Personal Use of Technology

As time has progressed in the past decades, each following generation has become more and more intertwined with technology, making it a more common occurrence in our daily lives.  There are many different technological tools and resources that I myself use on a daily basis, as well as millions around the world.  Despite the Internet and other technologies being vastly available to lend information to others, there are downfalls and dangers in using it.  I also believe that some people use technology a little too much, I am guilty of this as well, but I believe that sometimes it can affect people for the worse.

I think that we all use different types of technology everyday, and most of it we have become so accustomed to using it, that we don’t even think twice about it.  You can’t even walk around downtown without seeing numerous different sources of technology being used simultaneously.  Whether it be the internet, television, cell phones, radio, or the newspaper.  The different forms of technology that surround us today is astronomical, but it continues to progress to help us become more efficient and effective in how we carry on in life.  All of the above forms of technology can be used by just about anyone nowadays to help them fulfill their needs.

Since all four of the types of technology I described in the previous paragraph more or less be used on the computer, let’s use the computer as the examples of the technologic tools that I myself use on a day to day basis. Despite the internet being originally designed to allow the transfer of important files from one person to another, I must say that the internet has come a long way, and the purpose for its use has changed in today’s society.  There are so many things on the computer that I use daily; it’s probably too many for my own good.  Social Networking is one major category of my time spent on the computer, as communication with friends and family is very important to me.  Social Networking is a huge resource used my billions of people around the world to allow people to keep in contact with one another.  I visit sites such as Facebook and Myspace daily to keep up with my friends and family, so that I am able to see what is going on in their lives.  Not only do these sites allow you to talk with your friends, but also allow you to branch out, meet new people, learn and find new stuff, and experience new things.  Another common form of Social Networking: AOL Instant Messenger.  I am almost always logged on, chatting with friends who are both local and distant, allowing me the capability to communicate with them with the touch of a button. It is convenient because it allows you to talk to more than one person at a time, and you can do other things while chatting, versus talking on the phone.  The last and final method of communicating on the computer is Skype.  Skype is a really cool program that allows you to chat via webcam with friends that you don’t get to see often, allowing you to chat from computer screen to computer screen, basically talking face to face.  Despite there being many more, those are four forms of social networking that allow me to communicate with others whenever I please.

Without getting off topic, let’s venture away from the social networking side and discuss other things I use the computer and the internet for.  One of my favorite internet tools has to be Google Maps. You heard me right. My friends laugh at me when I say that but it’s true, I am too cheap to pay hundreds of dollars for a little computer when the computer will tell me the same information for free.  I personally love Google in general, it is simply amazing.  Whoever invented it was a genius.  It allows us to search for infinite amounts of information at the click of a button. What more could you ask for? Another key thing that the Internet provides me is my music. For me, music makes the world go round.  With file-sharing programs such as Limewire, I am able to access immense amounts of files whenever I please. And the last thing that I can say I spend a lot of time looking at on the internet, just about as much as I do spend talking to my friends, is looking at websites regarding old VW’s.  I will admit it.  I am addicted. It’s pretty bad when you can remember every little fact about a topic that you enjoy, but you cannot remember the little things discussed in history class.  It is a dilemma to say the least.  So as you can see, there is a lot of stuff that I use solely on the computer on a daily basis.

The internet is a great resource that is available to everyone, it’s the truth and nobody will deny it.  The one of the downfalls to the internet is exactly that, it’s available to everyone.  The internet can be a dangerous place for people that don’t exactly know how to use it, because not everyone that uses the internet uses it for positive reasons.  Scams, Identity theft, Hackers, Viruses; all of which are very common on the internet, and all built and used by people trying to thrive on your mistakes and/or take advantage of those who are, lets say, gullible.  You hear stories about people getting “supposed” emails from their banks needing information, responding believing its real and losing their identity and their life savings.  You read about how people were trying to buy/sell something, and after the transaction was made, they find that the payment was fraudulent and they are stuck with the short stick.  It happens all around us. Another issue that is becoming more and more common is sexual predators. It is sad to think that people use the internet to prey on young, unexpecting children. Not all people you talk with online are who they appear, people can tell you they are this person, and tell you they look like this, but unless you know them personally, how can you be sure?  Another thing that is scattered around the internet is false information.  Being that the internet is available to anyone, anyone is available to post a website with information that they believe is true, but may be completely false. So you have to really be careful what you read on the internet, and constantly have to cross-check with other sources to confirm that your info is trustworthy.  It is beginning to show that the internet is not for the faint at heart.  You need to be careful and think twice before you act, because not everything is as it seems.

