Reading Reflection:

In relation to Network Theory, the web in an incredibly rich source of networks, information, user-generated data and much more. According to Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the “World Wide Web”, the web is immensely significant when it comes to the creating connections and relationships between sets of data known as “linked data”. Emphasizing his phrase of, “Raw Data Now”, he explains that if all data was to become accessible to the public, real and true data from the government and different enterprises, then the amount of knowledge available to the public would be infinite. And even more so, that useful links could be created between different sets of data. For instance, if a person states online that they are from a certain city in Spain, a data link would be created between that person and Spain. From clicking on that person, a different user would also be able to find more data on Spain, the specific town they’re from, the history of that town and so on. On the word of Fred Vogelstein, and his article entitled, “The Great Wall of Facebook”, Facebook also intends to do something similar with personal user data which they have coined the “social graph”. This basically means that Facebook wishes to and is currently creating a way where they use people’s personal data to help the users find things or answers. If a user searches up the nearest foot doctor or cute clothing store, recommendations would be provided by their linked data, those they are friends with and admire online. “Facebook is an advanced communications network enabling myriad communication forms” (Vogelstein 2009) verses Google’s use of impersonal algorithms to find the answers to questions that users look up on a daily basis. Both Facebook and Google use a kind of “linked data” to create connections between users and their interests, but in different ways. Facebook’s invasive method for targeted advertising uses one’s personal data found on that social network itself and/or on the other 10,000 partners sites or apps. Though not discussed in the article, I also wonder if Facebook listens to us on a daily basis. After hearing a number of stories from friends and family that advertisements would pop up on their newsfeeds only after physically talking about an experience or product aloud. Google created their own version of “linked data” between user and content by a user’s search history and browsing activity. This may be less personal, but hey, Google is still an essential part of everyone’s daily life. Facebook and the ways they use data to provide better and more personal online interactions for their users is a great idea, but there is a fine line between efficient and just plain creepy.

Good Riddance Google and Facebook Experiment

“Our most powerful 21st-century technologies – robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotech – are threatening to make humans an endangered species” (Joy 2000). I started off with this quote because of how dependent we all are on technology alone. Yes, this dependence is a necessity in this day an age where the “all-knowing” internet, unlimited knowledge, and boundless entertainment are greatly sought after because they are miraculously efficient, and incredibly convenient. But how convenient is too convenient? After completing this experiment, I have come to the realization that I am unbelievably dependent on these two companies and their products. Facebook and Google are literally habits in my daily life and they were harder to break than I had imagined. After the first two days following the instruction (Thursday and Friday), I would begin browsing my phone for some sort of entertainment in my break times. The firsts were always Youtube and Instagram. Then I would remember and quickly exit the apps. In this time, I learnt that Tumblr was owned by Verizon, 9GAG and Pinterest independent companies and Netflix, a tool that requires great patience to find the good stuff (well, I kind of knew that last one already). Bing, a Microsoft product, taught me all of this, which quite honestly, resembles Google’s search engine almost entirely. At first, I found searching things up on Bing to be a bit tedious because on the Safari application, both used on my phone and laptop, when you search something in the website/browsing bar, it automatically takes you to a google results page. I would have to type “bing.com” into the browser every time and then look up one of the many random things or questions that come up on a daily basis. I would say I found it quite difficult at first because Facebook and Google products are habits that I didn’t even know I had. After a while of not using them, I kind of just got used to it. I found other things to do like finally tackle that sewing pile that’s been building up with my father’s records playing in the background. I wouldn’t say I found it stressful by the end because there are so many different companies out there that need the extra user-time where Google and Facebook do not. I also regained my love for the app 9GAG, so if any of you guys enjoy dark humor or any funny content in general, check it out.

Honorable mentions:

“Reading, explains Wolf, is not an instinctive skill for human beings. It’s not etched into our genes the way speech is. We have to teach our minds how to translate the symbolic characters we see into the language we understand. And the media or other technologies we use in learning and practicing the craft of reading play an important part in shaping the neural circuits inside our brains” (Carr 2008).

“Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts” (Nietzsche 1882, Carr 2008).

German media scholar Friedrich A. Kittler about Nietzsche’s prose, “…changed from arguments to aphorisms, from thoughts to puns, from rhetoric to telegram style”(Kittler, Carr 2008).

