Blog #12 - Final Post

 Our Relationship With Technology

    Technology is an ever-present force in our lives, shaping how we connect, learn, and grow. It’s impossible to ignore its transformative impact on society both good and bad. While I marvel at its potential to educate, inspire, and unite, I also recognize its darker side, the unintended consequences that affect us as individuals and as a society.

    Technology is one of the most polarizing things in the modern times, if not the most. Looking at it from the lens of everything, but the internet. Life for me has been impacted more than most due to the help of technology. In 2023, I had a very scary moment where I had to have an emergency surgery while I was overseas that left me hospitalized for weeks and needing to re-learn a lot of things that had been natural to me. I had experienced an infection in my lung that had caused me to nearly lose my life, and without modern science and technological tools I surely would have. This can be taken into the broader perspective of the world that we live in as well. I like to think of the new technology in ambulances and how with the research and advancements in other fields we are closer and closer to having ambulances be portable ER rooms. 

     With some of these advancements, there come negatives as well. With the increase of technological intelligence, it allows people to use more and more energy and electricity which is good on one hand and bad on the other. It allows us as a society to have a much simpler ease of life from things like your GPS in your car, to the camera in your phone. However, the amount of fuel that it takes to make this happen is ruining our planet and we may just run out of that fuel sooner than we think.

    When I consider my relationship with the internet though, things become seen in a different perspective. I’m torn between admiration and apprehension. On one hand, my smartphone acts as an extension of myself, connecting me to a world of information, entertainment, and relationships. I can access the world news, find out information about sports, learn a new skill, or video call a loved one across the globe over in Europe. Yet, there are times when I feel like technology consumes me more than I consume it. Hours slip away mindlessly scrolling through social media, leaving me to wonder if I’m in control of my habits or if they’re controlling me. 

This isn’t just my struggle. In my social circle, technology is both a bridge and a barrier. While it keeps us connected, it often replaces genuine interaction with surface-level communication. We’ve all been guilty of texting instead of calling or staring at our phones during meals. The irony is palpable: we use technology to stay in touch, yet we can feel more isolated than ever.

From a societal perspective, the stakes are even higher. Youth suicide rates in the U.S. have risen, correlating with the rise of social media use. According to a report from PBS NewsHour, the constant comparison and cyberbullying prevalent on these platforms contribute to declining mental health among teens. As a society, we need to address these issues by fostering healthy digital habits and prioritizing mental health.

Another concern is the vast amount of data we leave behind. My online footprint reflects my identity, but not always the version I want to present. A quick Google search can reveal more than I’m comfortable with — old photos, outdated opinions, and traces of my digital life I’d rather forget. This makes me think: should we all perform a digital audit to curate how we’re perceived?

Still, it’s not all bad. Technology gives a voice to the voiceless. For instance, Khaby Lame, a tiktoker who was able to spread his humor after being laid off as a factory worker and became the most followed person on the whole app. 

It allows people to share stories, advocate for change, and organize movements. The Internet democratizes information, offering opportunities to learn and grow that were once inaccessible. Innovations like telemedicine and online education have transformed healthcare and learning, making them more equitable.

Ultimately, our relationship with technology is what we make of it. We must strike a balance by using it to enhance our lives without letting it dominate them. As individuals, this means being mindful of how and why we engage with technology. As a society, it requires acknowledging unintended consequences and addressing them head-on. Technology holds immense power, but how we wield it determines whether it’s our savior or our downfall. Our society will only progress into a world of more technology, meaning there's no telling where we will be in a year, five years, ten years, and beyond. Technology is inevitable, so it's us to learn how we can make our future bright in a world of endless possibilities.

Blog #8 - Diffusion

 Social Media & The Diffusion Theory

    I think when talking about Everett Rodger's, Diffusion Theory, social media should be the main thing referenced in today's world. We're already looking back in the years of our own century and realizing how insane the growth has been and how much it has and will change the world that we live in. I think that from it's conception, it would be clear that social media would be life changing and people would be using it all around the world. This comes about because of so many different reasons.

    I think that there are definitely many negatives that come along with social media. There will always be people that will take all things positive and turn them into negative things. That is life. However, I feel as though staying off of social media leaves people more disconnected from reality. For someone like myself, social media is my life. By that, I mean that I am going into media production and in my life connections are the biggest thing that will get me to where I want to be in life. I am a firm believer that in most jobs the connection that gets you there is the biggest part of it. 

