The Effects of Social Media and Internet Safety

Like most people in my generation, I could argue for hours about how social media hasn't taken over my life, and I use it safely and responsibly. However, that would be a huge lie. Social media and my presence online has taken over how I perceive myself and others in a drastic way, and I don't think it will ever stop. 

I've been heavily involved with social media since I was only 9 years old. Having older sisters, I was constantly jealous of their ability to post, share photos, and talk to their friends on various social media sites. Because of my jealousy and constant nagging, I was able to create my own pages at a very young age. Now, over half of my life is shared online for anyone to view or see. With almost 10 years of posting and sharing with the public, I'm sure there is way too much information available for anyone to see, and I'm just now getting this under control, after a huge wakeup call of my internet safety.

I'm not afraid to admit I haven't exactly been careful online. Obviously I'm not posting my address or social security number, but little things you mention throughout your life can lead people to figure out whatever they want if they do enough digging. Unfortunately, my years of not being careful caught up to me just a few weeks ago, and I was a victim of cyber crime. My favorite social media site to use is Tik Tok, and over the years, I have collected over 50,000 followers on my account. Saying I share everything on this account is almost an understatement. I think of my followers as my friends, which is often controversial,  and often forget there are other people outside of my followers who may take advantage of this. I'm often very honest and vulnerable to my followers, making me an incredibly easy target and person to manipulate. I received a text one night from a number I didn't recognize, claiming to be a fan of my Tik Tok account. I was confused, and asked who the number belonged to, assuming it was an old friend. However, the man responded with “the guy who took your account.” When further searching, he has discovered my password for all my social media accounts, including my bank account. From my social media he was able to get my phone number and email, and signed me up for several internet sites. Since the incident my phone is constantly receiving calls and texts and my email is almost entirely spam. When stupidly asking why this happened and asking for my account back, he claimed hed only return it in exchange for some favors. These favors included requests for explicit images, and other disgusting things. I felt helpless and afraid. This stranger had access to all my accounts and the ability to share anything he wished on my page. After a while of trying to get in contact with Tik Tok’s helpline, the hacker became bored and simply gave me the new password and verification code, and I was back in. Although, the torments are not over, and I constantly live in fear of my internet safety. I'm still confused on how he discovered my passcode the first time, what can I do to prevent this from happening again?

Upon taking a closer look at my social media, I had realized just how stupid I had become. On facebook, which I know little to nothing about, my phone number and email were public for everyone to see. It also publicly displayed my approximate location which I never set up. I was terrified! As far as how he figured out my password, I'm not sure. However, my facebook was linked to my origin account, which is a gaming platform I use to play the sims. Although I may not use any of the multiplayer functions, my username is still public. Since I created this account over 7 years ago, I had completely forgotten my username. Turns out, my username was also the password I used for… everything. With this fear of how much I share, I was able to go back into my accounts and further learn about hiding my personal information. However, I still live in worry of what I may have missed. 

The loss of my followings and online safety was devastating to me, and it was a huge wakeup call of how much social media has taken over my life. To me, losing access to my accounts felt like the end of the world. This caused me to think more about why this account was so important to me, and how I was using my social media followers to determine my own personal self worth. Although social media is new to our world, it manifests into how we perceive ourselves and others. In the past we determined who was most important by how many friends we had, or how many people attended our parties, but now things have progressed to a much larger scale. Not to get too personal, but growing up I really struggled with fitting in. I was never invited to parties, and was bullied and excluded from everything. When I first started posting youtube videos in 2014, I was immediately made fun of. I remember always feeling so discouraged, but continued to post and create videos in hope of obtaining a following. So, now that I finally had it, I felt like I needed to upkeep it. It was all I had to show for all those years. However, when taking a step back from my social media after getting hacked, I realized nothing about my life was affected. Although I loved the constant validation and approval from my followers, I learned what it was like not to have it anymore. It was incredibly refreshing and gave me a new perspective. Although the moment I receive my account back I'm sure I will jump right back in and forget what It was like before, but I hope I'm able to keep a few things in mind as I continue forward. 

From now on I vow to take my internet safety much more seriously. I have since changed all of my passwords, and am in the process of getting a new email to use for important things, to avoid all the spam. I will now be more cautious of how much I share, and assure that I am not anyones go-to target anymore. I'll also keep in mind how crushing it was to lose everything at first, but remember how the world kept spinning. I hope to use this new appreciation to ease any social media anxiety I have in the future.

