Final Blog Post

 Final Blog Post 

                                      Technology - Is it second nature?

   Technology, something everyone in the world uses today whether you are 1 years old or if you are 85 years old. The question that has been on my mind about our use with technology is; is technology second nature to us? My answer to that question would be, yes. Regardless if you want to admit it or not, we are all addicted to our phones, including myself. We check them every morning, afternoon, night, or when we get the chance to during the day. Most people like to say "social media is addicting" which is true, but the phone itself has people attached. Waiting for a text all day, or stalking your email account to see if anything has popped up is being addicted. With that being said, the smartphone is one of the worlds greatest inventions. It allows us to figure out so much going on in the world, work, or literally whatever you want to know. People now work off technology and the world has evolved with this invention, but is it positive or negative? 

Personally, I feel technology has impacted the world in both positive and negative ways, and I can't seem to figure out which one outweighs the other. Within my generation, Gen Z,  we are the only ones that have access to 24/7 technology our whole lives. This means that once all the children in our generation grow up to be teenagers, we will be the most tech - advanced generation the world has ever seen. This can cause children to grow up in a world glued to the smartphone or computers, which to me is not a good sign. Some very negative aspects of this happening is kids being introduced too explicit or damaging sights online that is not right for them to know now. I have seen young children being exposed to things that they should not be learning about yet, or even them being exposed to the internet without them even knowing because they do not know how to use it correctly, yet, still use it. On the website "Fast Company," an article by a 14-year old girl by the name of Sarah Kendzior explains how and why she gave up social media at the age of 14.  Kendzior explains how she felt everyone knew her whole entire life, and that all she cared about was using these apps like Facebook and Twitter. She says "For my generation, being anonymous is no longer an option," which is what I have been saying from the beginning. We can be placed on the internet in such a negative way, and now not even knowing it is going on. One key action jobs now do before hiring anyone is looking them up on the internet and trying to find all their accounts, which really shows how we have changed. 

With that being said, having an online presence can also have many benefits towards pursuing a certain career or job. Online influencing has now had a major growth within the past couple of years as technology and social media advanced.  Now, with just having instagram or TikTok downloaded, you can gain millions of followers and create a brand for yourself that is your job for the future. As with that though, comes many opportunities. One person that is now famous for using her platform is 

Charlie Damelio. She gained millions of followers just from posting with her sister sometimes on the app TikTok, and from there she has gained so many connections. She even went on to start a clothing and makeup brand with her sister, Dixie Damelio. Even though the internet can cause damage with early on sights, connections are being made on their everyday by different platforms, big name companies, and celebrities. From companies like Duolingo, Nike, and even food places like Subway have started social media accounts and use those as connections to others and an outreach for their company to gain more of the younger audiences. 

From all of the positives and negatives with technology, I do think there is a healthy way to use it. In the animated music video by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules named "Are you lost in the world like me," the boy in the story is surrounded in a world with people who are addicted to their phones. No one is paying attention to anything that is going on and only staring at their screens. One scene in particular that stands out to me is when there are planes crashing and buildings falling in the background, but in front of that seems to be an "influencer" just showing off her makeup and not giving any mind to what is going on. This reminds me of what people think when they hear "social media affects our reality." When we are on technology, specifically social media, we get addicted to the world of Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, or whatever you are currently on. We all have moments where we get trapped in the world of technology and feel like we can not come back out, but, we can all learn how to come out of that trapped feeling. If you ask me how I use technology in a healthy way, I honestly do not have just one answer for you. People have different ways of disconnecting themselves from technology, but I try to make sure I stay active and not just physically, but mentally and socially. I will take time to see friends and family in person, read a book, take a fitness class, or whatever sparks your interest outside of the phone or computer. 

Overall, technology has created major impacts to the world we live in today no question about that. To answer my first question though; is it second nature? Yes. With the way we use technology today and the advances it has had to all of our lives and how much we use it for jobs, school, communication, and so much more. Most of us give more attention to technology than we should, but that is just the way the world has accustomed too. There are definitely different sides to stories on how individuals feel it is taking over there life, but the world keeps changing everyday, so we have to too.