The Scary Truth about Modern Technologies

The future is a scary place. Today's technological advances occur so often that it's almost impossible to keep up. There is no doubt that technology is only going to advance in later years, and of course, many of those advancements will be beneficial to us. Others, however, could prove to be less advantageous. After watching the TED talks given to us this one really stood out to me for so many reasons. Within this TED talk speaker, Finn Lützow-Holm Myrstad talks about a popular toy made for children and goes on to demonstrate how that exact toy is more dangerous than the manufacturers probably imagined. This popular toy is a doll named Cayla. 

Sitting on a shelf in a store, Cayla looks like any other ordinary doll. She has blonde hair and blue eyes and wears a smile at all times. The role of this doll, like many others, is to serve as a child's companion. Except Cayla is not just any doll. Once Cayla is connected it allows parents to listen n on their children via Bluetooth microphone and a corresponding app. But this brings ongoing issues. Parents might not be the only ones with easy access to those conversations. The toy's vulnerabilities were first exposed in 2015 when a security researcher from Pen Test Partners hacked the doll.  Researchers found that a phone with the corresponding app could access a Cayla doll at 60 feet. 

This is why Cayla has been designated as a spy by the Federal Network Agency, a German telecommunication watchdog. The "forbidden" toy is banned and can no longer be sold in stores, purchased or even owned. Those who owned a Cayla doll within their homes have been ordered to destroy them and get an official certificate saying that they did so. Parents who do not destroy this toy could face a fine as much as $26,500 and two years in prison. 

Kids will always be the main demographic that companies aim their "newest and hottest" products towards. And it also isn't uncommon for those companies to try to incorporate digital advances within those toys, but it's important for parents to dig deep into how these products are being manufactured. Sometimes parents don't realize how dangerous one of their child's "innocent" toys can be until its too late. 

EOTO P2: Propaganda

Propaganda is a term that I've been learning about since elementary school. Propaganda can be defined as biased or misleading information used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. For the most part, schools have taught that propaganda is often used in wars. It was very useful throughout that time because it took on the form of posters, TV advertisements, and radio announcements. Often times it was used in order to ensure that people who were at home and not fighting in wars felt hatred towards their enemy. The information could tell that the enemy was evil and make them seem inhuman. Propaganda was even given to the enemy- telling them that the war was going badly for them and that they should give up.

Here are some examples of propaganda used during wars:

One of the most well-known users of propaganda in history is Adolf Hitler. Hitler's use of war propaganda eventually resulted in convincing his country of the National Socialism ideals, which ultimately resulted in the Holocaust and the extermination of millions of Jews. Hitler even once wrote a political statement explaining his hatred towards Jewish people and asking that after his death people continue to stay strong in their beliefs. This use of propaganda in order to spread prejudice beliefs of National Socialism and his dislike of Jews resulted in Hitler's army and country supporting the idea as well and the breakout of World War II.

In my opinion propaganda was and still is a scary and dangerous way to spread false news. Today, propaganda posters have been replaced with hundreds of digital visuals such as memes that can easily be made by anyone and distributed to so many people within minutes. Propaganda appeals to an individual's unconscious mind. The use of propaganda within the media can have the ability to sway someone's opinions or beliefs and can even have the power to control certain situations or outcomes. This is something that we often see in politics.

One thing that I've learned in college is that for the most part, students like myself tend to get almost all of their daily news on social media. When it came time for us as first-time voters to choose a presidential candidate, where did we get most of our information? The media. In a way, the media determines what information we see often and how much of that information is actually "relevant: or "important" to us. The media has a way of picking and choosing who or what they want to be in the daily headlines for the world to see, and this is exactly why we have to be careful as to what information we choose to take in.

I Googled Myself & Here's What I Found...

As a 19-year-old living in the 21st century, I pretty much grew up with social media. If I can remember correctly I created my first social media account around 7th grade. In the beginning, my parents were really strict about how much time I spent online and how I used that time. At one point they even had some of my passwords so that they could ensure that I wasn't doing anything I wasn't supposed to be doing. Compared to now, I was definitely reckless with how I portrayed myself on my social media accounts, so I'm kind of glad that there isn't too much from my past online.

I became really invested in this quest to find myself online and was surprised at what I found. To my knowledge, there's nothing negative online about me, and I probably owe that to my parent's guidance throughout my first couple of years being on social media. But I did find some things that I didn't expect to see at all. Things I almost forgot I participated in and didn't even know made its way to the internet. Of course, things like my Linkedin profile came up immediately which is fine by me because that's related to myself as a student and will hopefully play a role in me working in the field of my choice. I also found some "stats" from when I ran track in high school which really surprised me because I literally only participated for a couple of months. 

After digging a little bit deeper I also found some information from when I attended The Omega Black College Tour back in 2017 while deciding where I wanted to attend school for the upcoming years. This opportunity played a really important role in where I finally decided to attend school, but I had no idea there was this much about it online. Not only was my name mentioned multiple times throughout the tour's website, but there were also pictures that I've never even seen of myself before.  

As far as finding my different social media sites (like Twitter and Instagram) I didn't find anything at all when I searched my full first and last name. That's because on things like my Instagram I don't use my real name. I want to say it's because I prefer to use a nickname, but in reality, my real name was just never available. I think choosing whether or not you want your name on your social media accounts all depends on what your purpose of having that account is. If your purpose is to showcase a brand, and you want to develop authenticity with your clients/ customers maybe using your real name is best. But when it comes to more personal accounts where you share selfies I think going for something more fun or laid back is totally appropriate. 

