#Final Blog Post

Media Law 

My Relationship With Technology

Alayna Yelverton

     Introduction 

My Relationship with Technology 

    My relationship with technology has always been a vivid part of my life. Over the years we have become more reliant on technology. 

Media offers a wide range of entertainment options, some of those being movies, music, TV shows, and video games. I use technology to unwind after a long day and allows me to escape from my daily routine, despite my use of technology during the day. The relationship I have with technology is very important to me but at times can be very unhealthy. I am constantly using social media platforms and news to grasp all that is going on in the world wether it interest me or not, I like to stay on my toes and informed.

Childhood Technology 

    Growing up I never understood how important the progression of technology really was. During my early childhood I was not allowed to use any kind of technology during the school week unless it was needed for homework or while I was at after school. 

I looked forward to the weekends where I could spend my free time on technology. Although I was unable to play my Wii, Nintendo DS, computer or watch tv during the week I strongly believe I was introduced to the importance of technology at a young age. During the free time I was allowed on weekends I spent a good amount of time on virtual reality games. Multiplayer virtual reality games allow players to interact with other people in a virtual space from all around the world, which requires those who used these sites to communicate effectively and work together.   

Now that I look back at the free time I spent on Fantage, Club Penguin or Animal Jam, virtual reality games helped me develop social skills such as communication, collaboration, and teamwork through technology. 

Technology Development

    Technology became more serious for me as my early childhood progressed. I started to rely on the internet/media to complete my school work wether that was for a research project/presentation, Khan Academy to help me with math or just advancing my knowledge on topics from my school day. During my fifth grade school year Instagram had already been around for a couple years but because of my young age my parents were not ready to introduce me to the world of social media. Getting my Instagram account truly sparked my interest in communicating and networking with other people using technology. I used my platform on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to keep those around me updated about my competitive dance and golf accomplishments. At an early age I started creating my own digital foot print which I did not know was a thing until my teenage years. 

 -Linkedin & Building My Online Presence  

    Although I had already started my digital foot print and online presence during my younger years I used these online platforms to figure out what I wanted to do when I got older. My mother introduced me to Linkedin, she wanted me to get a head start to tracking my accomplishments and extracurriculars. I realized very soon that technology was not just for fun it hold real meaning and either make or break your reputation. Media has a profound impact on how we perceive ourselves, the world around us, and the issues that effect us.

Technology & Internships

    The summer leading up to my sophomore year of high school I interned with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police department. Working with the city of Charlotte in law enforcement opened my eyes to the many different ways people use technology. I worked to find a specific area of work I would throughly enjoy, we partnered with several businesses within the Charlotte area some being the Carolina Panthers, Mecklenburg County Park and Rec, Bank of America and the Charlotte Fire Department. These external relationships were built during in person event but but as interns we were responsible for expanding our network through technology platforms. 

    Building those relationships and networking with those businesses in my area allowed me to intern with the Mayors Youth Employment Program. During this summer internship Covid-19 was amongst us not only did we rely on technology like ever before, but we only had our media presence, digital footprint and resume to back our skills as interns. The pandemic changed everything when it came to technology, we relied on Zoom, Instant Message and Linkedin to update our portfolios throughout the process of our summer internship. During my internship with the Mayors Youth Employment I realized how much technology truly meant to me. I was assigned a virtual reality project with the fortune 500 company Sealed Air. With this project I was given the task to produce a prototype of an app that would tackle healthcare instabilities. During the production of  this prototype I was introduced to Canva for the very first time. After being apart of both of these internships I was introduced to the true importance of technology and how much it has altered the work that we do along with the dangers that come with the access we have to these platforms. 

My Passion & Technology 

    Although I did not find a passion for law enforcement or healthcare, technology opened many doors for me. Because I was given these opportunities so early I was able to sell myself along with my technological skills to those in the next steps of my life. Upon my senior year I knew I always had a love for sports along with my love for creating visibility for women in sports. When I got to college I got right to it, I joined several organizations to build my network and gather all of the skills needed to be successful in the world of sports. My goal is to enhance the fan experience of those watching sports at home. 

1. I started by becoming a statistician and color commentating on the radio for HPU athletics. I had to use prior knowledge along with research to gather information prior to game I would be working. This allowed me to be prepared for any curve ball that could possibly happen during the game of play.

2. I interned for the Atlantic Coast Conference in media and game day operations, I was able to establish a true social media presence for women in sports. I worked  behind the scenes during ACC championship tournaments, technology was a prime asset to making sure these game days ran smoothly and media operations were conducted the proper way.

