Our Relationship with Technology
The Relationship with Technology
Throughout my blog posts, I have talked about technology, certain inventions, the benefits and negative effects, and of course how it has changed our way of living. When we look around, everything we have and do is because of technology and it is kind of hard to imagine our previous world that did not have all of this. Growing up in a world where the advancement of technology has progressed, I can honestly say that my relationship with technology is a necessity in my life. Without it, I would not know what I do. In this final blog post, I will walk you through my personal relationship with technology, talk about certain articles/videos that I can connect with, and how technology affects us mentally. By the end of this, my full grasp of technology on my life and yours will change.
Personal relationship
When I am on my phone, I would scroll through my Instagram feed, watch countless videos on TikTok, connect with friends on Snapchat, and go on to YouTube to watch videos of some of my favorite creators. Not only that but I use my phone to wake up on time for classes, order food here and there, check the weather for the day, quickly search for things on the internet, or just simply be on my phone timeously without knowing that I am. Technology gave us opportunities to live a different world with new ways to reinvent ourselves, but many negatives have come along with that.
My social experience has definitely been affected ever since I got my first phone because of perceptions of what a female should look like, what clothes I should wear due to popularity, or how to act. Anytime I would go on Instagram I would see all of these females with their "perfect body" and lifestyle that I feel like I am not living to this invisible standard. When it comes to body image, the media contributes ideas of body dissatisfaction in people and disorder eating. I know from experience that I tried to change the way I looked and my eating habits because of social media and It led to an unhealthy experience on my mental health.
Another personal relationship I have is also my addiction. Every day I am using technology either using my phone, laptop, or tv. I can't even unplug for a few hours because of the urge to just do something technology-based. Even writing this blog is through technology. Technology affects our pleasure systems of the brain just like drugs do. It is hard to just change this habit because I grew up in this technological world. From school to my own personal life, I have to use it. I am however trying to fix my time limits on how long I spend on my phone but the reality is that technology is only advancing from here.
The Benefits and the Drawbacks
We all know how much technology has progressed our society in making our lives much more efficient and more effortless than before. A video called FUTURAMA, it walked us through how technology would help us find discoveries and fix our problems. The narrator said the technology can now control the wild profusion of this wonder world. Technology benefits all of us because we are able to treat those who are sick at a medical level, advance our communication skills all over the world, increase productivity in industries, and learn more about our history and what the future may provide. In the Age of AI, a Frontline film mentioned how AI (artificial intelligence) is deep learning and gathers vast amounts of data. We take a look at China and how the implementation of AI is the best to collect data due to the number of people that are users, use mobile payments, food deliveries, and how many users shared bicycles. All of this data that people in China produce helps AI algorithms to predict behaviors. AI as well as other technologies that exist can fix errors humans can make and help people live in an accessible world.
With every good, there is however a bad. With our modern technology, there are all sorts of issues like privacy and data-tracking. Not too long ago, the New York Times exposed the truth on how there is a collection of location-tracking data that shows traced movements of over 12 million people for months. These companies are able to track us and know so much about our information without our knowledge. Even with Facebook, it has been proven that they keep a list of our "traits and interests" and many were not aware nor comfortable with Facebook putting together this information. Privacy is something that we all value, but what good is to have privacy when big companies, or social media apps, and the government cause just have it without our consent?
How does it Affect Us Mentally?
Technology has made us more dependent on it than anything else. How can we function without technology? I mentioned earlier that I have become addicted to using technology and I know I am not the only one. Research has shown that being addicted to technology can affect our brain and cognitive health. It can impact our social life, family, career, health, and how we do academically. It can also affect the younger generation such as issues with cyberbullying and being exposed to things they are not ready to see. Technology can have a massive toll on us and it is important that we stay cognizant when we use technology and our mental health.
In this blog, it may seem that the relationship with technology is more negative than positive and that is not the case. I am not ignoring the fact that technology has helped all of us on a daily basis but these problems as well as others I did not mention are real and present. It is easy to be aware one moment and ignore it later; I have done this many times. I am grateful that I can do anything with just my devices, but I am also aware that I need to be careful when I am online and on social media. If we all can see what technology is in its entirety, then maybe we can be safe and enjoy our advanced world.
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