    So many people I know have applied to hundreds of jobs on LinkedIn just to get nothing in return, and I think that's why social media plays such a big part. On applications they even ask if you have any people that recommended you the spot. Even outside of jobs, just having a space to talk about interests, learn from others, have somewhere to connect with people across the world. Social media may have a part in breaking up our world, but in the bigger picture it connects the whole world together. I think that unless someone has basically the exact life they could ask for, there's really no benefits of staying off of social media.

 

Blog #10 EOTO2 Post

 Media Consolidation: Implications and Effects on Society

What is Media Consolidation?

Media consolidation refers to the process where a few large corporations acquire smaller media outlets, concentrating media control in the hands of a limited number of companies. This includes television, radio, newspapers, and digital platforms. Recently, consolidation has accelerated, with powerful media companies like Disney, Comcast, and AT&T owning a significant portion of the landscape we know.

Implications of Media Consolidation

While media consolidation may inherently seem bad, there is a positive side, it allows companies to achieve economies of scale, invest in higher-quality content, and reach larger audiences. These increased budgets and audiences allow for not only the technology used to get better, but it also allows for the smaller companies to be able to have better "above the line" workers. This allows consolidated companies to put more money into their investigative journalism, rather than all the top talent be spread out too much. 

However, consolidation comes with significant drawbacks. One of the biggest issues is the decreasing number of different opinions in media. As you can see in the image, companies dominate the media, they control much of the public narrative, limiting the variety of perspectives available to audiences. This is particularly harmful in democratic societies where a free press is vital for holding power accountable. Consolidation can also lead to homogenized content, silencing minority voices and smaller, local media outlets.

Positive and Negative Aspects of Media Consolidation

On the positive side, large media corporations have greater resources, allowing them to deliver comprehensive coverage during crises or disasters. They can invest in innovations that benefit the public and provide more polished content.

The negatives, however, are substantial. Consolidation often leads to bias in reporting when media outlets serve the interests of their corporate owners. Smaller outlets may be driven out of business, creating "news deserts" in communities that lose access to local reporting. This can especially hurt smaller towns and rural areas that rely on community-based information.

Effects on Society

The societal effects of media consolidation are profound, particularly in shaping public opinion and cultural narratives. A consolidated media landscape tends to prioritize stories aligned with corporate interests, potentially ignoring critical issues. Stanford University even writes that if a conglomerate is invested in certain industries, it may downplay environmental or ethical concerns related to those sectors.

This lack of diversity in viewpoints can contribute to polarization. When media content reinforces specific narratives or ideologies, it creates echo chambers where people are exposed only to opinions they already agree with. Additionally, a profit-driven model in media often prioritizes sensationalism over investigative reporting, undermining the role of the press in democratic society. 

Differential Impact on Society Segments

Media consolidation affects different groups in varied ways. Wealthier individuals may have access to premium content, while lower-income groups rely on free or ad-supported media dominated by conglomerates. This can create disparities in the quality and type of information people consume.

Since younger generations usually sway towards getting their information from social media they tend to have much narrower views on politics and the world, while older generations may still rely on traditional media outlets, which are increasingly controlled by a few corporations, limiting the diversity of perspectives they receive. Additionally, gender, sexual orientation, and racial identity play a role in how media consolidation impacts individuals. This leaves a lot of the minority groups who are underrepresented in the large media conglomerates to have to cling to opinions that may not be of their best interest.

Impact on You, Your Family, and Your Generation

For individuals and families, media consolidation shapes worldviews and access to information. With fewer independent sources, people may have to seek alternative outlets to get a fuller understanding of issues. This touches back to the fact that poorer people or people in more rural areas are somewhat forced into a narrow view on media because they don't have the access to as much information.

Younger generations, in particular, face a media environment that is nurtured to their shortening attention spans and narrowing worldviews. This deadly duo can decrease their exposure to meaningful, diverse perspectives. As someone who gets their news from social media and word of mouth, this has made me realize I need to take a step away from social media news and actually start reading information rather than it being fed to me.

In one's personal life, media consolidation can limit access to local news. For instance, when local outlets are bought by large corporations, the focus often shifts to national or sensational stories, leaving communities with less relevant information on issues that directly impact them. Especially since the news nowadays is somewhat of a negativity leech. 

What I mean by that, is that the news prays on bad news. Especially political news outlets. If you look at any news outlet it's mostly information, but the information that you get from it is typically super negative. I stopped watching the news on TV because of multiple reasons, but one of the main reasons was because every time I turned it on it was someone dying, or war, or a politician or entertainer doing something wrong. You don't hear about much good anymore, and the media companies are doing this on purpose because they then go into their opinions and drive the information they give you into your head.