The Internet is Forever: Tiktok

When considering social media and young people's relationship with it, there is one application that is hard to ignore: TikTok. As I sat down to reflect on social media habits, it was clear that the one app that rules most people's world is also a key part of mine. According to my iPhone screen time, I spend about ten hours a week on TikTok, so about an hour and 45 minutes a day. This fact alone was eye opening, but it also means I am well versed in the trends, controversies, and influencers that the app revolves around. 

When we think of privacy concerns on the internet, we tend to think of our own, like what our posts, phone numbers, emails, etc. are going or being used for. But what we often forget to consider is the privacy of those who cannot defend themselves, specifically young children.

What sparked my interest was the story of teenager who quit social media, due to a lack of privacy and control. She was extremely bothered by her family members posting her daily life without her consent. As I read, I was immediately reminded of a recent controversy that has been brought up on TikTok. That being the idea of 'family influencers', or more specifically, 'momfluencers', who gathered their fame largely, or only, from posting their children for the world to see, and frequently.

This problem is not new; for decades young children have been exploited in Hollywood, or the music industry (or both), and in more recent years YouTube. But these issues are often well hidden, or rather ignored, until the children themselves grow up and speak out, like Jennette McCurdy, who wrote an entire novel discussing the horrifying truths of childhood fame that many others experienced.

I have found myself guilty of enjoying these 'momfluencers' and their daily posts about their kid's clothes, conversations, and funny moments. Some parents take it so far as posting their vulnerable moments too, like the tantrums and emotional experiences. It can be difficult to see this concept as an issue from an overview, and the intent of most of the influencers is typically not evil, just oblivious. Because for the most part, the concept is innocent. Most people watch the video, give it a like, maybe leave a kind comment, and carry on. But as the saying goes, one bad apple spoils the bunch. 

Some anonymous accounts have left inappropriate comments on these posts, or made entire accounts essentially worshiping these babies existence. One of the most infamous accounts is @wren.eleanor, a 3-year-old girl whose mother seems to blatantly ignore the outcry of users attempting to put a stop to the girls potential exploitation. TikTok users also began to realize the harm this could cause for these children's futures and started voicing their concerns through post of their own. Much like the childhood actors, these children face various potential consequences as they grow older. This constant posting creates a non-consensual digital footprint that, for many of them, will be nearly impossible to erase due to their millions of followers.

This outcry has led to numerous accounts putting a halt to the posts of their children, removing old ones, and spreading awareness about the dangers of using your children for fame. Maia Knight was one of the most popular of these accounts, with almost nine million followers, to make the change. Some people were enraged about Knight's removal of her daughter's faces, even going so far as to call them "our" babies, but she says the change is for their safety. These angry reactions are small examples of why she had to make that choice, and plenty of followers support her choice.

While this issue is widespread, the consumers of TikTok have used their platforms to spread awareness and make change. So, even in the midst of these major privacy concerns, the power of change is possible and visible through social media.

Deepfakes

A deepfake is defined as 'an image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said'. After reading the Miriam Webster definition, it is almost immediately clear the danger that is present through these deepfakes. This being said, the government has taken know action against them. One of the most interesting things I learned during this presentation is that deepfakes are not illegal. In fact, the only consequences a person who creates or uses one could get is sued for defamation, if the issue is argued properly.

There are many uses for deepfakes, and essentially all of them are bad. The only ones that may not be considered bad, are the ones created for a laugh with no negative motive (and even those can be dangerous). The main problem with this creation is its ability to ruin reputations and ultimately lives. They can be used on celebrities, or politicians, to make them say evil or inappropriate things. Or, through a  deepfake an angry person could put there ex-lovers face on an inappropriate video and spread it online for the world to see.

When deepfakes first came into existence, the technology was not great, so the images or videos were not all the believable. Now, some websites or applications have basically mastered the deepfake, making them look nearly perfect, and much harder to dispute. Because of this improving technology, video and photo evidence in the case of crimes will and has become increasingly less trustworthy. If someone can so easily put my face on someone else's body, how do you know that is me in the video? Deepfake's cause chaos and false realities.

While there are not many ways to protect yourself, keeping your accounts private and limiting what you post and for who, will work towards keeping your face and body your own. And, even though the technology is improving, there are some things you can keep an eye out for. These include unnatural looking faces or bodies, poor lighting, poor audio quality, and weird body movements. It is always important to remember, do not trust everything you see on the internet.

