Final Post

Final Post

My relationship with technology has always been, and probably will always be a little complicated. We grew up in a society relatively reliant on technology, even though it wasn't at it's prime during our early development. We still were able to grow up where going outside and playing on the playground was our recess, or toys were our stimulation, when the most amount of screen time we were exposed to was during barney reruns. Now, kids the same age are exposed to the online world almost straight out the womb with iPads for entertainment, and toddlers know how to surf Youtube to find their favorite creators. It's an absolutely crazy world where 2-4 year olds have youtube content creators. 

My relationship with technology has always been one of major awareness, my parents worked in the technology field so my knowledge on the subject was always a little more advanced than others my age. I knew all about the dangers online, how companies track my online activity, and the dangers of being too open with strangers online. This being said I still had my own phone by age seven, I was taught early on how to navigate this world responsibly, which has definitely shaped my relationship with technology and the internet now. 

My relationship with technology and my relationship with media kind of coincide, similarly to technology I was extremely educated on what goes on in the social media world before ever entering it. As opposed to my peers at the time, I first joined instagram in the eighth grade, much later than everyone else. I signed a mini contract with my parents on what was acceptable to post, my privacy settings, etc. I was never allowed to get a snapchat as kid, that was one of their biggest things. Now, I do have one after starting college I decided I preferred having a snapchat instead of giving my number out to people in classes / new people in general. Not the entire world needs to have my cell, you know? 

I'm very intentional with what I post, repost, like, comment, chat, because everything lives on the internet, nothing goes away no matter what people believe. When looking at my personal digital footprint, I started with looking myself up. My instagram pops up, my linkedin, the SGA website, and a couple articles written about me from both during my time here at HPU and prior; after that things get a little random. I also asked chatgpt who I was, obviously some of the information was learned from me using it for speeches / applications and such; but some of the information was pulled off of this blog which I found funny.  

I think my relationship with technology is relatively healthy, I don't use it irresponsibly or rely on platforms to get my assignments done, I don't use it to entirely take up my free time; but most things I do in a day rely on technology to get done. Doing my homework needs to be done online for the most part now, communicating with my family has become a daily activity I do over facetime, calls, and texts, I rely on technology like gps and my vehicle (an electric car) to get on and off campus, or even when I'm winding down late at night by watching Grey's Anatomy on Netflix or watching TikToks before I go to bed. It's everywhere, but it's not everything to me. I prefer the days where I'm on my phone less, when I'm having such a good time on a walk or spending time with someone that I don't even think to check my phone. I've recently also been tempted to try observing Shabbat while at home turning down my electronics for a full 24 hours. It's all about moderation, like anything in life.