Final Post

 

    Realistically, I have a large online footprint through numerous social media sites I have been using for around 8-10 years. The first social media I used was Facebook, as I was in middle school and would post pictures and videos of funny nonsense. Since I was young, I had no thoughts of personal identity privacy, as it was just a fun site I could use to talk to friends. Currently, I am a user of Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Facebook. The information that these sites have on me is scary to think about, since they have access to my address, phone number, interests, and search history. Obviously, purchasing items online is another huge idea that is intimidating, since these sites appear to be trusted but have access to credit card and bank information. While discussing the topic of search history and cookies in class, I believed that this is a direct breach to my privacy. Websites are able to track what I look up in my free time and can put certain ads and links as to what interests me, which is alarming. Social Media has affected my generation in a negative way, in my opinion. We wake up every morning and the first thing our eyes lay on is the phone. When we go to sleep, we do not allow our minds rest, but stare at the screen up until the minute we actually decide to sleep. These phones and the platforms on them have turned into more of an addiction, but users are convinced it is a necessity in life, which is alarming. I’m not sure the exact science behind this, but I have a good idea that it isn’t beneficial to our brains staring at a screen for 7 hours a day, before we go to bed and right when we wake up. When developers created these sites, they wanted the user to eventually feel dependent on them, which is exactly what happened. People receive dopamine in their brain every time the ding noise goes off and there is an Instagram or Twitter notification on their home screen. This course has opened my eyes on the way I look at technology, and I am appreciative for that. Professor Smith discussing the awful problems with major media outlets and platforms have shown that there is no privacy on the web. Be careful with what you post, as anyone can have access to this information for the rest of eternity. I have know began to attempt weekly cleanses from my social medias, as I will delete one of the major ones I use for one week to see how it affects me. I look forward to seeing how I can change my habits for the use of my phone. 

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/01/facebook-users-still-dont-know-how-facebook-works/580546/

Used blog prompts to spark ideas for this post!