FINAL BLOG POST: INFLUENCE OF TECHNOLOGY

The advancement of technology has become all but noticeable over the past few decades. Televisions are advanced enough to almost perfectly replicate what it would look like if we were at a sports game or newsroom in person. Social media has given people of all ages new ways to connect with friends and family, as well as meet new people. Anonymity has become a powerful thing online. AI has started to gain a foothold in the online community, with old innovations such as Amazon Alexa, as well as the new and industry moving ChatGPT. Its growing exponentially, with so much to look forward to, yet so much more to be wary of. 


Social media has been very prevalent over the past few years of my life, but it wasn't until my senior year of high school that I would see myself using snapchat, one of the most popular app choices among teens and young adults. It would eventually lead to me meeting my current girlfriend of over 7 months now, despite her living 2,000 miles away in Arizona. But thanks to Snapchat, we have been able to meet and get closer than we ever could've gotten, something that never would've happened without Snapchat or social media in the first place.


Because I didn't have any online footprint until the last year or two, I haven't felt the true impact that social media has on the majority of its users. Social media has a very strong link to increased depression, anxiety, and suicide rates among teens and young adults. Cyberbullying, doxing, and other methods can lead this, but in general, anything could, and the numbers show it. 


Social media has its downsides, but its also given many people the job of a lifetime. An online content creator with millions of subscribers and even more viewers on YouTube can make a legitimate living off of it, with some able to quit their jobs and pursue their online impact. YouTube is also home for easily accessible videos such as music videos from popular artists, how to guides for useful tasks such as changing a tire or doing CPR, all at the tap of a few buttons. 


One of the more recent breakthroughs is ChatGPT, an AI model created by OpenAI. It is programmed to answer questions from the user in a conversational manner. Some people can exploit this in ways that could make their lives easier. Students can ask it to write a paper for them with pretty good accuracy. Some can get relationship advice from it, and get a good starting point on how to fix their solution. The boundaries are endless, well almost. OpenAI has to physically restrict ChatGPT's answers, because in the very beginning some were able to easily get Methamphetamine recipes and other harmful things that shouldn't be easily accessible.


All in all, technology and social media is a good and bad thing for the world, and you kinda have to take it for what it is. Some people can make jobs out of it, meet new people, and keep in touch with loved ones. Others struggle and are subject to depression, anxiety, ADHD, etc. It's something that needs to be properly educated to future generations.

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