Final Blog

For all my life, technology is something that has been apart of me. Is this a good thing or bad thing? Honestly, I don't really know. All I can say is: that's just how it is.

The advancement of technology is all around us. Nearly every day, there are new devices and discoveries happening. So often, this is wonderful. However, there is almost always unintentional consequences. The two most common negative consequences of social media which I have witnessed throughout my life is addiction and cyberbullying. These days, cyberbullying and social media addiction seems to be as common as the technology its self.

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital platforms, such as text message, facebook, instagram, and snapchat. It is so common today that 73 percent of students say that it has happened to them in their lifetime, and 44 percent of them say it has happened within the past month. Furthermore, many negative side effects stem from. cyberbullying. Cyberbullying can lead to mental health problems and even suicide. [source: https://www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/cyber-bullying-statistics]

If you take a step back and look around you, you will notice just how much we are on our cellphones. They have become apart of our life. So apart of our life that "cellphone addiction" is actually much more common than you may think. A 2016 common sense media report found that 50% of teens feel addicted to their phone, while 59% of parents stated that they believe their child is addicted to their phone. [source: https://www.psycom.net/cell-phone-internet-addiction] Cell phone addiction can also have negative side effects. For teens who spend 5 or more hours per day on electronic devices are 71% more likely to demonstrate suicide risk factors. [source: https://www.slicktext.com/blog/2019/10/smartphone-addiction-statistics/]

While I believe technology is a great thing and is crucial to our society today, I believe how it is used can make all the difference. It is important to self-manage how much you are on your phone and using social media, due to the risk factors that can stem from them. We only have control over ourselves, however it is important for us to be aware of how we use our technology.

EOTO Blog

The Term: Whistleblower

The term whistleblower is defined as "one who reveals something covert or who informs against another," by the Merriam-Webster dictionary. More specifically, this wrong doing being exposed is typically illegal or unethical, and it often leads to greater conspiracy.

According to study.com, There are two types of whistleblowing. The first being internal whistleblowing, in which someone reports miss conduct to another person within a public or private organization. The second type of whistleblowing is external whistleblowing. This is when someone reports misconduct to an outside entity, specifically law enforcement or the media. 

There are many notable cases of whistleblowers in the United States, with some of the most popular ones being individuals who have "blown their whistle" about misconduct within the US government. Notable whistleblowers include Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the pentagon papers, a secret account of the Vietnam war to the New York Times and Coleen Rowley, who exposed the FBI's slow action towards terrorism before 9/11. 

There are numerous protection plans for whistleblowers within the United States, the first being the Whistleblower Act of 1989. This act protects whistleblowers who work within the US government and report the possible existence of an activity constituting a violation of law. There are also whistleblower protection programs put in place by OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. These laws enforced by OSHA protect employees from retaliation for reporting violations of various workplace misconduct.

Sources: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whistleblower; https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-the-whistleblower-act-definition-rights-protection.html; https://www.whistleblowers.gov/

Multi-Media Article

Senior Year Cut Short for College Senior Sydney Farabow

For Seniors in college, there are many "lasts" to look forward to. Last nights out with your friends, your last time sitting in a lecture hall, and that final 10 page paper you've been putting off all semester.

For Sydney Farabow, a senior at North Carolina State University, these lasts were taken away before she even got to experience them.

"I was really looking forward to those last six weeks," says Sydney with a solemn look in her eyes. "Having those things, in a sense, taken away from me has been pretty hard for me ."

Sydney has been self-isolating at home since early March, just after the last spring break trip of her college days. Being a senior, her goals are set on graduating even during these times of confusion and difficulty. Sydney takes part in daily zoom classes and tries to finish one homework assignment a day to hopefully graduate in the top percentage of her class.

The statewide lockdown has given Sydney much more free time than she had at school. In her free time, Sydney has been writing more in her journal, exercising, and spending time with her dogs. "Im someone who typically goes one hundred miles per hour, and never slows down. This has really given me the time to do that," she says.

At NC State and in the capital city of Raleigh, everything seems to move fast, and that's what Sydney liked about her school. But at home, its hard for her to stay put in one place. "Its hard not to feel trapped at home," she says.

Sydney realizes that the lockdown is for the greater good, and she says that's whats most important to her. "Just keeping this mindset that its about everyone as a whole and not just what I want keeps me from getting upset about it."

Sydney has now finished all of her classes and exams, but still does not know what's next. She continues show gratitude each day and aims to keep her head held high.

Blog Post week 13

Being Conscious of our Online presence

In today's day and time, internet security is a very important subject which not enough Americans are aware of. Internet security ranges anywhere from being conscious of the posts you make on instagram or facebook to visiting dark websites which could possibly steal your personal information.

Being conscious of the content you post on your social media pages, whether its to your facebook, twitter, or instagram is very important in today's society. Anything you post can deliver messages which you don't intend to leave. This can negative effects that result in consequences which you may not have even thought about or expected before posting. An example of this is two teens who posted a racist Tiktok a few weeks prior. With the intent to be funny (which it was not, just extremely racist), two teens made the biggest mistake of their lives. These teens immediately deleted the video, but it had already raised an enormous wave of backlash. This led to the students being removed from their high school district school system and even losing the ability to attend their dream colleges.

