMO” which are two concepts that negatively affect many young users. Despite this, just like Facebook the platform continues to grow and these issues get swept under the rug because many people believe the positives of the app outweigh the negatives.

BLOG #2: Reflecting on the Supreme Court

As someone who doesn’t know much about the Supreme Court, I found these videos fascinating and learned a lot. One thing that really surprised me was how the Federal Government, including the Supreme Court, is intentionally designed to be somewhat weakened. I found this surprising because I had always assumed the Federal Government would want to have as much power as possible and wouldn’t care about being seen as “scary,” like a monarchy. This was a pleasant surprise, and I appreciate how this setup forces law and power to be shared with the state government.

The aspect that stood out to me the most was the Bedrock Principles the Supreme Court established

regarding the First Amendment. I’ve seen, in smaller situations, people try to “abuse” their First Amendment rights, and I never thought much about it other than that it seemed wrong how they were justifying their actions through this amendment. Now that I understand the three Bedrock Principles, I can see how important they are in outlining that the First Amendment can’t protect people’s actions that are clearly wrong.

Overall, the video made me feel more at ease with the Supreme Court and helped me realize that the Federal Government is more self-aware than I initially thought. I like how they attempt to limit their own power and avoid coming off like a monarchy, especially considering early Americans were trying to escape government systems like that. Although the American Government is far from perfect, I feel better and more educated after watching this video.

BLOG #1: My Top 5 Sources for Information

 

My top site to go to for getting news and information is The New York Times. I think The New York Times is a great source for information because it's known for its reliable reporting and accuracy, so I know I can trust it. It also covers a wide range of topics, like world news, politics, science, and culture. The newspaper includes a team of experienced writers and editors who make sure the facts are correct and the stories are well researched. What I really like about it as well is that it provides different viewpoints on important issues, which helps me understand both sides of a story without worrying about bias. Overall, this is my go to for information and I always trust that it will be a reliable place to get news from. (https://www.nytimes.com/)

Next, very similarly to The New York Times, I use the Boston Globe a lot for news. I find The Boston Globe to be a good source of information because it provides detailed and trustworthy coverage on a wide range of topics. It’s known for its strong focus on local news, which is really helpful for staying informed about what’s happening in the Boston area, which is where I am from. The newspaper also covers national news, sports, and culture, with a team of reporters who make sure the facts are accurate just like The Times. Overall, I trust The Boston Globe because it prioritizes reliable journalism and keeps its readers well informed, and I use it a lot considering I am local to the area it is based out of. (https://www.bostonglobe.com/)

Being from Boston, also known as the “City of Champions” or “Titletown”, I am a huge professional sports fan. I also have played sports all my life and now have goals to work in sports marketing when I am out of college. Therefore I love using CBS sports to keep up with what's going on. Whether it’s football, basketball, baseball, etc, they offer detailed analysis, scores, and highlights. I also like how they not only cover games but also dive into player stats, trades, and team strategies, giving a deeper look at what's going on behind the scoreboards. The site also offers expert opinions and interviews, making it a trustworthy place for anyone looking to stay informed about the latest in sports. I also have their app so I can be notified instantly on what's going on which I think is a great feature to this news source. (https://www.cbssports.com/)

With marketing being a passion of mine, I love staying up to date with what’s going on in the media and with celebrities, since a lot of PR is discussed. People magazine is perfect for this because it focuses more on celebrity gossip and lighter topics compared to more serious news sources like The Times or The Globe. I use it often in my strategic communications class, so even though the topics might not be as important to the world, I know People still provides accurate and reliable information without any biases. It's a great resource for keeping up with the entertainment industry while still ensuring the content is credible. Plus, it helps me understand how celebrity culture influences marketing and public perception. (https://people.com/)

Finally, to get back to a more serious news site, I absolutely love using Britannica. As someone who isn’t super passionate about history and sometimes needs extra explanations, Britannica is my go to. They break down historical events in simple terms and organize them into categories, so you can easily find anything and everything you're looking for. I also love how the site is laid out, it's very accessible and simple to use. Whether I’m looking for quick facts or a deeper dive into a topic, Britannica makes it easy to understand. It’s a great resource for anyone who wants reliable information without feeling overwhelmed by big words and complicated terminology. (https://www.britannica.com/)