The World of AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) has always been a huge interest for me, however I always look at AI from the fun side. From Artificial Intelligence robots, to automatic editors, there's a lot about AI that will make the world easier and fun. However, with the introduction of AI, our personal lives and careers are at risk.

Something that really scared me, being someone that would like to work in digital media, was the discussion of AI replacing jobs. The idea of Artificial Intelligence learning how to do simple edits like cutting down footage will be a huge time saver, especially for independent editors like myself. However, as AI progresses, who knows how well they will be able to edit a video or movie. This will almost completely wipe out the profession as a whole. This idea is completely terrifying for me and many others. What would the world be if AI were able to fulfill all of our jobs? 

Another thing that stood out to me was the ability for AI to target ads and sell products. With the ability to gather all of our information: what we click on, how long we view websites, what we look up, they are able to gather information on us. This information allows them to be able to tell our interests, ethnicity, sexuality, and other personal information. With this, advertisers are able to push their ads to people they know they would interest, at times where they would want the product. There is a ton of controversy around this ability, and I believe I hold an unpopular opinion. I love this feature. I adore that almost all advertisements I see are things that I am interested in buying, or need. I don't feel invaded or unsafe, because as long as what I google and look at isn't being shown to my family and friends, I don't have anything to hide. Although, the idea that they have the control to push content to me to purposefully alter my mood and emotions is very scary, but if those things go hand and hand with each other, i'm okay with it.

The Typewriter (What I learned EOTO)

The typewriter may not be something we use anymore, but the invention of them was a crucial stepping stone in the creation of the computers we use today. The typewriter was first invented in 1714 by a man named Henry Mill, who submitted the first patent for the typewriter on January 7th. Although the Patent of this invention belonged to Henry Mill, the first model of the typewriter was not made until 1808. The first typewriter ever made was referred to as the “writing ball” and did not reach America until the early 1870’s, nearly 200 years after the first patent was created. 

The typewriter revolutionized writing forever. Typing was much faster than handwriting, and allowed people to become more efficient. It quickly became the new normal, and was adapted into large businesses, the government, and school. Also, the model of the typewriter heavily inspired how personal and portable computers are set up today. Without the typewriter, the computer we know and love could look entirely different. 

The Importance of Internet Safety

As people, we are not cautious enough about the information we are posting about ourselves online. The permanence of our thoughts and images allow us to be immortalized through our online choices. No matter how much this is told to us, we are still not careful about what we decide to share about ourselves. With the Introduction of Facial Recognition we use on our phones and computers, this is allowing the information to be stored. Now, it is easier than ever for surveillance cameras to pick up on who is who. Although this may be good for hunting down criminals and keeping us safe, what about everyone else? Facial recognition will allow just about anyone to figure out who you are and be linked to your social media in the matter of seconds. Its crucial this sort of technology does not fall into the wrong hands.

Of all of these clips, Darieth Chisolm’s Ted Talk about Revenge Porn really stuck out to me. The fact that Darieth had no control over these explicit images being taken of her by someone she loved and trusted, yet they were posted for the world to see with no ability to take it down, is utterly terrifying. However, this happens way too much in our world. This man had posted these private images, and threatened to harm and even kill Chisolm, yet she was not helped at. She had to fight for her security back, and spent thousands of dollars in legal fees. To this day, there is only one bill working to be put in place to prevent this, called the ENOUGH Act. This is a serious issue that is ruining the lives of these young women and needs to be taken more seriously.  The government needs to be much more heavily involved in these cases, and start treating internet safety as seriously as physical safety.

Social Media Influencers

 A social media influencer is a person who creates content online and gains a large following. In the past to become famous you used to have to be an actor, singer or dancer, ect. Now, anyone with a phone can become insanely famous and successful. The main difference being the creator to watcher connection, with access to comment sections, likes, and shares. 

The good of this is that people's dreams of becoming famous and pursuing what they love isn't so crazy anymore. Because of social media, these people are able to gain attention from brands and receive incredible opportunities. A great example of this is Emily Uubribe on Tik Tok. She began creating content in 2020 where she pretends to be a celebrity in interviews. Since blowing up, real events like the west side story premiere, and even the Oscars invited her to attend and walk the carpet. Another great thing about social media influencers is there are now so many options for different people to watch and relate to. It's so often now to be scrolling through social media and by the end feel like you've never had an original thought and experience in your life. Although to some this may make you spiral, but to many it's a great comfort and reminder that nobody is alone. 