I just wanted to add these three quotes because they didn’t really fit the theme of my reading reflection, but I found them really fascinating. The readings this week didn’t just remind me of how dependent we are on Google, Facebook and the web in general, but also made me question the long-term effects of internet and social network use. We may see it in our generation, though I think it’s safe to say the majority of us grew up without the technology that the generations that follow us have grown up with. Like… when I was a kid, I still played outside and didn’t get my first cellphone (pink Razor) until I got to highschool and that was normal. Technological advancements and the increased usage of them pose the questions: will more and more children and young adults of today think mechanically instead of humanly? And should this be a worry for the future?

So my week going without google or Facebook products went horrible I failed the first day Just due to the fact that I use it every day well mainly google and Instagram. The reason for me breaking so quickly is because whenever I use a different search engine its always inaccurate to what im specifically looking for with google I can type three words or even just two and it would already know what im looking for which makes it easier and saves me a lot of time, especially when im doing homework. Also whenever I go to a place and I have no clue to get there I use google maps. Furthermore, I may have broken early but I have grown so used to living with technology making everything easy for me I wouldn’t be anything if technology would be around it, I know it may be crazy but you can go up to any millennial or 90’s baby and ask them if they know how to navigate using a real paper map I bet most wouldn’t and they would go directly to there GPS.

In one of the readings, this part I read caught my eye it Stated “Eventually, a stage may be reached at which the decisions necessary to keep the system running will be so complex that human beings will be incapable of making them intelligently. At that stage, the machines will be an effective control. People won’t be able to just turn the machines off, because they will be so dependent on them that turning them off would amount to suicide.” (Why the future doesn’t need us) This had such a big impact on me just because of how right the person who wrote this was because already machines are taking over factories and even everyday jobs like a cashier job. For example, If Amazon was to stop running at this very moment a lot of people would be stressed just due to the fact that whatever they needed amazon could supply and could have anything delivered to there home without having to go to the store by taking this away this will cause a massive panic even on the holidays if that were to happen.

In this challenge, I somehow survived. I successfully did not use Google and Facebook products. At first, I struggled because I usually checked my email, but I told myself not to. Now, I accumulated more than 165 emails. I’m surprised I did not check them at all because everytime that I see that 165 emails, I have this itch that I need to scratch. In terms of social media, I mostly use instagram to see what’s new with my friends or what’s trending. Everytime I see the notifications from Instagram, I have this urge to open it. Instead of clicking on it, I dropped my phone and did something else. It was stressful at first, but I adapted the next day. Instead of wasting my time scrolling on Instagram, I wasted my time in the game PUBG. I became more focused on my homework. I have more time to sleep and work out. I have time to make myself some food. This challenge helps me realize that the online world is depriving me from enjoying my time in the real world. It helped me focus on my priorities.

When the professor at the end of class said to try to go a week basically without social media, I said I will able to make it at the end of the week. My first instinct was to delete all those apps I’m frequently on, Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, and Youtube. I kept Google maps for the reason that it is a necessity when I drive although I know my way, I use to see my time and how long the trip will take me. The first days were HORRIBLE, I have the tendency of waking up and checking the gram, a little part of me wanted to re-download the app but instead I tried to distract myself by starting the morning by cleaning my room something I rarely do. As the day went by seeing my sister laugh at Tik Tok, it was making things more tempting. It was temptation, and the separation anxiety I had from my phone, and the little fear that I am going to miss a big thing.

As the week was coming towards the end, I will say .. I gave up by day 3 I could not resist not knowing was happening, I miss the scrolling. I felt that social media did not play a huge factor in my life but in reality, it did. In the article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid” it said, “The more pieces of information we can “access” and the faster we can extract their gist, the more productive we become as thinkers.” When I did not have the apps I felt left out, you say I felt lost. It was great that I did this exercise because it motivated me to live in the moment. I had a family event over the weekend and instead of posting what was going on, I really took advantage of “disconnecting” from the social world.

So during the week I was tasked with not using google, Facebook, and other social media sites. The thing that happened is the majority of what the professor asked for I did because I am not a Facebook user To be honest my Facebook is full of degenerates so I don’t go on there, Instagram I only use for finding tattoo artists, and Tie Tok is cancer so I didn’t have that downloaded. I have to say though I failed at this exercise because of the simply face I needed to be on YouTube. I looked up Youtube on Yahoo to see if I can find a loophole but it definitely said no Google. I failed this with flying colors on Day 2 because I have a side job with my step mother’s company that makes logos and websites and I needed Youtube to help refresh my memories on how to do certain things. I am honorable enough to say because of YouTube I failed this challenge, everything else was easy for me to put down but YouTube was a requirement and I bombed it completely.