Age of AI

For many decades, as technology has grown more and more vital to the world, Artificial Intelligence has always seemed to spark a bit of fear in humans. With movies like Ex Machina, mEgan and the Matrix, people have always been grossly fascinated with the thought of robots and technology taking over the world. The In the Age of AI film, I realized that the danger of AI is not within robots gaining consciousness and striving to be evil, but in many other areas. Areas that are clear and present currently. The thing that strikes me most is the robots that are (unconsciously) taking away human jobs. This film has so much good information to offer, but I will be focusing on this shocking problem.
 

As the video stated, the standard of living had dropped 15% due to automation when it was filmed, now it is most likely higher. This statistic was shocking to me. Through my own research, I discovered that automation in the workplace has caused 50-70% of the decrease in wages since 1980. The loss of a job is generally extremely tough on a person, but when the loss is out of ones control and unavoidable, the effects are even greater. Its almost as though being replaced by a human would be less striking than a machine. People who are in the situations face severe depression that often results in suicide, so death rates grow alongside unemployment. These people often have families to provide for that they no longer can, and the reach is broader than you may think.

This unemployment spreads throughout clerical work, receptionists, cashiers, insurance workers, HR, and even Wall street. The reach of this impact is much scarier to me than a talking doll (looking at you, mEgan). But the scariest part about this is the way it will only continue to grow, and it is ultimately a human issue. The film discusses this coming down too capital VS labor. The capital here is AI. These machines are so easily replacing humans due to their speed and efficiency, also known as their ability to make companies more money. Due to this issue, the middle and lower classes begin to plummet, as the upper class has a growth spurt.

Diffusion of Innovations Theory- The Typewriter

The typewriter is an excellent example of the diffusion of innovations theory. The first group, the pioneers, date all the way back to the 1500s when Francesco Rampazatto created the 'Scriturra Tattile'. From then until 1867, various innovators were creating and experimenting with a machine that imprints letters onto paper. These pioneers saw a clear need for a replacement to talking and hand-writing. A machine efficient and fast could change the world in so many ways- and it did. These inventors continued to perfect and make the typewriter more efficient, and by the 1880s it was a common commodity in offices. 

Majority of the early adopters and early majority included businesses. This is because of how the typewriter revolutionized the work world. Companies were able to type significantly faster than they could write things down. They were able to keep records, type messages, and almost any kind of documentation. In summary, essentially everything was done quicker. This saved a significant amount of time in certain areas, opening up more time for employees to focus on other things. This efficiency and time saving is the main reason the typewriter caught on and gained so much traction. Some of the early majority used the typewriter for other things, like typing novels.

Some people may have been late adopters due to the inefficiency of the first styles. By 1950, the portable typewriter was a major success, and by 1972 Thomas Edison created the electric typewriter. These were most likely the styles that drew in the late majority, and laggards. While the typewriter was quicker than writing, its bulky design took away from its efficiency, leaving some people skeptical, so the newer additions worked to fix that. There were, of course, the laggards who still preferred the look and feel of hand writing. 

For this communication technology, not many negatives were present during its prime, the main effects can be seen with the modern versions of typing, through cellphones or computers. So in reality, the typewriters only consequences are the creations made numerous decades later, and the negative ways people use typing.

Confirmation Bias

The confirmation bias is a biased decision making process, based on preexisting opinions. Usually, when someone experiences or acts on a confirmation bias, it is unintentional. While this is a simple, basic definition, confirmation bias has numerous implications, both positive and negative, and affects on almost everyone. This type of bias occurs when you see or hear something that supports an opinion or belief you already have, so you store it internally as evidence for your belief. The main problem with confirmation bias, is the flip side. When you see or hear something that is in opposition to your thoughts, you ignore it or even forget about it entirely. 

Some scientists believe the confirmation bias is our brains way of sorting through the large amount of information that comes in and out of it each day. By sorting out things we don't initially agree with, it relieves us of potential mental conflict and extra stress. These positives are little, and easily debatable, but they do exist.This type of bias typically has negative effects, but there are some possible positive outcomes. For example, if you have lived your whole live believing a person in a dark parking lot is dangerous and will harm you, and you have only ever paid attention too news stories where that happens, you will most likely flee an scenario like this instantly. This bias based on stories you have payed attention to could save your life. 