However, Social media Influencers have many negatives. How easy it is to become popular online now creates an addictive component, as well as causing insecurities, and making people feel as if they have no self worth if they are not popular online. Also, this allows everyone to have a platform online, but not everyone deserves to have a platform online. For instance, some of you may know Shane Dawson. Despite him remaining popular through the early 2000’s to 2020, old controversies came back to bite him. In the past, he had created several racist videos including saying the N word while dressed up in racial stereotypes playing a person of color. He also made several jokes about being attracted to children, and even made very gross remarks about this to kids who are underaged. All of this occurring in his early 20’s, he later deleted all of this and swept it under the rug. He later went on to become one of the biggest youtubers, surpassing 20 million subscribers. When these videos resurfaced, he was immediately faced with millions and millions of comments and videos being made about him, canceling him permanently. Although it can certainly be debated that he does not deserve his platform and ability to create content, he was sent thousands of death threats and wishes for him to kill himself. The insane amount of hate led the youtuber to try to take his own life, which he opened up about when he decided to start making content again this year. Shane is not the only example of this, there are many cases of people being led to the edge by simply just existing, and having no serious controversies. 

This is drastically affecting society as a whole. Nearly everyone is striving to be a social media influencer, and it's causing kids to lack ambition. Because anyone can become an influencer, many people put all their eggs in one basket, hoping to pursue the famous lifestyle. Also, many children are being influenced by people just like them, who may not be the best role models. In the past it was easy to set apart actors and singers from yourself, but now, it's not as easy. I'm curious to see how this progresses over the years. If everyone is famous, will it lose appeal? 

Despite the negatives of this, the ability for anyone to become famous has its positives. In the past, the movie and music industries tended to shy away from anyone who was different. Looking back, it's very hard to find strong people of color role models, strong women, plus size models, people in the lgbtq+ community, and even on the autism spectrum. Now, anyone is able to find their representation on social media, and feel less alone. 

Personally, social media influencers are incredibly important to me. Throughout my life I've struggled to find people I felt connected to. Because of social media influencers and the ability to post whatever, I was able to gain the confidence from a young age to be able to post my own content. Although I am in no way shape or form famous, I was able to gain a small following. Ive been able to create a little community and space for people like me to be able to express how they are feeling and feel heard. This has helped me tremendously in not feeling so alone, and I've made hundreds of friends online. Despite all the negatives that may come along with it, I'm so thankful to live in the generation of social media influencers.

Diffusion Theory

Why did the idea of social media catch and spread so quickly? Simply put, we are nosy. Since the beginning of time, humans have always loved to be in everyone else's business all the time. Its just simple curiosity. So, the idea of being able to get attention from others and spread news quickly became incredibly appealing. Although, the idea of how fast your information can spread online can feel terrifying at first, leading some to be hesitant to hop on the social media train. 

Some may say if you are not on Twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok, and so on, you are living under a rock. However, Is it such a bad thing to be disconnected from the thing that's taken over everyones brains? Social Media is an incredible source for entertainment, communication, and a way of learning about the world. Although, its been proven to impact our attention span for the worst, and drastically effect our self esteem and mental health. There are many reasons people may stay clear of social media.

A main reason people may stay clear of social media is because they do not want people to know where they are, or what they are up too. If you are more reserved, the idea of posting your ideas, or meals, or photos of yourself for the world to see may just feel unnecessary or uncomfortable. Also, sometimes, the less you know about people the better. Social media tends to push peoples accounts to your feed if they know you used to be close at one point, hoping to reconnect you. Although this feature may have been created to keep you in touch, it can ruin your day to see images of your ex boyfriends engagement announcement. Not only that, but in the past, body image issues stemmed from comparing yourself to a select amount of models on tv or in magazines, now, those models are your own friends on your phone, everywhere you go! It is not unreasonable for someone to not want to partake in any of this, despite what everyone else may think. 

So, what are the negatives of not being involved in social media? Well, nowadays everything is posted on social media. From party invites to pregnancy announcements. If you are not on any of these sites, you may be left out from major life events from the people around you. It can be argued that you would know the important things from the people close to you, but you would be behind. This can cause a huge sense of feeling left out. I know personally, I did not have social media for many years, way later then alot of my friends. At school, I constantly felt left out of the latest new joke or gossip. Although some may not care, in many instances, it may be crucial to be involved on social media in order to relate to the people around you. 