I think the whole gist of the assignment is because people is so dependent on Social media that it can take over our lives in a sense. I think theirs a line of people that let it consume them or people that actually need it for business ventures. In the article Is Google Making Us Stupid by Nicholas Carr, he emphasizes that the internet can make people slow in the terms of how he was having trouble reading and thinking like he used too. I can actually relate to doing this type of research on myself when I was younger. Their was a very unusual feeling when you are constantly on your phone just aimlessly scrolling, I had to start reading more and spend less time on the internet.

The Internet and the technological devices of today have made me able to retain information because mostly all of the information is online. It is an easy accessible way to gain information on any subject matter that an individual may need at that moment. It was interesting to see how Tim Berners-Lee explained his thought process regarding data and the World Wide Web he created himself. Even though we are able to gain more knowledge about numerous things, the online world can make us lose our sense of reality as well as become more dependent on it as well. Like in connection to the “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” article, in where people are becoming so used to using the Internet as the easy way out that most people aren’t using their brains to exercise them. 

For me it was definitely difficult to not use Google and Instagram because those are the two media platforms I use the most. Google to be used for homework and my own curiosity while Instagram to be used for my own entertainment. These types of media platforms are sort of like addictions that a person can’t really stop using and get away from.

Let’s just say… this challenge is almost impossible given today’s standards.
I mean, maybe it’s doable if you weren’t consumed within Google’s ecosystem. But nowadays, it’s almost impossible. You absorb Google services even without knowing it. YouTube? Yeah, that’s under Google’s umbrella. Signing into a website? There’s probably some code that forces a redirect to Google’s servers for authentication. Ads whiles scrolling through articles? Say “hello” to Google’s AdSense Program. It’s impossible to avoid.

To start, avoiding Facebook products was pretty easy. I have not used Facebook for years especially since no one else in my friend circle or family uses Facebook. As for Google products, that was definitely harder than expected. My main source of emails is via Google and since I was expecting important emails throughout this week, or even this month, there was no question that I can’t avoid Gmail. Even if I wasn’t expecting emails, I think I would have still failed the challenge as I would open my Gmail habitually as that’s what I do every single day.

I made an effort to avoid anything YouTube but that’s equally as difficult since digital platforms these days embed YouTube videos within their pages. For example, YouTube videos are embeded onto the page on Reddit threads. Therefore, in order to view the content, there is at least some interaction with the YouTube interface. Like my email situation, I fell to my habits and opened up a YouTube page the second day, binged a couple videos and came to a realization I had failed the challenge.

Looking back, it feels as if people, at least me, are accustomed to going to the internet for their sources of communication, entertainment and news. This is especially hard to avoid when your source of everything, from communication to entertainment, all falls under one company – that single tech giant. Perhaps it would have been much easier if my sources and habits were spread across multiple platforms and sources.

Now I’m thinking I could potentially had avoided Google and complete this challenge if I had planned ahead. For example, since Google is my source of emails, I could possibly setup the email to forward anything for the week to an alternate email under a different company like Yahoo or Microsoft Outlook. YouTube would be a hard one to avoid since they seem to be THE video-sharing platform on anyone’s mind with no contest.

To be completely honest I failed the challenge immediately. From the moment professor Jonah told us this challenge I knew I wasn’t going to succeed because last year when I had professor Jonah‘s class we did a similar assignment and I failed as well. It is extremely hard avoiding sites such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, and more. When I’m bored that’s all I do every single day because there’s nothing else for me to do to keep myself entertained, I usually do not watch movies or TV shows and I can’t go outside due to Covid so I have no other option but to use these social sites to help with the boredom. I honestly don’t know how people could live like this but I know that I can’t and probably will which is kind of sad but realistic. This generation revolves around the use of social networks and technology so I’m sure that I’m not the only one who had trouble succeeding in this challenge but to be honest it was very hard from the beginning.

When it came to the assigned readings, the question that had to be answered was if I feel that the internet and our devices have made us unable to retain information which in this case, prior to reading the articles, I believed the internet and our devices had actually helped us retain information since the information is easily accessible and we can do more research on the topic. But once reading articles such as “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, my opinion has changed. In the article, it speaks about the effects of using devices that one has experienced that I feel like we may be able to relate to. “I can feel it most strongly when I’m reading. Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy.” This line caught my attention the most because I’m able to relate to it. Using my self phone and social media makes everything seem so face paced which reflects off of life outside of it, I tend to rush and skim through readings which makes it hard for me, this results in having to reread multiple times.