The Misuse of Technology and the Future Towards Which it's Heading.

Currently, there are many ways our society misuses technology today. From internet issues such as cyberbullying, copyright infringement, and cyberstalking to an over dependence on technology, whether it's watching too much TV or texting too much, our society has a strong relationship with technology. Technology misuse is also not limited to the home, but is found in businesses and schools as well. Over the course of this blog, I've discussed the different ways in which society misuses technology.

Technology isn't all bad. If it weren't for technology, we wouldn't have items such as MRI machines or other medical equipment that helps to save lives everyday. However, there is a fine line between technology helping to facilitate our lives, making them easier and safer, and running our lives. People such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates started the personal computer revolution. Without this technology, businesses would be less efficient, doctors would need to wait longer for patient histories, and people wouldn't be able to connect with others all over the world.

However, this technology also creates a dependence with people who use it. Almost every college student is guilty of spending several hours procrastinating by watching TV or by browsing Facebook. Over the course of this blog, I've discussed the many ways in which society misuses technology, but I think the most important is the over dependence on it. Seriously, could anyone image going an entire day without a cell phone or internet access? When I've done this, it's always made me more relaxed. However, it tends to stress out others because they can't reach me. 

So my final words are this: technology is useful and at some points completely necessary, but it can also cause isolation and dependence. Be careful how you use technology, and remember that technology isn't supposed to control us (as it does in my blog on 2016), but we're supposed to control it.

Technology Racing Towards a Future with Less Privacy?

A few months ago I received a call from an aunt of mine asking me who the boys in my profile picture were. Now this call caught me off guard as my aunt didn't have a Facebook and my profile has the highest privacy settings, so that even most friends can't see my pictures. However, my aunt quickly assured me that her friend (who is an IT guy) had shown her how to cyberstalk. This basically meant that she could find any information on basically anyone.

Cyberstalking is a relatively new thing. Even the most computer illiterate can easily run a background check on someone as long as they have a credit card and are willing to pay. One website will search for someone's criminal history with simply a name and a state. I did try to find myself, however, I have a pretty common name, so the results didn't yield anything. (Also, I don't have a criminal record.) For further details on cyberstalking, go here.

Now there are applications on social networking websites such as Facebook that allow you to tell everyone where you are at any given time. If you need an update on what Facebook places is exactly, here you go:

And if you want to disable it:

re these applications really necessary though, or are they just further facilitating cyberstalking? After all, if you really wanted to see a friend, you would have invited them along in the first place? So really it boils down to a basic thought: while the idea of being able to check in with people through Facebook and know what they're up to is a simple one, will these kinds of technology lead to further misuse by people who really shouldn't be using it? 

2016: The Acceleration of Tranquility

While I was reading "The Acceleration of Tranquility" the August 2016 section, my first thought was working at home sounds like a good idea. After all, according to the sociologist Hochschild (who I've mentioned before), one of the biggest problems facing the workers in the U.S. today is not having enough time at home. The work such long weeks that almost all of their time at home is spent running errands, cleaning the house, shuttling around kids and other menial tasks without a moment to relax. The idea of a home office so fully equipped that you can attend office meetings and never leave your house seems like the perfect answer.

However, once I kept reading I started to become horrified. Is this really the direction our society is heading in? One point that stuck out to me was when the author wrote that things such as paper and doing algebra were obsolete. Everything is done instantly and by computers and you have software to control the software to control the software, etc. My first problem with this is somewhat obvious: the no algebra and complete dependence on computers. If people are forced to do basic mathematics by themselves they lose the brain power to do so, and aren't we supposed to become more educated as a society as we progress into the future? If we aren't doing basic tasks such as mathematics or writing by hand, our species will lose the ability to do so and then aren't we going backwards instead of forward. Also, my favorite part of reading is being able to hold the book and curl up. A computer, no matter how well it's made to stimulate it, does not have this effect.

If we're facing a future with complete reliance on computers and failed interaction with other people, our species will suffer. This is the ultimate misuse of technology. According to this excerpt, they even have virtual sex! (Which kind of defeats the purpose of it being an intimate act with another human being.) Technology that controls technology that controls technology can lead to bad things. In the excerpt, Mark Helprin describes an ARS technology that went rouge and built a golf course in Africa. If you've seen the movie Eagle Eye, it's the perfect example of technology that has the ability to run itself, which is  a scary though.

Overall, in the present day we can only misuse technology as much as we like. We can shut off our computer when we go to sleep so that we don't get emails in the middle of the night. We can turn off our cell phones so that we can enjoy vacation. While we as a society thrive on new technology, do we really want to take vacations halfway across the world in "primative resorts" so that we can get a break from it all? And do we really want to lose the need for direct human to human contact?

And in case you haven't seen it, here's a trailer for Eagle Eye:

Copyright Infringement and Plagiarism: How People Misuse the Internet

The invention of the personal computer started with a revolution in the 1970s. Small start up companies, which were basically nerds in basements putting together computers, slowly started to run the word. With the help of venture capital and competition, companies like Apple, Microsoft and IBM were started and names such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates started to become household names. With this invention of the computer, came the inevitable invention of the internet. The internet slowly evolved over the years from becoming something that businesses used to connect to a household necessity. Now the internet is something most people use on a daily basis. In fact, according to a techcrunch.com article, the average adult spends 13 hours a week online.

