Blog #12 Final Blog Post

 As Media Law and Literacy comes to an end, I have begun to reflect on all the topics and theories we have discussed; whether they are from hundreds of years ago or from the past five years, they have all been related in some way. This course has provided me with multiple outlooks on my surroundings and society as a whole in relation to the first amendment. In review, technology has provided people with endless opportunities in both a good way as well as the opportunity to take advantage of the usage to harm others. As we covered throughout this course almost everything has baggage, the good, the bad, and the ugly surround us all the time in our daily lives. 

After watching the video about the 1964 Futurama at the New York World Fair, I was quite impressed by the ideas and theories that were established over fifty years ago. The Futurama was the World Fair's most popular attraction, hosting 26 million people for a ride into the "near future". While some predictions discussed in the Futurama were farfetched and irrational, some are in the process of being achieved today while some may still need to be established in the future. 

In the video, the narrator describes the future of cities and urbanization. He explains how there will be plazas built above freeways, vehicles will be electronically placed in pre-determined routes, convenient public transportation, and radiated walkways for shoppers. The narrator finishes this description and the video by stating, " Technology can point the way to a future of limitless promise, but man must chart his own course into tomorrow.  A course that frees the mind and spirit as it improves the well-being of mankind." I find this statement to truly be remarkable, and still very relevant to the human impact on our planet. This quote explains that technology can only take and advance society so much, that it comes to a point where humans must take matters into their own hands to improve the norms of society and how we function. Humans must use technology in a positive manner to help our environment, unite society and communities spread information, make improvements to outdated resources, and make our planet safer so we can sustain life for as long as possible. 

Without the internet and many technological inventions, our world would not be anything close to what we experience on a daily basis. The internet and many forms of technology that are at the tip of our fingertips change the way we live and will continue to live in the far and near future. The internet has allowed millions of people to communicate, learn, teach, laugh, and connect no matter the distance between them.  Thinking back to our class discussion on The Eight Values of Free Expression, the internet seems to be the biggest driver in the current Marketplace of Ideas Theory. Without the internet, individuals would not have the option to read 16 different sources about one topic if they pleased. The communication opportunities that accompany the internet I believe outway the negatives and is why the internet and technology consumes people everyday. 

With the easy access to technology and information, there are obviously many people and companies that take advantage of tech to harm others. In this class we discussed the facebook scnadal and privacy issues they faced. This is quite firghtening when you really think about it. A majority of my own personal life has been entered into servers and data for various apps, and people can use that to hurt me. It is scary to think that as society progresses, people enter social media and technology at even younger ages now. Kids are given ipads at early ages which can be very harmful if they do not know how to properly use them or is restrictions are not put in place. As users we should not feel afraid to enter our phone number, email, or personal info. The tech industry needs to do better at protecting their users from scams and hackers because these apps and internet are not going away anytime soon. In the animated video by Steve Cutts, it shows a series of impactful scenes with no words or text needed. A series of people walking, consumed by their cell phones, all enter the dark hole of the internet with no notice the person in fornt of them did as well. As a society we need to set boundaries and work to protect ourselves as well. We cannot solely rely on a laptop or smart phone to run our life. We cannot lose touch with communication, and word of mouth; the video illustrates families eating a meal together but all are too busy engaging with their phone to actually converse. What's the point? You might as well just eat alone then! It is sad to see young kids active on social media and other platforms because as someone who did not grow up on technology I know they are missing out on the beaitful planet we live on. For any change to be seen in the future, technology needs to be safer for users and the consumers need to be more aware of what they are doing and how much they are letting technology take over their life. 

Finally, it is up to us to make this change and take action. Over the course of my life I hope to see many positive changes to our planet and to society. Humans are the ones who make the impact and decide how to leave this earth. Technology will continue to advance and make life easier in some ways, but that does not mean we can give it total control of our life. This course has really made me think about my personal footprint on social media and technology, as well as all the issues and frightening aspects it entails.