3. This summer I will be working for CBS Sports in New York City, conducting video editorial research and creating storylines for sports talk shows and broadcasts. Digital footprint will play a huge role in my findings, because I continuously use sports news sources to find updated media 12 hours of the day even when I do not want to see sports content, the internet says otherwise.

My Digital Footprint

    My Digital footprint obviously started at a very young age. The places I have worked, the people I have networked with, those from my early childhood along with my interest on all platforms will always follow me. From a very young age my parents instilled in me that reputation is everything, and anything I put out for the world to see should be the best me which has always kept me on my feet. When I look myself up online, I see nothing but great things that have followed me throughout my years, wether thats my extracurriculars, community service or work. I have established a digital footprint for myself that will allow those from the outside who do not know me personally to get a true feel for what I am all about.

     There are other features that have played a big role in  my digital footprint, TikTok. Because of the interest I have in greek life along with my viral video of me becoming a member in my sorority. I wanted to express to the world my love for my sorority which opened my platform up to 265.3k viewers. Of course my TikTok has traced my digital footprint and sports and greek life related posts are all I receive on my fyp (for you page).  

    Technology plays a huge role in my life just like anyone else's, I rely on all forms of media to be at the touch of a hand when needed. My online presence is something I am proud of. 

Presentation Link 

https://www.canva.com/design/DAFhZvKwoc0/I0-XSaMt9QFC8SYY-vIr6Q/view?utm_content=DAFhZvKwoc0&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=publishsharelink

Blog #11 Eoto

 False Flags 

In class Presentation by Jon Zettlemoyer 

During class presentations, the topic of False Flags caught my attention because it was relatively familiar to me. I find myself watching international government and terrorist documentaries. I was able to correlate and understand that meaning of "False Flags" as it aligned with my personal interest. I bet you are wondering what are False Flags? 

False flags are a contentious way of operation that has been around forever, this is nothing new! The term "false flag" refers to an act of deception in which a person or group carries out an action while posing as someone else (wether its through alias, unmarked groups or imposters). Those who partake in false flags conduct their operation with the pure intentions of deceiving opposing/opposite groups. They want people to think that the act was carried out by that other person or group and no the group who 

 There have been multiple examples of false flag operations throughout history. Some events Jon presented which are of the most famous examples include the sinking of the USS Maine(1898), which was used as premeditation for the United States to declare war on Spain and the Gulf of Tonkin (1964), which was used as a reasoning for the United States to join in on the Vietnam war. 

 False flag operations are used by governments or other powerful organizations to their actions and gain public support. They can also be used to make foreign/opposing group  to justify their acts or reasonings. Furthermore, false flag operations are also often used by terrorist groups and those who aren't citizens, they use this method so they can carry out attacks while avoiding detection or questioning. 

Other False Flags that we know  

-Boston Marathon Bombing

-9/11

Blog #10 Living In A.I

Artificial Intelligence is Taking Over

"We gave technology a part in our lives that it did not earn." We are in the age of artificial intelligence and digital footprints, nothing that we post or search is private. The electronics that make our lives easier, making our lives harder.

    Jobs are at jeopardy! Factory workers, cashiers, truck drivers and many other occupations that Americans depend on are coming to a deficit, there is slowly no need for people in these fields. Engineering companies have established robotic technology to do the simple things for us. Long term artificial intelligence can send the world further into  economic . As Artificial intelligence continues to progress and become smarter than the human mind,"Eighty Five million jobs are expected to be lost between the years 2020-2025." We have become dependent on machines to do the labor for us and we can not fault companies for this. Trades and factory jobs are not the only people who are at risk. "Marketing, Manufacturing, healthcare even careers that require graduate degrees and post graduate training are at risk of job displacement because of AI."

    Despite the risk of the Artificial intelligence and the loss of jobs, it overall makes life easier fo us. Because artificial intelligence continues to progress with our daily demands.Robotic Technologies are available 24/7 365 days of the year and that is a competition humans will never be able to win. Companies are not only using artificial intelligence to take our jobs but invade our privacy, which has its own pros and cons within itself. 

    "It's not what you post, it's that you post!"Previously known as "Digital Exhaust, your digital footprint is everything. There are some positive insights to digital footprints, companies use these algorithms and information to hire employees. We rely on social media for so much, influence, opinions and trends in which these social media companies compile, called "Machine Learning Algorithms." This method of surveillance allows companies to see what you spend your time looking at, so that you continue to see material and post that are related.

Blog #9 Eoto

 Illusory Truth Effect 

"Repetition Makes Lies Sound So Good" 

    The Illusory Truth Effect is the human tendency to believe false information to be the truth or correct information because it's been repeated. The Illusory truth effect is also known as the "Illusion of truth." We find ourselves believing false news every day because it repeated by mouth several times, regardless of credible sources or insiders who have factually proven these lies wrong. The illusory truth describes the notion of people being  more likely to believe information to be true after they have been exposed to the information multiple times. This cognitive effect is driven by the idea that familiarity allows the mind to  accept what is being heard or understood. The more we hear something, the more likely we are to believe it, even if it is false. Just think about the celebrity rumors we tend to hear and believe because they are repeated by media outlets over and over.

