Final Exam Blog

 Final Blog Post

Our Relationship With Technology and Technologies Relationship With Us 

    Growing up I had parents who were very cautious when it came to technology. Everything I used online was monitored by them constantly. I never understood the reasoning behind this as I did not understand the downsides of technology and the internet so I was always confused why I was told to be careful and could only use certain apps or websites. I was given my first iPod for my eighth birthday by my parents and I was told I could not download any type of social media and I only had access to it when I was on WiFi. I really only used it for texting my parents and playing games.

    I received my first official phone at the end of sixth grade and had to maintain honor roll each semester of school in order for me to keep it and if I failed to do so it would be taken away until my grades were where they needed to be. Even after my parents gave me my phone I was not allowed to have any social media on it and anything I wanted to download for an app had to be approved by my parents first. In eighth grade my parents bought me my first Macbook for school and that was the only purpose for me to have that computer. 

    The summer before I started High School, my parents made the decision of allowing me to have social media but all of those apps were put on a screen time limit. I had felt left out with my friend group as I was the only one who had a limit on how long I could use social media and I already felt like I was behind as all of my friends had Instagram and Snapchat since middle school and I was just allowed to use it my freshman year. Looking back at it now I am thankful my parents tried to keep me away from social media for as long as they did and know that it was not because they wanted me to be left out but instead to keep me safe and not have to deal with the bad things that can come along with social media. 

    Growing up having a screen time limit on my phone and all of my devices has made my relationship with technology a lot healthier than I think I would have had with it if I was able to be on it all the time. Not only did I have a limit, but I was also not allowed to bring my phone into my room until my freshman year of high school. I still could not use my phone past a certain time so it was really only used as an alarm during my freshman and sophomore year which helped with my sleep patterns. Something I had learned when reading an article by the Cleveland Clinic, there are many reasons as to how not using your phone at night benefits your health such as avoiding the contact with blue light that your phone produces especially late at night. It also can make you fall asleep quicker as your brain isn't staying active while you mindlessly scroll through apps and instead has time to realize you are tired and need to sleep. It has always been a priority of mine to focus on getting enough sleep at night so I can be productive and having a screen time limit has helped me maintain that and has continued even after my screen time was not being controlled by my parents anymore. 

    

    I have seen the good and bad that has come from technology from personal experiences but also through the eyes of my friends and family. With my friends I have seen many of them have a change in their attitudes about things and how they felt on a day to day basis based on something that would happen using social media whether it was them comparing themselves to others, being upset because someone didn't text them or Snapchat them that day or because of something someone had said to them through social media. Technology has been apart of my generation for a while that most of us use it to determine how we look at things and how we feel personally. Of course there have been a lot of benefits to social media and technology in general as it helps us keep in touch with one another when we are far away from each other and want to talk or see what our friends are up to which is great especially when I am at school in North Carolina and the rest of my friends are back in Connecticut and I cannot see them all the time like I could when we went to school together. Technology also helped me to connect with my roommates before school started so I knew a little bit about them before we started living together. 

    I use technology for many reasons whether it's for school, talking to friends on Facetime or just on the phone, social media, and TikTok. I constantly use my Macbook for school work for doing assignments, checking grades, sending emails, etc. Of course I don't just use my computer for work and also use it for watching movies and shows from time to time or for research purposes and especially for editing photos for the sports teams I take pictures of for work. I am constantly on my phone as well for talking to friends and family whether I am texting or on the phone with them talking about whatever we have to say at the time. One of my favorite things about my phone is Facetime because I love talking and actually being able to see my friends while I am talking to them or my family. While I am away my family loves to Facetime me so I can be present virtually at things such as birthday dinners, watching my brothers sports games while they are there or just being able to show them around my campus or whatever is going on in my life along with theirs. Whenever I visit my friends back home I love to Facetime my friends here so I can show them things I am doing or if I want them to see something that reminds me of them or even just meeting my friends I am with over the phone. I love using social media to post what I am up to so that my friends can see what I am up to but also to see what my friends are up to as well. I also love using social media to see what is happening in celebrities lives especially recently with Taylor Swift releasing her newest album, The Tortured Poets Department and getting to see the fact that she surprised us with this album by releasing 31 new songs which I would not have realized until later if I did not see her post about it. I also do love seeing news outlets, fans, and Taylor Swift's friends posting about her relationship with Travis Kelce but that is just something I enjoy personally. TikTok is also another app I love to use just to pass time by and see the stupid little videos people post that somehow intrigue me and entertain me throughout the day. It is basically the same reason I like using Instagram so I can see things happening and even get pop culture news, regular news updates and I even find myself discovering new shows, music, etc that I did not realize I would like before seeing it pop up in my feed. 

    Technology and social media are two very big things in my life and with that comes its ups and downs. Having parents who showed me the importance of being cautious with how much time I spend on social media helped me to create a healthy and balanced relationship between the real world and the digital world. As we continue to develop into a more digital world it is important to understand to be kind and respectful and make social media a more positive environment for everyone to enjoy and be mindful of the negative effects that can come with technology if you get carried away.