Anti-War Voices

 

Unfortunately, we do not hear from these strong antiwar voices because they are not the majority opinion. To be fully honest, I do not pay much attention to the news and what is going on because ignorance is bliss. However, I know I am not the only person like this. So, having all sorts of voices on mainstream media is incredibly important, to allow people who do not do much research to be able to form their own opinion. I believe they do not want people like us to hear these strong antiwar voices because they do not want us to go against what the government decides. Although we are meant to have our own opinions and ideas, that is simply not true or allowed anymore.

Personal Computers

Personal Computers have become an essential for everyone. Whether they are a student, a businessman, or a stay at home mom. As we know, computers weren't always like this. In the past, computers would take up a whole room. So, how did we go from that to the 5 pound machine we can take with us wherever we go?

Computers small and affordable enough to be purchased and used in homes first became available in the 1970s when large-scale integration allowed a microprocessor to be sufficient on a single semiconductor chip. A small firm known as MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) located in Albuquerque, New Mexico decided to use Intel's new 8080 chip to create a personal computer that could be used by anyone. The computer was created by MITS co-founder Ed Roberts in 1974. The first ever personal computer was created, and was named the Altair 8800. The Altair 8800 was sold for $297, or $395 if you wanted to purchase the computer with a case.

(The Altair 8800 Computer)

Obviously, this computer looks nothing like the ones we see today. But, it was the foundation for all computers we see now. Although at first this computer was only appealing to hobbyists, it introduced the idea of personal computers to people we know now, like Steve Jobs. Although it all began with the Altair 8800, the personal computer industry really began to blow up with the introduction of pre-assembled personal computers. In 1977, the Apple Computer, Inc. (now Apple Inc.), Apple II, the Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80, and the Commodore Business Machines Personal Electronic Transactor (PET). 

(The Apple II)

These computers could do much more than just calculations. These computers used eight-bit microprocessors which have the ability to process information in groups of 8 binary digits at a time. It also introduced the concept of computers being able to store (very limited) memory like we know today. These computers were small and affordable, all being under $500. Compared to the price of the larger scale computers used by large industries, which could sometimes go for over a million dollars. Obviously, these computers could carry out much more than these simple computers would be, but the average person would have no need for these systems. Although all of these computers were the beginning of personal computers, I know when I think of a personal computer, I think of portable computers. Portable computers weren't invented until 1981 by a man named Adam Osborne with his company, Osborne. This computer was able to fulfill almost all of the same capabilities as the other personal computers, but was able to be brought back and forth from the office and home. 

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It's hard to even explain the impact personal computers have had on our world. Personal Computers and laptops are now a necessity for every student and nearly every single job. Although these computers are incredibly helpful when it comes to typing, searching for information, and expanding our knowledge on thousands of topics, we have become incredibly reliant on these machines to get us through almost everything. Because we have these smart machines, we have no reason to be smart ourselves. There is little reason for anyone to remember or retain information, because we have access to the internet. We don't necessarily have to know anything, because we constantly have access to machines to tell us, and solve our problems. I believe the invention of personal computers have transformed the lives of everyone for good, and bad. This invention has allowed us to expand our knowledge and connect with others around the world.

Supreme Court Analysis

    In my previous years of schooling, we very briefly went over American history, including the Supreme Court. To be fully honest, I do not recall most about what I've learned about the Supreme Court, since it has been so long. So, these videos, Supreme Court pt. 1 and pt. 2, jogged my memory on the system. I also took the time to read the history article on the Supreme Court.  

    I found it really interesting how the Supreme Court is made up of such a small group of people, and how it has differed over the years. Originally, it bounced back between 5 and 10 seats for many years, before ultimately deciding on 9 in 1869. It surprised me that the court was made up of only five people at one point, and how limited the diversity of opinion would have been. 

    I enjoyed learning about the respect each of the justices had for each other, even back when these videos were made. I was happy to hear them speak about how they shake hands before they begin their discussion to build relationships, and avoid holding grudges if there was a disagreement. I assumed the people working in the Supreme Court were mature and respectful, but it is nice to be reassured. 

    The most surprising thing I learned was said by the chief of justice, William H. Rehnquist. He explained that before he became chief, multiple people would speak their opinions first, without letting everyone have a chance to share their beliefs about it. He now makes sure to implement a policy that everyone has to speak once before someone can speak twice, which I believe is a more effective way of settling things. This also allows everyone to share their beliefs without their opinion getting swayed. 