More commonly, the confirmation bias could hurt you or the people around you. It heavily reinforces stereotypes for certain groups of people. Whether its race, gender, sexuality, class, or political parties, everyone has preexisting opinions about these things. The confirmation bias can also be referred to as the 'myside' bias, aka the lack of motivation to pay attention to things I do not already agree with. The implications of this bias are endless, it effects our daily lives more than we realize. Some major areas of implication are in law, medicine, and relationships. A serous example of this could occur if a doctor comes into an appointment with an assumption about what a patient has. If some of the evidence found during the appointment relate to the diagnosis the doctor has in her head, she may ignore the things that do not, and give an incorrect diagnosis.  

Another example could be if an eye-witness does not have a clear memory of who robbed the person across the street, but has always believed that a certain race is more violent, and only ever payed attention when that race is in trouble on the news, they may accuse the wrong person (and confidently). 

Social media has strengthened the confirmation bias. We are unable to click 'not interested' or 'see less like this' on posts that relate to things we do not agree with, which results in more of the things we do agree with popping up. The confirmation bias, while it filters less information into our brains, it also restricts our ability to have open minds. People are more likely to refuse new information, even if its true, just because all other evidence they have seen (more like payed attention to) says otherwise. Because social media emphasize this, our generation is at a higher risk to its effects. We must do our do-diligence and fight to keep an open mind and learn things from every opinion possible, even if its uncomfortable.

Technology

Learning about the history and effects of various communication technologies is important for everyone - especially people who intend to work with them on a daily basis. While watching other students 'each one teach one' presentations on technology, I decided to take notes on multiple technologies instead of just. Each one discussed has played a major role in the growth of America's communication, and they continue to expand and improve each day. This being said, technology also has the ability to negatively impact the world surrounding it.

 

The telephone was first created by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876, but the first smartphone came about in 1992. In 1994, applications were created, and the timeline after this is crammed full of improvements and additions on the phone we know and love. It is interesting to see how quickly it began to progress by 2000 and how much it has changed in 23 years. We use our phones for almost everything, whether it is entertainment, GPS, social networking, or even payments. The phone has many negative effects, through addiction and privacy dangers, but it has also made connecting with others more simple. This improves relationships and careers drastically.

Another impactful technology is the Television. What began as light through a disc, then a collection of images, is now fully electronic and has most Americans attention at least once a day. For the younger generations, this is multiple times a day, for hours at a time, or just a short watch. Regardless of how often you indulge, the television in its beginning played a huge role in social interactions and spreading of information, pre-internet, and still do. This role can be negative or positive, with the connecting of people or spreading of misinformation. While the telephone has taken its role in many ways, people still use the television to connect with one another. Whether its watching a movie together, or a show at the same time in different places, the TV has greatly increased people's interactions in a positive way. 

Anti-War

Before this class discussion, I was unaware that there were any groups of people left that voiced their antiwar opinions. Exploring these websites made me realize that the antiwar movement is not dead, just hidden. This set of ideals is one that people appear to ignore, and want nothing to do with- especially the government. 

I had never been to either of these websites, or any like them for that matter, but the first article I notice on ANTIWAR.com was one titled "Counting the Dead in Ukraine". Seeing a journal discuss the brutalities of war is something I cannot say I have ever seen before, but I feel it is extremely valuable. Through some browsing on The American Conservative website, I found it interesting that this journal takes the word conservative and gives it a different, more accurate depiction. They heavily focus on the criticism of the government, which is a vital action that keeps our. Otherwise known as Protect Dissent, criticizing our government is what upholds our democracy and keeps our country together, government and citizens alike.

Although criticism is important, the government does not always see it this way, especially when that criticism is antiwar. This would be the reason the media does not often portray antiwar speech, the government does everything it can to keep those voices silent. This is known as censorship, and has run rampant in the USA for decades, or even centuries. Once they have decided war is necessary, there is no longer consideration for the people's opinions, and in the past the people who force their opinions into consideration, were heavily punished for it.

The government usually has its excuses for censorship, like protecting the people's peace and wanting to get information out in an orderly manner, but the truth is they want to manipulate the information Americans receive, in order to manipulate their opinions, so the government appears in the right. This effects the idea of individual self-fulfillment, because they use their censorship as a way of telling you (without directly telling you) how to feel and what to believe.