Being aware of the sites you visit in today's time is very important as well. Most websites use "cookies" which track other sites you've visited, your ad preferences, and even your location. Notable major sites have been in trouble recently for releasing personal data to larger corporations and private sectors which use this information in ways which we don't even know. Facebook, which nearly everyone uses and has some sort of personal information shared with the website, have been in trouble recently for releasing this private data.


In conclusion, it is very important for us to be aware of our internet presence. While there are somethings that are out of our control such as cookies and privacy data being stolen, we still have the ability to be conscious of what we post and who can see our profiles.

sources: https://www.fastcompany.com/90315706/kids-parents-social-media-sharing; https://www.fastcompany.com/90447583/our-collective-privacy-problem-is-not-your-fault; https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/18/us/racist-tik-tok-video-carrollton.html; https://www.techrepublic.com/article/facebook-data-privacy-scandal-a-cheat-sheet/

Blog Post week 12

Why Snapchat Has Stayed Around

"Snapchat" one of the most popular messaging apps and has been around since 2011. Ever since its release, it has continued to gain popularity and is known around the world. Snapchat is a way for users to send instant messages to another in the form of "snaps" which are short lasting photos or videos. 

Snapchat was founded in 2011 by Evan Spiegel, Reggie Brown and Bobby Murphy- three students at Stanford University at the time. In July of 2011, the app "Picaboo" was released as a precursor to Snapchat which would eventually come in September later that year.

At its early "exploratory" stage, Snapchat started as a communication app which allowed the user to send and receive photos and videos which only lasted ten seconds each. The app continued to gain popularity and attract new users with it's earlier additions of story's and streaks. Snapchat streaks are an important feature which has helped the app still be popular today. "Snapstreaks" are a tool in the app which counts how many consecutive days you and a friend have exchanged snapchats. This feature keeps friends coming back and snap chatting each other in order to keep the streak going.

The app has continued to keep users around and attract both late adopters and laggards with features such as face filters, its discover page, geo-filters and much, much more. Its ability to adopt to the new demands of its users and generate new ideas which keep people coming back exemplifies why this app is still popular today. 

sources: https://phys.org/news/2018-06-snapchat.html; https://www.snapchat.com/; https://www.thestreet.com/technology/history-of-snapchat

Blog Post week 11

Speech Theories and the Eight Values of Expression

There are eight values of expression which shape the American's freedom of speech and ability to operate in our society. These eight values of expressions are 1) the marketplace of ideas 

2) participation in self government 3) stable change 4) individual self fulfillment 5) check on governmental power 6) promote tolerance 7) promote innovation 8) protect dissent. These values of expression are what set Americans apart from other societies across the world. Many other citizens of differing nations do not have the individual rights us Americans have. Each and every one of these values of expression allow us Americans to live freely and play our role in the government.While these eight theories are crucial to the American people, I believe the theory "check on governmental power" is at utmost importance in today's world.

Checking on governmental power is given by the freedom of the press, which enables both citizens and the press to learn about abuses of power within the government, and be able to investigate or dig deeper. The press is granted the ability to investigate any instance of which a government official may be abusing their power. The press is is then allow to freely report on this instance and dig deeper or investigate to bring the truth to light. In doing so, the public becomes aware of the actions of the people in stronger political positions and know what is going on in their government. The public is able to ingest this information from the press and we have the ability to make our own decisions on the matter through voting. With the press and American people constantly checking on governmental powers, the general public is able to be aware of what is going on in the government and if anyone in power is taking more than is allocated to them.

Whether you're a Republican or Democrat, or don't care for political parties, you are probably aware of much of the hype around the Presidential election of 2016. Within this most recent election, you can find a clear example of when the press learned about a potential abuse of power from a candidate and did their job bringing the issue to light. During her time as United State Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton drew attention from the media and public for using a private email server rather than using her official state department email account. This lead to the transfer of classified information over her personal server, which many interpreted as an abuse of power. It could easily be said that this controversy led voters in the 2016 election to oppose her. By checking on governmental power and freely reporting on potential abuses, the press serves the American people and is a crucial asset to our society.

sources: https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/nbc-news-wsj-poll-hillary-clinton-email-scandal-taking-a-toll-726820419780; https://freedom.press/news/expanding-us-press-freedom-tracker-two-years-after-launch/; https://qns.com/story/2017/02/03/the-people-and-the-press-must-check-governments-power/

Blogpost Week 7

The History of the Petroglyph

Petroglyphs are prehistoric images which have been carved into stone. Petroglyphs are the first known form of communication and date back 44,000 years. The prefix petr- is greek for "stone" and suffix -glyph meaning "stone." Essentially, petroglyph means carved in stone.

Petroglyphs are known to have been discovered all around the world, with the earliest ones being founded in both the Franco-Cantabrian region of Europe and in caves of the Indonesian district of Maros. More recent petroglyphs, dating back around 400 to 700 years can be found in the southwest region of America. These petroglyphs originate from Native Americans and Spanish settlers from that time.

Prehistoric carvings and writings such as petroglyphs are still important for scientists to study today. These carvings and writings give our world a glimpse at communication forms and the ways of life of the people who lived in those eras. 

Sources: https://seanmmedia.blogspot.com/ ; https://www.nps.gov/petr/index.htm ; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1475-4754.1992.tb00498.x