Final Blog

 Technology is more prevalent today than it has ever been. With this there are many good things and bad things that exist because technology exists. It is easy to exclusively look at technology as good or evil but it is much more gray than that.

    There are some facets of modern technology that have little to no downsides such as air-conditioners, lightbulbs, and microwaves. However, we have become so used to these simple conveninces that it is now practically impossible to live without them. In my lifetime, I have never had to live a day without these technologies at my disposal. This means if they were abrubtly taken away, I would really have no idea what to do. This complete reliance on technology is completely unhealthy. 

    Cell phones, despite making it easier than ever to talk to people, have destroyed conversation. It is completely common to be at a dinner with friends where no one says a word. Not because the food is delicious, but because everyone seems to be much more interested in what's on their phone instead of what their friends have to say. If we continue down this route, people will completely forget what it was
like to actually talk to people!

    My personal relationship with technology is fairly healthy I'd say. I'm not on any sort of social media and I don't have games on my phone. I still use my phone to text, call, play music, take pictures, and Google things. I use my computer to work on school assignments. I use my TV to watch movies and play video games. If it was up to me, I'd get rid of my phone. My parents have already shot down this idea multiple times because if I don't have a phone they think they wouldn't be able to contact me. I believe if I did not have a phone the only thing I would really miss is the ability to play music whenever I want. I wouldn't want to get rid of my TV because I like movies too much, and I need my laptop to graduate from college. I also obviously use all of the every-day appliances that everyone else uses. 

    I say that my relationship with technology is healthy because at least once a month I take some time to detox. This term is usually used to refer to a break from social media but as someone who is already not on social media, I use the term as a break from all technology for a certain amount of time. It's like being selectively Amish. Sometimes the detox only lasts for a couple hours, but sometimes it lasts for up to a week (usually depending on how ahead on assignments I am). I usually just take this extra time to read, but it's always I nice little break and I feel better during it.

    I would say that my friends and even my family are more "plugged in" that I am. Most of my friends are on their phones for crazy amounts of time each day. Even my dad is on Facebook or Instagram for hours on end. My mom isn't really on her phone that much but she does watch a lot of HGTV. I definitely don't think being so online makes any of them worse people (I'm biased because I choose to hang out with them). 

    My digital footprint is probably smaller than the average American's. When you Google my name, I don't pop up. A bunch of people who share my name and have accomplished more than me pop up. If you look me up on Instagram or Tik Tok you can find my old accounts. There's nothing in any way incriminating (that I know of) on either of them so I figure there's no harm leaving them up even if I don't have the apps installed. I have a Facebook and Twitter acount but I don't think I've ever used either of those so there is nothing to report from there. Nothing about my digital footprint is negative, and I would have no qualms about an employer seeing everything that exists about me on the internet (unless they can see my search history, I have to look up how to spell the word "together" more than I'd like to admit).

    The point I want to make is that technology is not bad. Personally, I believe that our recent over-reliance on technology is very unhealthy, but that is an opinion. Overall, technology has changed the world in a mostly positive way. However, light cannot exist without darkness, and good cannot exist without evil.