Final Post: A Reflection On My Relationship With Technology

Today, as I worked on my blog, I received upwards of 100 texts from 10 of my closest friends. We met two years ago studying in Belgium, and between the 11 of us, we live in 9 different countries, and 3 different continents. We have the ability to keep in touch on a platform called Whatsapp. It brings me so much joy to be able to keep in touch with these students, and I actually got to see one of the girls Ariella from Ecuador when she came to visit New York City this past fall. 
I could never figure out why so many people in every country but the US use Whatsapp(owned by Facebook I now know), but I also learned in one of the Ted Talks we watched for class that Whatsapp is extremely secure. It makes me wish people in the US would move towards Whatsapp.

I am so grateful for and amazed by technology. For the opportunity it has given me to create and capture memories, travel new places, and bond with friends:

To the ability it has to make on-camera magic:

(That's me, helping record a inclusivity workshop that the School of Communication staff had last fall. Yes I stick my tongue out when I am focusing, no we don't need to talk about it)

However, I have to be honest. When I watched those video prompts of the World's Fair ride, and the terribly depressing Mad World Remix, it really got me in a funk. Technology is incredible. It gives us the power to create, which as a communication major is like the holy grail. What happens when SO much content is being created? The goal is for it to be consumed, but at what point is enough enough?

Is my relationship with technology healthy? This one is tough, because right now living alone in quarantine makes it pretty hard to keep from getting addicted. I think that when I am doing normal pre-COVID19 life, I would do my best to stay off my phone between work and class and home responsibilities. I watch a lot of Netflix (habits of living by myself), listen to a lot of podcasts, and check social media a few times a day. I text a lot, maybe too much, and like to respond right away. But I rely on my phone, for just about everything: to tell me the weather, how to get somewhere, keep up with emails and texts, to listen to music, as a calculator, and even to track my steps on my fitbit and count my macro-nutrients.

Technology during quarantine has been another level of addiction, and it definitely does not help my mental health. Everyone and their mother has something to post about their quarantine experience, and the rest of the posts are overload on the DAILY updates from every possible news source of Stay-At-Home Order end dates. And I watch all of it, because for some reason that source of communication is better than calling my family 5 times a day and telling them that I had eggs for breakfast.

I don't really use my laptop for research that could benefit my understanding of things unless for school, or if I need a quick google search for a general overview of what something is. I despise the fluff news pieces, and some of the Facebook updates too, which is partially what has caused me to stop following the news all together. I never felt like I could get an unbiased full version recap of a story, as every source has a different allegiance with a political party or business funding. It got so overwhelming, so I stopped following all together. I just know what I believe.

I worry about these things all of the time. I don't think they are an accepted part of society because when I do become conscious of it, I can make a valid attempt at toning down my screen time, but  it never lasts for long. Technology often makes me feel more useless, and like I should go read a book or be outdoors. I hope that with all that is going on in the world, after being cooped up for 2 months people will be sick of their devices, and really start to appreciate the physical world around them.

Sources:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/what-is-whatsapp/