Final Blog Post

        Mass media has always been a big part of my life whether it was purposeful or not. I would describe my relationship as neither good nor bad but as much as it enhances my life, it definitely comes with its own set of issues. Growing up my parents always made sure I wasn't putting any sensitive information online and made sure that my digital footprint was clean. To this day I still use some of their advice, especially for scam emails and texts that have been popularized in recent years. 

The role of the internet continues to grow exponentially in modern society allowing for humanity to adapt in ways we have never been able to before. The ability to communicate has been transformed into something unimaginable by the world even 50 years ago. With one tap of a button, I can send a message thousands of miles aways instantaneously. There are some drawbacks to how big media and the internet has become including how much information is put out there. Whether it’s private text messages, sensitive videos, or even my home address, they can all be accessed by people who have the ability to. 

Effects of Mass Media

Throughout this semester we have heard of numerous ways the internet can harm us and how to ensure we are not exposing too much information. During our first EOTO presentations, there was a presentation that talked about cookies. He explained what they were and how they store your information as well as gave the advice to clear the cookies on your laptop every couple of days for privacy reasons. The cookies we have saved on our personal laptop allow for companies to track our every move and save the information we have. I have since taken his advice and I now clear the cookies on my personal laptop at the end of every week in order to have some control over my information that the big companies have. 

The bad side of the internet is often discussed much more often than the good side is. The internet and mass media has opened so many doors for various Americans of all backgrounds. The one that stands out to me most is the ability for people to speak their opinion and share it to platforms that anybody can see. The ability that we are granted when living in this country is that our voice matters no matter how small. Social media has allowed for every citizen to have access to numerous platforms where they can voice their opinions about local politicians, policy from the current presidential administration or even their opinion on a viral food recipe. That’s the beauty of social media and the world consuming it. 

Different Types of Media

The internet has always brought communities closer and made it accessible to talk to your friends and family who you otherwise could not interact with on a daily basis. Video games are a controversial topic in the fact that lots of people think it has ruined the younger generation by giving them a reason to stop playing outside. The way I interpret it is that the ability it has to connect me to friends all over the country at any time is very impactful to lots of young Americans. Popular games like Fortnite helped the younger generation get through tough times like the Covid-19 shutdowns through connecting with their friends online to play.
Personally, I have a healthy relationship with the internet but I am not naive to the fact that it causes numerous problems. Whether it's spying on everyday civilians through their online history or simply cyberbullying, bad people will always exist and as a country we should focus on educating our loved ones on how to combat the bad that the internet can bring. As many drawbacks as there are with the ever growing landscape of media and the internet, it is certainly important that we recognize the good that it brings to our lives as well. 

EOTO #2 Reaction

  During this set of presentations one of the presentations really stood out to me and it detailed the differences between malinformation, misinformation, and disinformation. Prior to this presentation, I assumed all three were the same thing and bad information was bad information but based on this presentation I learned the differences. 

Malinformation is the most harmful due to its intent to cause harm when spread and the factual evidence it is based on. This includes leaking private information about an individual and taking truthful information out of context with the intent to cause harm to an individual’s reputation. Politicians are typically the most common victims when opposing campaigns run smear campaigns in order to boost their public reputation. Not only can this be dangerous to spread but it can completely ruin someone's professional career as well as smear their family’s name in the process. It can be weaponized within politics to sway public opinion and shape the public view of a candidate. 

Misinformation is the spread of information regarding any topic that is inherently false but there is no intent to deceive the public or smear someone’s reputation. It stems from the belief that this information is true and is spread when an individual passes it along thinking nothing of it. Misunderstanding or misinterpretation are the leading causes when it comes to misinformation being created. This highlights the importance of media literacy and knowing exactly how to find credible sources as well as fact check it which we discuss quite a bit in this class. With the rise of social media, misinformation can spread like wildfire when it is not fact checked properly. 

Disinformation is a little different due to it being false information that is spread to push certain narratives or ideology but it differs from malinformation due to it being false. It is used to deceive and those that spread are intending to convince others that it is factual when it is not. However, disinformation can be used in the same settings as malinformation such as politics in order to attempt to ruin the reputation of an opposing politician. With the rise of AI, it has become increasingly hard to differentiate what’s real and what is not due to the ability AI has to create very realistic pictures and videos. Again, the importance of media literacy and cross referencing has become a must in the modern world. 

The three different types of false information has allowed me to expand my knowledge of how we can be deceived and what to look for. My media literacy has been enhanced throughout this semester and this presentation really opened my eyes to the differences in information. It also proves how important it is to be diligent when researching in order to not be deceived by smear campaigns and fake news.