Despite that I use the internet daily and it allows me to access many different capabilities simultaneously, I think it affects people over time.  I have noticed over time that I spend more time on the computer than I probably should. When I start talking to friends, downloading/listening to music, and reading about something, I tend to not notice the arms on that clock flying by.  I have found myself looking over at the clock after sitting on the computer for a while and being surprised that multiple hours have passed.  Another thing that concerns me about the constant exposure to technology is the amount of abbreviations and slang spoken on online social networking gateways, and how it is starting to show up in peoples writing.  I sometimes feel less creative in my writing after talking on the computer a lot.  The large amounts of chit-chatting from person to person that occurs daily, isn’t helping people with their creative and not to mention basic writing skills.  I think that the internet is beginning to force book reading, newspapers and magazines to the point of extinction because people can find their information online so some beg to wonder why read when you can just Google it. I have heard teachers and professors criticize students writings due to the lack of proper writing mechanics, and it isn’t because they didn’t learn how to read and write, it is because due to the time spent online, they don’t practice those skills often enough and begin to have struggle after while. I like to say writing is similar to sports.  If you quit practicing, you’re going to fall farther and farther away from potential.

So it’s true.  Technology is all around, and my life is partially engulfed in it. Society has become reliant on it, and without it, life would become much less efficient and probably more hectic.  One of the main concerns I have is, after really stepping back to look at how large a role technology plays in my life, imagine what it will be like for those generations that follow us.  Think about it.  If our generation is becoming more and more dependent on technology and more developments are being made to allow computers to do things in place of humans, so in time what will our world come to?

Brainstorming

There are a lot of different aspects that can taken on this assignment, differing viewpoints and opinions can ultimately change the entire paper.

Some things I am considering discussing:

-Cell Phones and the impact they have on society and myself

-The usage of the Internet

-Television/Radio/News

Three very common technological resources that are used by people across the world, all of which are different yet still play key roles, and without them modern-day life would become significantly more difficult

Being Literate in Modern Day Society

Literacy in its most simple form is defined as oneself being able to read and write, therefore being able to communicate and transfer information with the world around them.  In this day in time, I believe literacy has evolved into a much larger concept, where reading and writing are a sort of stepping stone that leads up to what literacy is now.

Reading and writing in the past consisted of reading books and writing letters to communicate with others by mail.  Technology in these modern times has taken literacy to new heights.  E-mail, blogs, search engines, etc.  All of these allow people to communicate and transfer information to a more efficient level than that of the previous eras.  All of these sorts of communication are different ways people learn to be literate.  I believe that without harnessing the knowledge on how to use these certain types of resources that are available to others, people are going to fall behind in what is considered “modern-day literacy.”

Group Interpretation-What The Internet Is Really For

The internet is an important resource to modern-day America and is commonly used by millions of people at any given moment.  That being said, the internet is used vastly for different uses.  After viewing the provided video, The Internet is for Porn, I don’t believe that porn is the reason the internet was established.  I believe that the internet was developed for education purposes and to allow others to communicate with each other whether it be for personal reasons or for business.   Sure the internet could be used as a pathway to porn, but I believe it could be argued as tool for many other forms of entertainment and not primarily pornography.  Despite that the internet is a key tool in exchanging information amongst one another, there will always be people that use it for different reasons.  Some will use it to their benefit and become better off because of  how they use its information, some will decide to run businesses and make a living, and some will use it maliciously to scam others and partake in other devious actions. 

I personally use the internet for keeping up with friends on social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace, use Google to help find information whether it be for working on my car, homework, or just to figure out how something works. I believe that despite some people abusing the use of the internet with porn, doesn’t mean that we all use it for that function nor is it reason we have the internet.

The Internet is for Porn

The internet is an important resource to modern-day America and is commonly used by millions of people at any given moment.  That being said, the internet is used vastly for different uses.  After viewing the provided video, The Internet is for Porn, I don’t believe that porn is the reason the internet was established.  I believe that the internet was developed for education purposes and to allow others to communicate with each other whether it be for personal reasons or for business.   Sure the internet could be used as a pathway to porn, but I believe it could be argued as tool for many other forms of entertainment and not primarily pornography.  Despite that the internet is a key tool in exchanging information amongst one another, there will always be people that use it for different reasons.  Some will use it to their benefit and become better off because of  how they use its information, some will decide to run businesses and make a living, and some will use it maliciously to scam others and partake in other devious actions. 

