The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Social Media

What do you think of when you hear social media? Do you think of online platforms used to keep in touch with others? Do you think of politicians and companies pushing their views? It's possible that you think of both when you picture social media. Social media is a great way to communicate and have fun, but it's also a great way for rich companies and people to push their opinions. Social Media is corrupt in areas, but that doesn't mean you should quit social media.

Different people have different perspectives on the topic of social media. Some think it's an important part of history, others think it's unneeded, and some have a mixed opinion. I recently watched 3 TED talks, each one of them expressing a separate view point.

The first TED talk I watched was by Zeynep Tufekci. She talked about how humans are the reason A.I. is what it is, and A.I. on social media is basically manipulating us into clicking ads and supporting force-fed opinions on the site. She brings up how companies sell private information to other companies, which is how A.I. programs learn about you. When these A.I. programs learn about you, they send you ads and recommendations for things that are similar. An example of this is the recommended section on YouTube. It gives you a bunch of videos vaguely resembling what you are watching. Usually, you'll end up watching a ton of videos instead of just one or two. She goes on to talk about how sometimes that recommended section can divert far from the original topic. Her example was recorded rallies held by Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders. Recommended videos for Trump rallies are white supremacist videos, while rallies for Clinton and Sanders lead to conspiracy videos about democrats. Her points are still valid to this day, personal information is still getting sold, most recently by Facebook and YouTube still has a recommended section. Tufekci gives her take on the bad things about social media, but not all things about social media are bad.

The other two TED talks were by Cal Newport and Clay Shirky. Newport's perspective is that social media lowers people's attention span, due to the fact they check their phones every few minutes. Personally, I can somewhat agree with that opinion, but you can't say that all people are like that. He also brings up a point that even though we socialize on social media, we are actually becoming less social. I can agree with this point as well, but not all people only socialize on social media. Shirky's viewpoint is the opposite of Newport's. He believes that the rise of amateur media is a positive for the future. He brings up how "consumers become producers". People that receive media, create media themselves. Social media is the future, and it will make history, whether it's on the good side or the bad side of history remains to be seen.

It's important to bring up the years that each of these TED talks were made. Tufekci's talk was made in 2017, Newport's in 2016, and Shirky's in 2012. Shirky brings up Obama's presidential campaign. while Tufekci brings up the presidential rallies of Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders. Times have changed, and times will continue to change. The information will remain the same, but the relevance will change. One day, we will look back on Shirky's TED talk and say "Social Media won't make history, it is history." We will look back on all that is said and remember when this was relevant, important, and current. Then, we will look on to find the future talked about in these TED talks is built. There is good, and there is bad, but isn't that always the case. People are greedy, manipulative, and sometimes just plain evil, but they are also nice, sociable, and your friend. There is always good and bad. People will prophesies an all good or an all bad future, but that will never be the case. Social media is a good thing, it's also a bad thing. Some companies sell private information, and some manipulate you into watching videos they think you like. But social media also provides a fun, social experience for people that need it dearly. So remember what people tell you about the future, but take it with a grain of salt. Nothing is perfect, nothing has ever been, and that's fine. The important thing is you enjoy life, and whether that is or isn't with social media, it doesn't matter.

Works Cited
Newport, Cal. "Quit Social Media." 19 Sept. 2016. YouTube, 19 Sept. 2016,
     www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E7hkPZ-HTk. Accessed 25 Nov. 2019. Lecture.

Shirky, Clay. "How social media can make history ." 16 Nov. 2012. YouTube, 16
     Nov. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASZJE15E0SY. Accessed 25 Nov. 2019.
     Lecture.

Tufekci, Zeynep. "We're Building a Dystopia Just to Make People Click on Ads."
     12 Nov. 2017. YouTube, 12 Nov. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFTWM7HV2UI.
     Accessed 25 Nov. 2019. Lecture.

The Past, Present, and Future of Technology

Technology has been ever advancing since the wheel was chiseled from stone. The human race has come along way since then. We humans are making advancements on virtual reality and artificial intelligence. In case you didn't know, those aren't made out of stone. The world is a hell of a lot advanced than it was just 20 years ago. Cellphones were little plastic rectangles with an antenna 20 years ago. It's incredible how we have gone from cellular blocks to the IPhone 11. In that short span of time, technology evolved into something far greater. Technology is only going to get better and better as time goes on. It may be scary for some, but it might not be as bad as those people think.

Technology in the Past and the Present

(Pixabay)                                                                     (Calvo)

Technology in the past was much more primitive. The first image features a rotary phone, a far cry from what we have now. The second image is closer to what we have currently. That phone, however, is an IPhone 6, which could be considered a phone dinosaur by some. But phones aren't the only technology that went through evolution. Anything considered technology has probably got an upgrade.



(Dat)

Look at the television in this image, then look at the TV in your house. The TV in your house is much larger, wider, and advanced that it's elder counterpart in the image. All you have to do is look around to see how technology has evolved from the past. In my life, I have seen a mix of the most advanced tech, and the most primitive tech, and the difference is astonishing. You and I will be amazed by what the future has for us.

The Remaining Present and Coming Future of Technology

(Knight)

What we know as modern technology will become past technology as the future of tech approaches. A.I. robots, as seen in the image, are being evolved for use in the near future of the human race. Virtual Reality will be another part of the future. Both robots and V.R. exist in our present, but they are primitive currently. But there are fears of this futuristic, well, future. According to Kevin Dickinson of BigThink, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, and Nick Bostrom, a professor at Oxford, have fears of the future. The fact that Elon Musk has fears of the future is suprising, because he is developing the technology. If this negative future with A.I. occurs, it could be called a Frankenstein's Monster situation, where the creator themselves make the evil unknowingly, or knowingly. In my eyes, the only way we can know the future is to get there in time.

Works Cited

Calvo, Adrianna. Person Holding Space Gray Iphone 6. Pexels, www.pexels.com/

     photo/iphone-technology-iphone-6-plus-apple-17663/. Accessed 15 Nov. 2019.

Dat, Huynh. Black CRT TV. Pexels, www.pexels.com/photo/black-crt-tv-2251206/.

     Accessed 15 Nov. 2019. 

Dickinson, Kevin. "Top 6 fears about future technology." BigThink, 18 Sept.

     2018, bigthink.com/technology-innovation/fear-future-technology. Accessed

     15 Nov. 2019. 

Knight, Alex. High-Angle Photo of Robot. Pexels, www.pexels.com/photo/

     high-angle-photo-of-robot-2599244/. Accessed 15 Nov. 2019. 

Pixabay. Selective Focus Photography of Black Rotary Phone. Pexels,

     www.pexels.com/photo/selective-focus-photography-of-black-rotary-phone-163007/.

     Accessed 15 Nov. 2019.