My Relationship with Technology

 Final post

    Do I think my relationship with technology is healthy? Not really, I’m sure I could spend less time on my phone. If you asked my roommate if my relationship with technology was healthy, she would say “Kiara, if I could, I would throw your phone out of a moving vehicle going 90 down the highway. You spend more time on that metal brick in a week than you ever have studying” (This is an exact quote from Kathryn) Well, I think this goes to show that technology plays a large role in my life. If you see me without my phone, something must be seriously wrong with me, and yes,
I know this is terrible.

    Because of this, my online presence is fairly prominent. I have an active Instagram and TikTok. I also run the social media for the company I worked at prior to college. I was also in some articles for dance and academics, so it's safe to say that if someone wants to find me online, they will.

     Honestly, I had never really put too much thought into how prominent my digital footprint is until this class, but now that I have taken this class, my online presence is a little scary. I find this especially true after going over privacy. You can find my post on privacy here. With my extensive digital presence, I must have very little privacy, and that thought is terrifying. Although I only put good things on social media, there is other media not controlled by me. This means that if someone publishes something about me, it would be very easy to have it linked back to me and my name. When I google my name my very active and VERY public Instagram comes up. From this, one could find out a lot about me. I go to HPU. I am in a sorority. I have a large family. I’m from McDowell County, NC. I graduated valedictorian from Nebo Crossing Academy. I graduated high school with an associate's degree. I am 18. This is all stuff found on my personal Instagram. No further investigation required. If I can find all of this from a glance at my Instagram, what can be found if a deep dive is done? My social media presence paints me in a positive light, but it is still a little nerve-wracking to know that so much information on me is readily available.

  

  Although my screen time can be concerning, I don’t think technology is all bad. I use technology often to keep up with friends and family. I have friends and family all across the state and country. I often use social media such as Facebook and Instagram to keep up communication and relationships with them. Also, I feel as if I am more informed and up to date on current events. Although I do not always actively seek out news, I always see news. With algorithms that show you what it knows you will like and the world always changing and moving, you are bound to see some news article that pertains to your interests (I get so much news about Taylor Swift). Because of this, I feel like I am a more well-informed citizen even if most of that information is about books and concerts.

    Overall, I’m sure I could have a better relationship with technology, but I don’t think my relationship with technology is all negative. I get so much information from technology, and I get to keep up with family and friends. Who cares if my attention span is ruined from TikTok (I do care, it's an issue). I am a more well-informed, social individual than I would be without technology.