Final Post: Relationship With Technology

     Technology has always been prevalent in my lifetime, though it has greatly evolved over the span of the 18 years I have been in this world. At the time of my birth in May of 2002, iPhones had not yet been invented, YouTube did not exist, Spotify was not founded, and the Wireless Headset was amongst TIME magazine's Best Inventions of the Year. In today's world, iPhones have a face recognition system, YouTube has over 2.3 billion active users, Spotify is the top music streaming service in the world, and companies such as Apple, Sony, and Bose have made hundreds of millions of dollars through wireless headset sales. Some of the inventions we see now would have been mind-blowing to people even as recent as 10 years ago.

    In terms of my relationship with technology, it takes up a lot of my time but this is common amongst people especially in my generation. Almost all school work is done online (even more so now with the pandemic), lots of communication is done via technology (phone calls, FaceTime, texting, etc.), and a majority of the entertainment nowadays is technology-related (movie/show streaming, music streaming, video games, etc.). Not to mention social media consists of platforms that have grown tremendously over the past decade such as Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Statistics from 2019 suggest that there were over 3.5 billion Social Media users, which equated to about 45% of the world's population. 2 years later, this number has grown without a doubt as being on social media further cements itself as a norm in society, especially in America. With that being said, I do not necessarily believe that this relationship with technology is completely healthy. The following article by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center states that suicide risk has increased with the development of technology, especially amongst the youth. Additionally, the following article from Medical Daily suggests that Obesity In America Comes From Inactivity, Not Too Many Calories. Too many Americans are not getting the proper levels of activity, instead spending their time being consumed by technology. Despite these facts that show the negative effects technology has on society, many people (myself included) are 

so used to high usage of technology that these downsides often go unnoticed.

    Technology has benefited my relationships that I have with others, especially in the past year. During times of quarantine at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, technology allowed me to still be able to communicate with friends and classmates. Along similar lines, it has also given me the opportunity to stay in contact with my hometown friends and family throughout my time here at High Point University. During winter and spring break, I was also able to talk to my friends from HPU thanks to technology. Whereas in previous generations saying a simple "hello" would have required potential hours of travel or sending a letter in the post, nowadays communication is available at the click of a mouse or the touch of a screen. 

    Ultimately, the technological advancements over the past 10-20 years have influenced our world more than anything else. These advancements have brought plenty of pros and cons along with them but one thing is for certain: I could not imagine what society or my life would look like without this technology.