UPDATE: 11/9/2019

For some random reason, I decided to search my name again, but this time using a different browser and I found something that I didn't see the first time. This website called Search People Free had my New York house address, my phone number, and the names and numbers of the other residents of that house. As if that wasn't scary enough, there were also names and numbers of other members of my family that have never even lived in that house. The website even had some of my parent's previous addresses that they confirmed were correct. 

The Rise of Tik Tok

Within the past year, this new video-sharing app has been giving other apps like Instagram and Snapchat a run for their money. Tik Tok is now the world's most downloaded iPhone app. It features short 15 second videos with your choice of music in the background. For the most part, the content you can find on this app is trendy, comedic, and sometimes interactive. It has taken the internet by storm, with over 1 billion downloads and 500 million active users daily.

Tik Tok first launched in 2016 in China, then eventually made its way to the United States in 2017. Then in 2018 this app merged with a similar app called Musical.ly. After the merger, Tik Tok really began to take off. Before essentially becoming Tik Tok, for the most part Musical.ly had the exact same format. It allowed users to lip-sync songs and have virtual duets with different people from all over the world whether you knew them or not. I think that the merger was so successful because it created a massive video database while combining all existing accounts to form a large community of users.

One thing that differentiates Tik Tok from almost all other social media platforms is the demographics that it reaches. The app is pretty easy to use so it allows users as young as 8 years old to become content creators. This makes lots of sense since it isn't uncommon for children that young to have things like cell phones or iPads. For example, the Tik Tok app gives people tools like filters, control over video speed, and access to professional audio and more all available in one place.

Tik Tok's success with younger audiences reminds me of when Facebook and Snapchat first started. Facebook was originally created for college students only and later gained popularity in other age groups. At one point Snapchat did something similar by focusing their age to one app group then eventually capturing other demographics.

I personally don't know many people who make Tik Toks, but I do know a lot people who have the app. Myself included. Tik Tok was one of those things that people considered "corny" or "stupid" but eventually ended up downloading. The first time I ever saw a Tik Tok was on Instagram because you can upload anything you make on that app to any other app. I believe that this app will only continue to grow and attract more people, even the ones who never had any interest in the app in the first place.

Here's a few funny TikToks :)

Lucy # 7: Freedom of Speech

"A community in which free speech is valued and protected is likely to be a more energized, creative, interesting society as its citizens actively fulfill themselves in many diverse and interesting ways." 

Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. I don't even want to imagine living in a world where self-expression wasn't allowed or accepted. When I think of free speech I think of so much more than just putting different words together to make a sentence. To me, freedom of speech goes hand in hand with freedom of expression. It enables the free exchange of ideas, opinions, and information which allows us as individuals in society to form our own opinions on different issues that we face.

When the thought of not being able to have free speech came across my mind for some reason a specific episode of Fairly Oddparents came to my mind. In this Nickelodeon animation, Timmy Turner has godparents that grant his every wish with some guidelines attached of course. This episode is a prime example to be careful what you wish for because in it Timmy wishes that everyone was exactly the same. This eventually resulted in everyone turning into gray blobs.

I personally think that the world would be a lot like this if we didn't have any ways to express ourselves. Well of course minus being bray blobs. But without self-expression, the world would definitely be a very boring place. I think that we would have no real way of showcasing who we really are.

Music, art, films, and books are all different ways that people used their own ideas and ability to speak freely in order to create. When we can appreciate different forms of art we can also learn to empathize with it. These things help us learn what emotions are like and how to deal with them. When we experience and appreciate the works of others, we are better able to understand them and their emotions.

Living in a world where there is no form of self-expression or freedom of speech would be very sad and boring. Sometimes we fail to realize how much of our lives revolve around our ability to express ourselves freely. Taking that away would take away who we are. It's important for us to continue to express ourselves and encourage others to do so as well. I truly believe that as we begin to share our experiences and ourselves, our world continues to grow for the better. 

First Smartphone: Everything you need to Know

Was called the “Simon Personal Communicator” & was created by IBM more than 15 years before Apple. 

Launched at $899 with a service contract 

First device to combine the functions of a cell phone & a PDA 

Featured a monochrome LCD touch screen measuring at 4.5 inches by 1.4 inches, & came with a stylus

Could be used for calls, sending emails, faxes, pages, & third party applications

Extra features included: notes collection, an address book, calendar, world clock, and a way to schedule appointments

Before there was Samsung or Apple there was this device. On November 2nd, 1922 Inter nation Business Machines (IBM) debuted the very first "smartphone". Like all the newest iPhones it was something that everyone couldn't wait to get their hands on, but not everyone could afford it. Without a contract this phone could be priced as high as $1,300. There were many setbacks, but people loved the idea of being able to have the internet on the go. Only about 50,000 units we sold and IBM did have plans to redesign the device and perfect all of its imperfections, but they never ended up doing so.

It's a Mad World

Music and art are some of the most powerful ways to convey a message to an audience. The music video for "Are You Lost in the World Like Me" by Moby and the Void Pacific Choir did an excellent job of showcasing how technology might be changing our lives for the worst. Between the combination of sad music and 95% of the images being in black and white, it's almost impossible for the person watching to miss the big idea of the picture.

Honestly, the video was sad. Not just because of the things going on in it, but because of how accurate it was. In the music video, a man is beaten up and receives no help from the people around him, but is recorded instead. A woman is taking a selfie while there's a building burning behind her. And the saddest part to me was the woman who humiliated all over social media after her "terrible dancing skills" are posted, and the aftermath of that is her suicide.

All of the people in the video are numb. Our dependence on technology and obsession with being cool or liked on the internet is literally causing us to be detached from the real emotions of the world. People can deny the fact that they're addicted to their phones all they want, but in reality, we all demonstrate addictive tendencies, and if we don't change our ways we will be the people in this video.