Visual Representation of the Three Types

EOTO #2: Research

  The Sherman Antitrust Act is a landmark act that was passed in 1890 with the American people’s best interest in mind. It outlawed any monopolistic business practices in America which means that it eliminates the act of dominating a market and suppressing any competition. This federal legislation was enacted in order to promote a free market and allow people to succeed in any business venture they decide to without having to compete with competition that dominates the market. It is used to protect small businesses and allow them to thrive in our economic system. It gives them a fair shot to go after the same consumers as well as helping the consumer to ensure fair pricing for every product. 

Sherman AntiTrust Act of 1890 

Now it's hard to imagine that legislation passed in 1890 still holds true today and does what it's supposed to but in most cases it has done its job to deter monopolies in America. It is still cited today to break up monopolies such as Standard oil in 1911 which controlled a lot of the oil in America and was deemed illegal. It has even been cited as recently as 1998 to break up monopolies of much more notable copies such as Microsoft. It paved the way for global reform when it comes to promoting free markets by adopting laws that are similar to the Sherman AntiTrust Act. As everything does, there are times when it has not been beneficial for Americans and lots of the interpretations are based on opinions. These opinions are often swayed by the political agendas that politicians push to enhance their campaigns and make them look better. It can be manipulated in ways that hurt Americans and benefit the top 0.1% of America who have enough connections they can create monopolies without repercussions. 

Illustration of the Big Six 

One of the biggest, lesser known, monopolies is the mass media and who owns them. Media Consolidation has been a silent problem that is not talked about enough in America despite it being a bring problem. Media Consolidation is the combination of a couple large companies buying up a bunch of smaller companies in order to control the market. The companies that make up the media and have a lot of control over it are known as the big six which is made up of Disney, Fox, AT&T, Comcast, Paramount, and Sony. These six companies basically control every major news outlet giving them the power to spread any type of news and push whatever agenda they desire. They have the power to sway the majority in any way they please at any time. 

As scary as that is for Americans, the biggest threat it poses is their ability to silence any opinion they do  not like or one that opposes the narrative they have chosen. It gives them the full ability to squeeze out any smaller independent voices that would maybe appeal to some people. This eliminates some of our first amendment rights to free speech by censoring those voices who do not conform to their way of thinking. The scariest part, there really is not much to do about since they all push the same narratives at the same time. It also makes it much harder for newer creators to enter the space allowing for a recurring cycle of the same news sources that seem to be reliable, when in reality they just have established control over the industry. 

Consolidated media leads to less access to unbiased credible information for the American public to form their own opinions. The use of it to sway the public opinion on certain controversial issues especially around election times, undermines our democracy and what makes our country great. It doesn't just affect the political climate of America but it also allows for big corporations to steal the airtime from the small businesses and push their products which are higher in price. They are able to manipulate price points any way they want and it destroys small businesses in America. The bottom line is, if Media Consolidation is not dismantled, our democracy will forever be at risk to fall apart.

Blog #8: Diffusion of AI

  The examination of why a new invention is adapted by society as its popularity grows is the simplest way to describe Diffusion Theory. This theory is used to better understand how and why a certain invention gains popularity and grows at a substantial rate. With the emergence of so many new inventions, it makes it easier to pinpoint how the general public will react to a new invention before it comes out. The growth AI has had in recent years is exponential and studying it using the Diffusion theory will show us a lot about why it grew at the rate it did. 

AI

The first group to tinker with AI is the early adopters who already had the resources to have the AI and used it to build software for their companies or use it to research for something that would take an individual a substantial amount of time to find. The early majority are those who likely found an online chatbot around 2020 and used it for simple things. Most of these people are likely to be students who used AI to assist them with schoolwork. This majority also included businesses who did not use AI to enhance their business until later and likely adopted it for convenience reasons as well as a marketing tool and schedule maker. 

I do use AI bots such as ChatGPT every once in a while to assist me with paper formatting, presentation outlines and random questions that come to my mind since it has become more convenient than using a search engine like google. The only downside for AI blowing up is if we develop a reliance on it and use it for everything. If AI is at the forefront of everything then it will hurt humanity overall and we will do ourselves a disservice by discrediting what the human mind can do without AI. AI has been criticized due to younger generations already developing a reliance to it limiting their ability to be creative. I do think the positives outweigh the negatives for the time being but that certainly is subject to change if it keeps infiltrating the minds of our young people.

