Final Blog Post - Our Relationship with Technology

 I got my first iPod touch when I was in 6th grade, and my first iPhone when I turned 13. Immediately I created accounts on snapchat and instagram. I wanted to be on social media because everyone else was, at the time I didn't know how much my life would change because of it. I quickly became obsessed with how many followers and likes I was getting on my posts, and I constantly compared myself to the beautiful Instagram models that were all over the internet. Looking back knowing what I do now, I was definitely way too hard on myself. I wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self that what you see on social media is not the truth. Those girls posting about traveling the world and not having to work a day in their lives is not the norm, and that is not what I should have been aspiring to be. Now that I'm older and have gone through high school and almost all of college, I know that people tend to post the good parts of their lives and leave out the bad. The content that is put out by influencers are highlights of their lives, not their real everyday experience. 

Even now that I am aware of how fake social media is I still find myself comparing my self to or being jealous of people that I see online. I also am still addicted to it regardless of how harmful it may be. Not a day goes by that I don't open an application of social media and scroll until I'm bored. Now with recent advancements in technology these apps show you exactly what you want to see to keep you engaged for as long as possible. Bringing you to a point where you don't want to ever put your phone down. 

This is a video that we watched in class from the 1964 World Fair, predicting the future advancements of technology. It's fascinating to see how the predictions made in the 1960s about the future have, in many ways, come to fruition. Concepts like space exploration, climate research, and advancements in transportation have indeed progressed significantly since then. However these progressions come with implementations. This video shows the good that can come out of technology, and none of the bad.

Another video that we watched in class showed the negative impacts of social media on society as a whole.

The people in this video are constantly looking at their phones and paying attention to absolutely nothing else. They wouldn't even notice a burning building unless it was sent to them on social media. The director of this video was able to get their message across to viewers by exaggerating the actions of today's society.  Although the scenarios in this video may have been exaggerated the points that it makes are all valid. Today people all over the world are constantly on their phones, rarely does anyone go anywhere without it. Some people can't even go to the bathroom without bringing their phone with them. This causes us to be less present in real life, and miss out on the things that make human life so special. 

I feel lucky to have grown up during the time that technology was evolving into what it is today. I'm glad that I wasn't an "iPad kid" and that I played "house" with my friends instead of watching YouTube together. As I reflect on how far technology has come I am impressed however I am also disappointed. In the future I want to be a mother, and I do not want to raise my kids on social media. I am disappointed in parents all over the world for not protecting their children's childhoods. I want my kids to grow up playing outside, playing board games, being part of a sports team, riding bikes, etc... I don't want them to be watching a Youtube video of Ms.Rachel on an iPad while we're at the beach.