I personally use the internet for keeping up with friends on social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace, use Google to help find information whether it be for working on my car, homework, or just to figure out how something works. I believe that despite some people abusing the use of the internet with porn, doesn’t mean that we all use it for that function nor is it reason we have the internet.

Our Uses of Modern Technology

The List:

-The computer/Internet

-Cell Phone

-iPod/Music

Before I entered high school, lets just say that I wasn’t very well rounded when it came to technology.  I didn’t have a very big need to use a computer so I was barely knowledgeable on how to use it, I didn’t have a cell phone, and I still had my portable case of CD’s.  Let’s just say that I was behind.  But once I started high school and got away from spending countless hours riding my BMX bike around town with friends, doorbell ditching classmates, and partaking in loads of stupid childish activities;  I started to recognize all of the modern technology that surrounded me.

My freshman year I got my first computer, man was it a pile of junk but it was the basis in which I learned how to use one. It is odd to look back on how I did things when I was younger, but today I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have access to my computer.   Nowadays, my computer is one of the main tools that I use to communicate with the outside world.  E-mail, Instant Messaging, and all of the social networking allows me to stay in contact with friends that  I may not see on a daily basis.  Some of the common occurrences in my life on the internet: Facebook, AIM, and occasionally Myspace.  I am pretty sure that is not the basis on which the inventors of the internet based their design on; to allow teenagers to chat with each other back and forth during the day, but it is one of the many things I do.  Sure not all of the things we do on the computer is exactly considered productive, I constantly catch myself aimlessly reading up about vintage Volkswagen’s on TheSamba , watching retarded videos on YouTube, or randomly Googling the average weight of a polar bear.  No matter how others use it, the computer and the internet are a common tool I use in my daily life.

Let’s move onto the next item on the list.  The cell phone.  I didn’t get one of these till about junior year.  I never really had that big of a need for one.  For me, I never really had THAT much of a need to get ahold of someone in such a rush that I couldn’t wait till I got home.  Man oh man, was I naive.  Today, the cell phone is a sort of a lifeline.  If I don’t have my cell phone with me, I miss out on stuff.  Whether it be just a simple hangout, info needed on a homework assignment, or something urgent where someone needs me; the cell phone allows me to stay in contact with the outside world wherever I am……unless I am in a tunnel…then I am just out of luck.  But anyway, the cell phone is always by my side and is a very important tool that allows me to stay up to speed.

And lastly the final technologic tool that I use on a daily basis.  Music.  My life is not complete without my music.  Whether it be in the car, at home, walking around campus, or hanging out with friends;  I always have my music.  It is funny to look back to junior high when you would see people carrying around their portable CD players their bulky CD cases.  Nowadays all the music that I listen to is digital.  No more CD players and CD cases for me.  When I am out and about, one of my pants pockets has a cell phone in it, and the other, my iPod.  It is a crucial tool to my sanity.

So it is funny to look back the amount of years I can count on one hand, and see how much different my life was without the technology that I now possess.  These new types of media have changed how I do things in my modern life.

New Media vs. Old Media

Media has made progressions in the past decades that is probably measured best in lightyears.  Sure I haven’t been able to partake in some of the “technoligical breakthroughs” of the past due to me not being born yet, but I have been able to see my fair share. 

But first off, let’s start with a few forms of Old Media that was invented before my time but that still plays as a factor in our modern day life.  Newspapers could be one.  The old-fashioned form of communication printed daily on paper, that I think is starting to slowly become extinct, but is still around.  At the time, it was the way for people to read about stuff that was going on around them, not to mention around the world. Radio, another key example. Radio took the concept of news and broadcasted audio all over the town, state, and country depending on what kind of broadcasting signal was present.   Television, which came much later than the newspaper and the radio, could be another one.  It took the concept of the radio but allowed its message to be portrayed through captured video that was sent to receiving receptacles around the area. 

We might not think much of these three media devices mentioned above, but they helped pave the way to all the stuff we have today.  Think about what we have access to now.  Internet, E-mail, Social Networking, hell, we now have Instant Messenger where we can talk to numerous people at the same time as fast as you can hit send.  It really is amazing. 

It is hard to believe how far the progression has come in the past decades.  Take a second to think of all the things you have been introduced to over the years and how those items have made your daily life that much easier to do things.  Imagine what it will be like in 5 years from now.  Image 20.  What do you think will happen in the future?  What do you think will become obsolete as time goes by?  Paper?  Pens and pencils?  It should be an awesome thing to watch unfold throughout our lifetime.