Final Post - Technology: The Good and the Bad

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Technology has always been seen as something that could be a savior of human life, and while there are many benefits to the technology we see today, calling it a savior would be a bit of a stretch in my opinion. While technology has given us many tools that have improved our life, there are many aspects of technology that have almost poisoned our brains.

According to Business Insider, many young people are struggling with communication skills as well as insomnia and anxiety/depression.

I definitely believe this information because I have experienced it first hand. The growth of technology has come to the growth of social media which is fun exciting but can turn dark and ugly very quickly. Social media has been a place to share some of our life events as well as our thoughts and feelings. When we are young, we are often wishing to be someone else, and with the growth of social media, many young people's mental health has decreased due to comparing themselves to someone else.

I think my relationship with technology could be healthier. Compared to three years ago, my relationship is far healthier than when I was 18. I have come to realize that technology is not the most important aspect of my life, but at one point it seemed like the most important thing ever. Every day I strive to not rely on technology as much. I have decreased my use of Instagram and am trying to decrease my time on Tik Tok.

I think that the technology I use is more misleading than making me smarter. If I want to inform or educate myself I typically turn to newspapers or google whether than social media. Sometimes I turn to twitter for more social justice news, but Instagram and Tik Tok are more for entertainment than education.

As I move towards adulthood, I really wish to develop a healthy relationship with technology and use it for good instead of bad.

EOTO Assignment - Citizen Journalism

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Citizen Journalism is exactly what it sounds like - ordinary, everyday people creating, reporting, and distributing the news. One of the fundamental principles of citizen journalism is that literally anybody can participate in it, and nobody has to be a certified "professional" to partake in it. Of course, there is good and bad that comes with that.

It has been said that journalists are the "gatekeepers" of information. Gatekeeping is defined as "the activity of controlling, and usually limiting, general access to something." As someone studying journalism, we are taught to have good news judgment, to verify facts, and to vet our sources. Since technology is ever-growing, there are so many different ways to receive and send news, making it easier for anybody to become a journalist. However, many citizen journalists do not take the time to practice traditional journalistic values.

A plus to citizen journalism is that we get to hear the voices of the individuals that are underrepresented or misrepresented. We get to hear first hand from someone living in poverty, or someone transitioning from male to female or a black family who has just lost their son to another police shooting. Allowing people to use their voice and share their stories firsthand, and not through someone else is a great outlet and many of us can learn a lot from their stories. However, with some good, there is always a whole lot of bad.

We have heard the term "Fake News" a lot since the last Presidential election. While I think a lot of it has been exaggerated by the President himself, fake news is still an issue that many journalists worry about. With citizen journalism on the rise, fake news seems to be on the rise too. This is due to the lack of verifying facts as we discussed earlier. The main problem with citizen journalism is that it is not always news and it tends to be more opinion than fact. Don't get me wrong, opinions should be shared, but they should not be disguised as news and fact.

As selfish as this may sound, citizen journalism also has an effect on me and my future. Ever since I was in the 7th grade and I discovered my passion for writing, all I wanted to be was a journalist. I took classes in High School, and I went around telling my friends and family that someday I would be the next Megyn Kelly (just not working for Fox News). I've spent the last 3 years studying what it takes to be a good and true journalist, and to learn that anybody can do this, with a degree or not, kind of crushed my dreams a bit. I know when it comes down to it, someone with a journalism degree is far more credible than someone who is not, however, I will have to spend the rest of my career fighting citizen journalists, and I gotta say I am up for the challenge.