Schaefer Shares

As this semester is coming to an end, a time of reflecting begins. I think that this course has put a lot of information in a certain light for me. I have always been interested in sociology, and I think that new communication technologies relates to it a lot. Humans have certain tendencies, and some are hard to explain. As our technologies have developed, so have our minds and our usage of these resources.

I think that the bell curve of newcomers, laggards, etc. is really accurate when it comes to people and their dependence on technology. I think that for those that post a picture on Instagram almost every day feel a need for acceptance, and in our society, acceptance has boiled down to likes and comments. Selfies define that need, to dress up and look good for no one to see it but your followers. I had a friend like that in high school; she would literally dress up and put a whole face on of makeup just to take selfies to post at a later date. That was always really odd to me, but I think that I understand the need to do it now.

This class has reaffirmed my suspicions, and has helped me understand why people are the way they are. New communication technologies are almost the base of a lot of human actions. It is incredible to think that technology has that sort of hold over mankind. We see it happening with the next generation, in middle schoolers that have had a smart phone for years, and they are already more dependent than us. It is interesting to think about the future. I am a planner, so sometimes I think about what my own children will be like with the technology that will be available at the time. The future is scary, but the future of technology might be even scarier.