Diffusion Theory Model

Blog #7 Antiwar

        In the United States, there are many citizens who are anti war but it seems to get suppressed in the media. The media refuses to cover most anti war movements despite their prevalence among Americans and big rallies. Rallies protesting the wars in Gaza and Ukraine have sprung up on college campuses all over the country recently but yet it is still pushed to the back burner on most major news outlets. There has been speculation that big news outlets such as CNN and Fox News are tied into pro war efforts. This could be credible due to the news relying on big tragic events to drive ratings due to humans' inherent infatuation to tragedy. As morbid as it may be, ratings always see a huge increase directly after a tragedy. The mass media conglomerates certainly profit from tragedies so it is not too far-fetched to believe that they suppress anti war activists in order to keep America thinking war is a good thing. 

Vietnam War Protest

        These rallies and protests were popularized in the 1960s when the Vietnam War sparked heavy controversy among Americans. While the protests themselves were covered, there was little context on exactly what was being protested. Instead news outlets used these protests to show how they hurt the war effort overseas and dampened the support for our troops. What our news outlets should've been focused on is Americans exercising their right to protest and criticize our government as it is one of the most coveted rights we are granted in America. 

Antiwar Advertisement

The two websites we looked at for this assignment, Antiwar.com and The American Conservative, are websites that I had never heard of before this assignment. The amount of pro war propaganda I see everyday makes it hard for me to believe how much sites like the two mentioned, have been suppressed. Lots of Americans believe what the media tells them about war which usually demonizes the other countries to make it seem like we need to step in and ‘stop them’. When in reality we are attempting to occupy a country for ulterior motives such as political gain or simply control. The war in the Middle East is a great example of Americans being lied to about why we needed to spend billions in resources and over 15 years chasing a terrorist. We still occupy countries like Syria without having a real reason to still be there as we haven't had a conflict in numerous years. 

The fact that Americans need to search for niche websites that cover antiwar topics and it isn't easily accessible says quite a bit about where our mass media outlets have gone. It is definitely an issue considering the pro war topics that flood the big media outlets on a daily basis.

EOTO #1 Reaction

 Lots of student’s presentations stuck out to me today after I presented on the invention of Morse Code and the Electric Telegraph but the one that stuck out the most was related to Bluetooth. The presentation about Bluetooth really opened my eyes to how much I use Bluetooth in my everyday life whether it's getting my truck and listening to music everyday or my phone connecting to my headphones to take important phone calls. Bluetooth has led to numerous innovations in technology and nearly every new device has to be bluetooth compatible. 

Bluetooth does allow for your devices to listen in and give you suggestions based on what you talk about which can be seen as a good thing. I see it as very scary and allows for less privacy around your own personal devices. This was a scary revelation to hear about due to it being very real and I have noticed within my own life. However, learning about how Bluetooth is used in medical devices to help save lives does make it worth it in my opinion. I had no idea how much it affects real life and enhances our lives in so many ways. 

Blog #5: Privacy

  With the technological advances we have seen in recent years, life has started to almost revolve around technology. With every great innovation comes risks and the biggest risk we are facing in technology is our own privacy. With so much of our sensitive information online, protecting our information should be at the forefront of our online presence. Hackers, scammers, and even our own government want our sensitive information in order to use it against us and control us through it. Although complete privacy seems far fetched, it is definitely obtainable. 

While I have not been hacked personally, I have seen numerous instagram accounts that were hacked and stolen a lot of sensitive information. Private content is frequently leaked through fake accounts that impersonate people by using pictures of someone and direct messaging accounts urging them to send money. They impersonate the person and make up a story about how that person needs money for something serious which pulls people into sending the money. They also send out links that if clicked on, make that account vulnerable to be hacked as well. 

We can protect ourselves from these issues by installing VPNs, being mindful as to what information you put out online as well as using different communication apps that are encrypted. In reality, lots of these companies already have lots of your personal information and use it to monitor your usage and interests but being more mindful with where your information goes can limit the damage that is done. The government’s overreach into monitoring everyday apps puts Americans at risk to lose their information and get hacked. They claim national security, which they overuse, as the reason that activity needs to be monitored but in reality it's all about control. While monitoring the activity on apps enhances their ability to get ahead of criminal activities, it puts regular Americans at risk. 

The government needs to put more regulations in place to protect Americans from being monitored everyday by private companies. These regulations will give Americans more of a piece of mind when it comes to cybersecurity and lessen the amount of information stolen from American citizens everyday. Private accounts online will help to add a layer of protection to your information that inhibits some hackers from getting ahold of your private information. Being educated on the current scamming trends will also make it harder for you to be a target for scammers to steal your personal information. Simply ignoring random calls, emails, and texts will protect your information more than people think, even if you just answer them for fun. Especially with the AI capabilities today, just the sound of your voice can put you and your family at risk of being targets.