For the most part, I am a big fan of technology. When it comes to computers, I sometimes struggle in using them and certain software, but I believe that technology helps a lot of people and does a lot of good for society. That goes for everyone, even the millenials that are under constant scrutiny for being “locked in” to cell phones, social media, etc. Technology can in fact do a lot of good for people, and this class has proven that to be true.
My feelings about this topic were affirmed during one of our early Shirkey readings, “It takes a village to find a phone.” Just the fact that all the way back in 2006, technology and social media were used to track down Ivanna’s lost phone, proves that technology is headed for amazing things.
But, like almost everything, there is a negative side. Evident in the article, “future of reputation”, the internet comes with certain downsides. One of those being the question of privacy. Things become difficult with technology because anyone can post anything at anytime. Sure, things can be removed, but they rarely actually are gone forever. So a person’s private life can easily be exposed to millions of people with literally a few clicks of a computer mouse. That is one of the more negative things I have learned in this class, but useful no doubt.
Finally, in conducting my research for my final paper, I have been pleasantly surprised to learn what good technology has done for people with disabilities. So much so that communication would not be possible for some. So while technology might be bad at times, we would be in a rough place without it.