    Honestly, my opinion of the Supreme Court has not changed, because I really didn't have an opinion on the Supreme Court to begin with. I hear often from other people who are more involved in politics than I am, that the Supreme Court is always swayed one way or another, and is an unfair judge of policies. Although, this video (even though it was released a while ago) painted the supreme court to be much more accepting of all people and opinions as I had previously imagined.

Individual Self Fulfillment

When reviewing the Eight Values of Free Expression, number four resonates the most with me. Expression number four is “Individual Self Fulfillment”, otherwise known as Self Actualization. Our right to have free speech, in my opinion, is the best way we are able to express ourselves as people. Our ability to speak on certain topics and share our opinions is what shapes our identity, and makes us the person we are. Free speech not only shapes who we are, but our society. If we are unable to speak on what we believe is right, there would be no change in our world.

There are many types of free speech. Speech goes further than the actual act of speaking, but also the ability to write your beliefs and petition. I especially believe this right is the most crucial, because we are able to stand up about the injustices that happen in our society. The act of people being able to speak about these issues allow problems to begin to be resolved, and light to be shined on them. For instance, the incident that occured in May of 2020 with George Floyd. This devastating example of police brutality gave people the confidence to speak out and petition for change. This lead the BLM movement to gain popularity, and thousands of people protested to end police brutality. This sparked conversation of other cases like Floyds that had been left unresolved, and help seek justice for those families. For instance, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. 

With social media, free speech is being used and shared more now than ever before in history. Over 32 billion people are active on facebook everyday sharing comments, posts, and likes. 32 billion on facebook alone, nevermind other social media apps like twitter, instagram, and tik tok. These users are constantly sharing their opinion on anything and everything, from politics to their favorite cake flavor. This sparks important conversations, arguments, and discoveries that need to be had in order for our society to keep evolving. In the past, to learn about topics from the point of view of others, you would have to speak to them directly. Now, you are able to learn and understand different peoples perspectives from all around. Although some things are not allowed to be talked about on social media websites, it does give people the ability to speak on some topics.

It can be argued that social media websites are taking away the right, by banning people for speaking on specific topics, as well as limiting conversations. For instance, the popular social media site TikTok was accused of censoring black creators and those speaking on the BLM movement. For example, a popular black creator, Ziggi Tyler Posted multiple videos showing how the app would not allow certain phrases in his bio as well as in the description of the video. He was even unable to use the word “black”. When he did, he was flagged right away for posting “inappropriate content” However, social media is owned by private companies, not the government. So, them censoring what you post, isnt technically breaking the first amendment. 

To conclude, I believe Individual Self Fulfillment is the most important value of expression, because it allows us to speak freely on topics we feel strongly about as well as express ourselves as people.

My Five Sources of News and Information

 MY 5 SOURCES OF NEWS & INFORMATION

TikTok

As embarrassing as it is to admit that I get almost all my news from TikTok, it's true! I very rarely think to check the news, so seeing the important events be posted right on my “for you” page  is incredibly helpful. Also, the app uses your liked content to create a homepage that will appeal to your specific interests, providing you with videos and information you will enjoy. However, not all of the information on it is reliable, since people will exaggerate the sometimes already exaggerated news for views and likes on the app. However, since this made me aware of the event, I can now further search into it. 

Google News

I often check Google News since it is easy to access on the home screen of my computer, and I find myself reading the headlines from time to time. Since I use google as my primary search engine, it is the first results that appear when I look up topics or specific events. Google news puts information from multiple news sources all in one spot, so it is less likely to lean left or right, and avoids confirmation bias. 

Today

I get a lot of my news from the today show, mostly because it is a force of habit. I often watch the today show with my mom in the morning when I'm not away at school, so it's a daily activity I've passed over to school. I like the today show for my news because it mixes in positive and negative stories. Although NBC, where the today show airs, tends to lean left. However, I believe they do a good job of providing both sides and a fair argument.

Twitter

Similar to TikTok, I get a lot of my news from Twitter. This is mostly because I receive push notifications, and when a major event happens, it appears immediately on my phone. However, this is mostly breaking news, and only provides the major points in the small tweet, since there are limited characters to type. So, I mostly use twitter to learn the main points of major events I may not be interested in, or learn enough information to look further into the event. 

Good News Network

The Good News Network is a website that only publishes positive news stories. I often visit this website after reading the news, to end on a positive note. The media often covers the terrible things that are happening around the world, and it can be easy to forget there are many positive things happening in the world. This website highlights events that regain your faith in humanity.