My Relationship With Technology

In this day and age, I consider it to be very difficult to make the claim that you have a "healthy" relationship with technology. Taking a step back and not just analyzing myself but even the people around me, there always seems to be the constant use of technology in everyones lives. I refer, mostly, in this instance to the omnipotence of smartphones and the internet in our lives, so this will be the main focus of my discussion in terms of how I relate with technology. I've already talked at length in previous posts on this blog of mine about the importance of digital technology in our day and age. I've talked about how I feel regarding my opinion that having a personal computer now feels necessary to receive a proper education, so I feel it would be redundant to continue that statement here. When looking at technology under the umbrella of the world wide web, however, that's an entirely different beast that I feel has much more of a good reason to be discussed at length here, not just because of matters we've discussed in class like censorship but because of how it steadily becomes a more and more prevalent aspect of all of our lives. And if it wasn't clear already, I think the amount of time spent on the internet, not just by myself but by others of all demographics, is not a balanced amount of time in any regard.

When thinking about the information the internet provides me with, I don't like to think of it as "unreliable as much as it is "repetitive." A very good majority of the time I spend online is on Youtube as well as other video streaming websites. The content I view isn't necessarily what I find to be the biggest problem, but instead the fact that I've grown so accustomed to watching such copious amounts of content. It's become so easy to fall into the rabbit hole of wasting time on Youtube, always starting with one video to listen to in the background while I work, then getting distracted and focusing on the video instead, then looking at the suggestions to find another video I think won't be too much harm to sit and watch, and so on and so on. In fact, even while writing this paragraph which I remember starting around lunchtime, wouldn't you know it it happened to me again, and now its 6:21 and this is the same sentence. The effectiveness with which this always manages to work feels incredible to me, because every single time I know that the solution is always as simple as "pause the video, do the work, come back to it later," but that almost never happens. It can be worse with other websites I use to watch tv series and movies, where I've repeatedly fell into the binging loop of always going to the next episode after the next without concern for whatever more important responsibilities I have to get done may be.  I'd say, on an average daily basis, I spend upwards of 50% of my day on the internet watching videos, a very unhealthy amount that I've always wanted to be able to cut back on. And what may be the most damning part of all this I've mentioned is that once I've snapped back to reality and get back to work, everything seems to fly by as I finish whatever assignment I was working on within the span of 30 minutes. I guess it's true what they say, you're your own worst enemy, or maybe a bit of the blame should be placed on the internet as well...

I will say, though, that spending so much time on Youtube has given be quite a bit of eye-opening information to take in from the world of commentary. What I've described in the above paragraph is definitely not a "me" problem, as even going outside of what research has discovered it's clear people find they spend way too much time watching quick videos. Tic Tok alone is proof of that, and while I don't use it myself the only things I've heard people talk about with it is how they manage to unknowingly spend hours scrolling through video after video. This relationship with technology is a menacing one, because with how these websites' algorithms feed viewers the same repetitive content it makes for an ultimately forgettable viewing experience. I'd be hard pressed to name half the videos I've watched in the last week without checking my viewing history, which equates to me feeling like I've wasted hours upon hours of time per week. If we find ourselves constantly trapped in the flow of media consumption only to find we can't even remember what we've consumed, is it even possible to call our relationship with the internet a healthy one?

However, if there's one aspect of the time I give to the internet that I do feel content with, it's my online footprint in the world of social media, or rather, my lack thereof. I've talked a lot already about my affiliation with internet sites and Youtube, but I don't involve myself with any kind of social media websites or apps. The only exception to this is that I have a Twitter account, which is normally seen as a very opinionated and even "toxic" site, but I don't count it because I only use my profile to post illustrations I make in my free time. So, in short, I have no personal online footprint to call my own, and I even Googled myself to see that there was nothing to find (it's also somewhat hard when you share the same name with an elementary school in Nevada).

However, like I said I feel content with this, and this is because of the stories I've heard about how unforgiving social media can be for kids and young adults like myself. A big thing I've learned to appreciate as I've gotten older is the importance of interpersonal communication. With sites like Instagram and Snapchat, all I can see are one-way windows in how people are forced to post and text. Because some of these otherwise interesting posts aren't shared face to face, in real-time, or sometimes go so far as to not be entirely accurate (uninformed statements, photoshopped pics, etc.) everything feels so much more impersonal. This all adds to the unhealthy relationship I feel so many people around me have with the technology they use as their primary means of socializing with others. You can cherry-pick what moments of your life you want to share with the world, and that can lead others who observe to feel insecure in comparison since they're not seeing the whole picture. You can talk with any acquaintances you know from anywhere via text message or DM, but there's no guarantee that they'll even respond. And, in my opinion, worst of all, people are free to block off anyone they're not comfortable with through the push of a button, leading to unhealthy behaviors from both people involved in these situations which should be discussed face-to-face. It all comes with that special element of anonymity that's existence on the internet from day 1, where anyone is able to make a convincing argument of who they "really" are in a way they wouldn't be able to get away with in person. And with massive waves of people following massive influencers and taking their word as gospel, it's an incredibly unhealthy dichotomy where the fans will do anything for celebrities, and celebrities themselves have come to expect instant gratification and recognition with whatever they post. A type of "techno-determinism" is at play here, since social media is seemingly built to fuel the needs of our society wanting everything delivered as quickly as possible, not entirely caring about the more subtle factors at play when it comes to skillful communication.

So, in finality, what exactly do I think of my relationship with technology? It may seem shocking but I ultimately feel like while I use the internet an unhealthy amount, it helps me a lot more than the anterior. The extent of which the internet has helped me comes in many forms, from helping to conduct research to teaching me new and surprising ways I can explore my hobbies. In fact, it was through online forums that I was able to meet one of my very best friends, and I will always be grateful for that (we talk over the phone nowadays, since we both have a little bit of a disdain towards texting). So yes, the ways in which technology and the internet influence me are certainly a mixed bag, but I feel that at the end of the day, if I could only be able to improve those negative aspects I've described in this post I feel like I could be on the road to making the seemingly impossible claim that my relationship with technology is a healthy one.