    The Illusory Truth effect is used in political campaigns, pop culture, and media news. The illusory truth effect has been demonstrated in a number of experiments. For example, in one study, participants were presented with a series of statements, some of which were true and some of which were false. Later, they were asked to rate the truthfulness of the statements. Participants were more likely to rate the statements they had seen before as true, even if they were originally false.

Blog #8 Diffusion Innovations

 Diffusion Of Innovations 

We rely on social media channels everyday to receive news and social trends. Communication channels like TikTok, Instagram, Word of mouth and promotional influence play a huge role in the modern day diffusion of innovation theory. Early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards have been thing before the theory even came to be in 1963. For example, those who were against social injustices dating back to slavery, Jim Crow and Segregation,  it took many abolitionist in the north to jump on the band wagon, in which we will assume they became supporters through word of mouth and moral values, in which it took some longer than most to take these risks.
 

   An innovation that many young girls like myself incorporate in our day to day lives is Pilates. Pilates has become a big trend recently but has also been around since 1883.   Although this method of exercise has been around for so long Pilates following its original invention became a way to fix injuries for dancers and athletes. Pilates was an innovated exercise that was created in Germany, but slowly made its way to New York and now has become a workout that people of all demographics incorporate to focus on physical balance, core concentration and strengthen muscles. 

    Moving from the creator of the Pilates innovation, to early adopters who were the Dancers in New York, to the early majority were early doctors and those who worked in medicine. The late majority and laggards the the wider appeal and those like myself who have jumped on the trend today. Pilates has become a trend today because of social media, there are several points that have made this innovation travel around to men and women all around the world. In 2022 Pilates was named the most popular form of exercise. 

Blog #7 EOTO reflection

Eye Opening Technology

Emojis & Facebook 

During the course of this presentation preparation period I was given the opportunity to learn about several innovations of technology. It was interesting to see the many facets of technology and how these innovations have progressed from the very beginning and how we see and use these outlets today. We rely on social media platforms to share our emotions, opinions, personal experiences and emotions.

     Emojis have relations to historical eras of Egyptian hieroglyphics which were used to data track history and communicate stories.  Emojis are date back to the early 1990's when chatrooms and direct messages became more affluent. The early stages of emojis included punctuation such as periods, parentheses, commas, semicolons and colons. Today over 3,000 emojis exist over several telephone brands and social media platforms. We rely on emojis to share our emotional responses. 

    Facebook was one of the first social media platforms that allowed users to post pictures, interact with friends and meet people they don't even know. Going back to 2004 creator Mark Zuckerburg, a student of Harvard at the time created the platform for the students of Harvard to be able to communicate and connect with one another outside of the Ivy League classroom. This platform today still allows users to come together and and see what loved ones, and friends are currently doing. 

    In conclusion Emojis and Facebook have become a standpoint of GenZ we use these platforms and icons everyday to communicate efficiently. I rely on emojis to share my emotions towards text messages, social media post and also for platform aesthetics. 

Blog #6 Anti-War

Progressive Era, Dissent

& Anti-War

Anti-War can be described as those who are opposed to war or a specific war.  

A controversial topic that surfaces within America. Anti-War movements in America date back to the War of 1812. Women's Peace Parade, Americas Fist Committee, Vietnam protestors, and protest against the war in Iraq. Americans have always found themselves vocalizing their opinions against war efforts. The choice of opposition roots from economic, religious and political values and beliefs. This movement has committed themselves to being a force that strikes against government and political leaders against war efforts. The progressive Era also played a huge role in several Anti-War movements early on.

    The Progressive Era was a time of reforms, inventions and fast pace innovations in America. During this time uncertainty. Many came together to advocate for our Democracy, social responsibility and injustices. Americans found themselves using Jazz music and large parties to come together and give a sense of equality.

    Though Antiwar movements still live on today we tend to look over these initiatives because we are not granted much information on this topic. This topic is not found on mainstream news sources, we depend on Fox news, CNN, and local news stations to  keep us to date but they have failed us. Personally I have never heard of Antiwar and The American Conservative. 

These websites area prime example of gatekeeping. Because people like myself are not informed about these websites and groups we are not aware of these opinions on war which I believe is don purposely. Americans are always looking for fast pace information and sources like this website do not allow for that! We do not see this realm of news because it isn't convenient and I believe the government does this purposely.