My Relationship with Technology

    The invention of technology and the internet was a major turning point in our society. It brought about convenience and connection, as it allows for quick access to all the information you could ever need. While the internet brought about many benefits to our society, it also brought consequences which many people fail and forget to acknowledge. Personally, I tend to get locked in scrolling through social media and fail to remember the harmful effects that come with it. 

    

    Personally, I tend to be online most of the day. This could include just scrolling through social media or working on assignments for my classes. As a result, my digital footprint is rather large. A digital    footprint is a record of your online activity, showing what platforms you visited, what you shared, and who you shared it with. There are two forms of digital footprints: passive and active. Passive digital footprints are where we unintentionally leave a data trail online. An example of this could be something as small as a search engine storing your recent search history. Active digital footprints are where we intentionally share some form of data on the internet. This could be posting a picture to Instagram or just sending a text. No matter how much you want to avoid it, digital footprints are a part of the internet and unavoidable. Thus, it is important to be mindful of your digital footprint and what you leave behind. Just because you delete content from your social media account doesn't mean it will be gone from the internet.

    

    When using social media and technology I typically use the popular apps like Snapchat, Instagram and Tik Tok. I typically use Snapchat and Tik Tok the most as one acts more as a form of entertainment, while the other allows me to keep in contact. Tik Tok acts as an easy and accessible form of entertainment and I typically get caught up scrolling through videos for long periods of time throughout the day. Snapchat allows me to easily contact and answer my friends throughout the day. When choosing what to share and how I want to be perceived on social media I tend to be on the cautious side. I rarely post on Instagram and Snapchat and when I do, I double check that what I am posting is something I want to be tied to my digital footprint. In addition, I don't like to put much of my personal information in my social media bios or link anything within my social media. This is what I do in an effort to keep as much privacy as possible in an environment that lacks. 

  

    Through taking this course and learning about the growing lack of privacy that comes with technology I have grown an increased concern for my online privacy and finding ways to protect it. While technology has brought about many positive innovations and things, it has also brought consequences that we all need to acknowledge.