While the amount of time spent online is a misuse of technology in itself, it's what people are doing while online that can be seen as a problem. There are three main misuses of the internet that are most relevant today: copyright infringement, plagiarism and cyberbullying.

The first of these, copyright infringement on the internet. The mass attention towards online copyright infringement started in 2000 when Napster, an online company for pirating music, faced several court cases. (A brief article on that case can be found here.) However, pirating music did not stop with this court case. According to www.podcastingnews.com, in 2008 the average teenager had $800 of pirated music on their ipod. Music isn't the only type of entertainment that is pirated. The movie industry also faces this problem. There are websites, such as this one, who post lists every year of the most pirated movies and the top contenders were downloaded millions of times.

Plagiarism is another misuse of technology that is found through the internet. Most college and high school students have a section of their student handbook that addresses their school's plagiarism rules and the consequences that go along with violating these rules. Along with that, most college professors also include a section on plagiarism in their syllabi. Statistics on plagiarism are hard to find, but I was able to find one article that stated that University of Florida had about 66% of students had plagiarism had one point or another. However, now with the internet plagiarism is easier and easier to get away with. There are websites that specifically sell papers to college students, with cost correlated with the grade it guarantees to earn you. Because of easy internet access at most colleges, these websites are easy to find and easy to use, thus making the plagiarism problem worse. (Side note: I did not include any links to these sites because I did not want to encourage plagiarism.)

The third recent misuse of the internet is cyber-bullying. According to www.stopcyberbullying.org, "'cyberbullying' is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones." The most infamous case of cyber-bullying is most likely the one of Megan Meier. Megan Meier was 13 when she began receiving messages from a boy. When these messages turned mean, she committed suicide. It eventually was discovered that the boy had never existed and the myspace profile was in fact created by the mother of one of her classmates, who was aware that Megan was on antidepressants. An article with a bit more detail, and the article where this information came from can be found here. Several other cyber-bullying cases have been in the news over the last few years and the results of cyber-bullying are never good. 

PC Love

コンピュタの頭
Originally uploaded by -Sebastián Vargas-

not technically relevant, but a cool picture considering this weeks movie Nerds.

"A Nerd is someone who uses a computer to use a computer."

The Nerds and The PC

Many people wake up every morning and log onto their email, Facebook, Twitter, etc. without really noticing the technology. Forty years ago this was not the case. The personal computer was just a glint in the nerd's eye in 1970, but one that was being fast created. The personal computer allows people to do so many things within the comfort of their own home and with the ease of clicking a button. Talking to friends, paying bills, shopping, and even working out can all be accomplished through the ownership of a personal computer.

However, not everyone uses their computers the way they should. Cnn.com is cashing in on this misusing phrase through their column Netiquette, which, just as it sounds, teaches people about the way to handle online affairs. In their most recent article, they discuss the appropriate way to handle leaving a job via online transactions. This is sadly a much needed article as I'm sure everyone has heard a story of someone who was fired or left and job and sent a mass email out to everyone in the company airing their grievances. While this may feel like a good idea at the time, it's a severe misuse of the access that person has to the company email and probably not good for their reputation either.

"Nerds" such as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are the ones we have to thank for inventions such as Microsoft Office (Gates) or the Macbook Pro(Jobs). Inventions such as these make our day to day life that much easier and quicker to handle. However, this advanced technology could have a rather vast downside. According to a set of statistics I looked at that cited an LA times poll, teens and kids spent about an hour and half online everyday in 2009. I can only assume that number has continued to grow. Computers, televisions and cell phones take over a vast amount of our free time. (I know I'm guilty of spending too much time online). So yes, the computer is definitely an invention we can be thankful for, but it's also one our country needs to learn how to manage.

Misuse of Technology in the Workplace

I recently read a study about the misuse of technology in the workplace that includes a section I hadn't thought about previously: what people do on the internet while on corporate time. Dr Kimberly Young and Dr Carl Case recently published a study that includes email, adult websites, online gaming and many more websites that workers are accessing while on the clock.

When Weber talks about the ideal type, he discusses a kind of chain of command that deals with how businesses are structure (in somewhat of a pyramid form). He also discusses the idea of functional specialization (employees having specific specialized jobs that force them to do certain tasks). This study found a way where these ideas can become an issue. According to the study, managers of companies are supposed to monitor what their employees do online, as well as successfully execute their other managerial demands. Weber might look at this structure and automatically see how unproductive it really is. In this case, it is apparent that companies really need departments to monitor internet usage if they are concerned about what their employees are doing online on company time. 

Doctors Young and Case talk about some companies having internet policies in place (roughly 48% of those studied). However, it is apparent that policies aren't always followed. Weber would suggest a specialized department whose sole function it is to watch internet usage in the company. He would also suggest leaving the managers to do their primary jobs. This readjust, according to Weber, would make the company much more efficient over all.