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Privacy in the Digital Age

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  I was never the person to worry too much about the privacy aspect of our phones and social media. I remember there being quite a big uproar when the fact that apps like Facebook or Instagram compile our data in order to create a feed more suited to our interests and an even bigger uproar when it was discovered that these same apps listen to our conversations in order to display targeted advertisements. While the majority of people around me were freaking out about these obvious breaches of privacy, I wasn’t too upset. I thought it was pretty cool and definitely helpful that I could talk about needing a new hair straightener or product and later on that day log into Instagram and find an ad for exactly what I wanted. At the time, the biggest issue I saw with the whole thing was the enabling of quick fixes or immediate satisfaction rather than having to do a little bit of research and go buy the products ourselves. I can see the concept of solutions to our minuscule problems being hand
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Final Post: Social Media vs. My Mental Health

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       Is technology providing me with valuable information or could it be misleading- taking me down a number of thought paths I would not have typically taken? Am I spending too much time on my technology or is this just the way the world works now? Is it possible that social media could be triggering loneliness or even depression and in this sense, is my relationship with technology unhealthy? If you asked me these questions a few months ago, my answer would have been quite simple: No. I was the kind of person who was on my phone all the time. Really any time I wasn’t completely invested in another activity, my phone had my attention. I got so good at multitasking with my technology, that I could be entirely involved in a conversation happening right in front of me and yet at the same time, be able to process every single post on my feed without the slightest bit of hard work. For a very long time, I didn't see this as a bad thing. The media outlets I was using were bringing me
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The Dangers of the Illusory Truth Effect

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       The illusory truth effect is a type of cognitive bias in which one’s brain is prone to believing the things we see repeatedly, despite how accurate or inaccurate these concepts may be. In other words, if one were to see a news story every day about how a category five hurricane is going to take out the midwest, one would eventually believe it to be factual- regardless of how illogical this statement is. When analyzing whether something is true our brain seeks to examine the material in the context of what we already know and what is familiar to one. As absurd as such a statement is, the repeated exposure to said information causes it to be familiar and thus, processed more quickly and/or fluently. Additionally, the human brain has learned over time that the quicker stimuli is processed, the more familiar it is, and thus, the more truthful it must be. In this sense, the illusory truth effect works in tandem with the processing fallacy known as the processing fluency account causi
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Controversial Opinions in Mainstream Media

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Through a number of supreme court cases between 1919, starting with the Quartet of antiwar protestors, to 1931 when the Near rule was created, a clearer line was drawn regarding what is and is not protected by the First Amendment. According to Holmes in 1919, a variety of opinions and ideas is beneficial as it creates a marketplace of ideas in which the people have the freedom to pick the "best" one or the one that most closely aligns with their viewpoints. Additionally, the Near V. Minnesota case determined that to ban a publication would be a Prior Restraint and is seen as unconstitutional. Due to this, the authors published on both of these websites have the freedom to express their views no matter how far they may dissent from the common perspective or popular idea of the time. In the same way, news sources have the right to pick and choose what they decide to report on and ultimately, convey to the public. Unfortunately, the journalism and press industry is one of cut t
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The Development of Bluetooth and How It Shaped The World As We Know It.

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Bluetooth technology was first created in 1994 in an attempt to enable communication and connectivity between multiple electronic devices. At the time, computers, printers, etc. all required numerous wires and connectors that created a difficult time setting everything up- even for experts, let alone the average adult. Surprisingly, Bluetooth was not created by simply one individual or even one company, but rather a consortium made up of the leading companies in the technology industry. Specifically, IBM, Intel, Nokia, and Toshiba were a part of the original group. This union was Ericsson- led and Bluetooth technology is Ericsson trademarked. In 2000, a second group was established, comprising 1371 different companies known as the Bluetooth Special Interest Group or SIG. However, I think the most interesting fact about Bluetooth is where the technology got its name. Bluetooth is named after a Danish King, Harald Blatland- or Bluetooth in English, from the time period AD 908 who was suc
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The First Amendment vs. Peaceful Protests

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  When thinking about this blog prompt, the first thing that came to my mind was about the Black Lives Matter protests I personally took part in over this past summer. Typically, a peaceful march or gathering would not be breaking any legal rules and would likely even be admired. However, this previous summer our country was facing unprecedented circumstances in the wake of a life threatening virus that was taking the lives of hundreds of thousands of individual’s all over the world. At the time, the safest thing anyone could do was stay home and away from other human beings because we still knew very little about the virus and had very few methods of treatment. Even still, the issues facing the black community within our country were reaching new heights and thousands of people came to the conclusion that it was more important to stand up for the proper treatment of ALL individuals than to stay home afraid of a virus. This became a pressing issue, especially in North Carolina, when Go
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The U.S. Supreme Court Reflection

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       Before watching this video, I did not know much about the supreme court at all- especially how much impact the supreme court decisions have within our country. I found it incredibly interesting that since the start of our country there have only been a little over 100 justices that each may serve on the supreme court for decades. However, the most surprising thing I learned was that they receive approximately 7000 new cases in a single year but only approximately 100 get chosen for review. Additionally, each case may take months to complete an official opinion on, with revisions happening the entire time and sometimes even complete changes of opinion when majority turns into minority. This fact helped change the way I viewed the supreme court, as I had no idea how much work they truly had to put into each case- likely influencing how many cases they choose to review and which ones they deem as a real national issue. I used to think of the supreme court as a secretive or hidden b
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