Final Post: Our Relationship with Technology

The internet, television, and cell phones are just a few of the many essential technical advancements that we depend on every day. Although they have improved life in certain ways, they can also have negative side effects just like previous technological advancements. 

The Futurama ride from the 1960s serves as an example of the many advantages of technology improvement. These advantages include improved production, improved communication, a more educated workforce, and support for medical advancements. Simple tasks that are necessary for human survival and flourishing are now simpler because of these advancements. The human species has advanced like never before since the Industrial Revolution thanks to technical advancements that have made us more inventive than ever, as demonstrated in the Age of AI documentary. 

The risks outweigh the advantages by a wide margin. For those who use technology, especially children, some potential dangers include a rise in obesity, a reduction in social skills, a low attention span, and a reliance on technology. In addition to the negative side effects, a loss in mental health is also a legitimate worry as more people depend on technology and social media for happiness and entertainment. This dependency can result in fewer abilities to self-regulate and more behavioral or ethical problems. Additionally, as technology has advanced, particularly with regard to large tech companies, there have been privacy violations as a result of these businesses' free use of their services while secretly monitoring and gathering user data for their own purposes.

Where will technology lead us in the future? Artificial intelligence appears to be the way of the future. After being exposed to pertinent information, machines and computers with artificial intelligence are able to learn and carry our tasks that are often only performed by intelligent individuals. As was demonstrated in the AI documentary, this is already beginning to materialize as self-driving trucks become a reality in America, widespread facial recognition systems take over in China, and increasing investment is being made in both countries to advance AI in order to boost productivity. It was explained that as AI usage increases, fewer jobs will be accessible for the typical individual, which would be a side effect of the technology development.

Personally, I think my relationship with technology is healthier than many people online. Being a good digital citizen, which includes abiding by the law, practicing proper online manners, communicating clearly, comprehending the security and health dangers of technology, and much more, is essential to using technology in a healthy way. As someone who uses technology responsibly, I consider myself to be knowledgeable in these fields.

It is generally accepted that there is no specific maximum time that people should spend using technology each day when it comes to screen time. While it is true that time-consuming devices must be watched, the actual issue is how people are using technology, whether it be for entertainment, education, or other purposes. During the time I am in college, I spend around 5 hours a day on my phone. This may be a lot but when I compare it to my other college friends or peers, this is below average. 3 hours of that time is used for educational purposes and to check my school emails. I save 2 hours of that time to watch entertainment videos on YouTube and TikTok. 

I have a decent presence online if we are referring to my TikTok account, but overall, my online footprint is relatively small. When looking up my name "Holland Barber", my LinkedIn profile appears as well as my TikTok account. A lot of the other links that appear are of barbershops and haircut shops because of my last name. If you click on google images, there are no pictures that pop up that are of me. It is all barbershop pictures. Because I do not have a huge appearance or following on all of my social media or profile accounts, I have been able to maintain a lowkey appearance online. There is nothing negative to be notified about because I am responsible and knowledgeable enough to keep my image clean when I am on the internet.

Technology has become an essential part of our everyday lives and routines for even the most basic tasks, such as using electricity to see what we are doing and staying in touch with our loved ones through social media and messaging. While the many technical systems and technologies might be useful, when utilized excessively or improperly, they can have unfavorable side effects. We must always be cautious and aware of our actions and intentions when using technology because inappropriate and excessive use could cause physical injury or harm, mental distress, or both.

Additionally, technology has provided us and previous generations with a means of connecting everyone on the earth. It is absurd to consider how we might message or communicate with individuals from other nations, such as China or Mexico. We were all stranded in our homes during Covid-19, unable to leave and socialize with others. We were kept afloat by technology. It gave us the ability to conduct business from the security of our homes, keep up with current events through the news, and call anyone worldwide who we could not meet face to face.

Living in the Age of AI

Technology has become a crucial component of our daily lives. We use it for anything from quick math calculations to researching the newest fashion trends. Our Apple Watches, phones, and computers have all merged into one. Therefore, it would be expected that technology will progress through time. We have all seen the robot revolt or uprising, in which artificial intelligence (AI) grows so advanced that it no longer requires humans to survive, leading to a full-scale war with humans. I don't think this will happen in my lifetime, but there's no denying that machine learning will make robots smarter and more effective. When a computer focuses on using data and algorithms to mimic the way people learn, this process is known as machine learning, which helps computers become more accurate over time. Siri for Apple and the For You Page on TikTok are two examples of this machine learning. Artificial intelligence, which includes machine learning, continues to advance the field of computers. Due to the fact that these algorithms will promote the things that attract people and can lead to higher product consumption, this innovation has enhanced the productivity and success of specific businesses and individuals.

A component of AI programming called machine learning is crucial to how AI processes information and learns from it. This observation of "Big Data," which, as the name implies, contains a range of facts used by the AI to, in a way of saying, evolve itself, is made possible. Let me ask a question so you can see the incident in the present times. Do you ever feel as though your phone is listening in on what you are saying? You mention wanting a pair of shoes, and when you look at YouTube on your phone, you see commercials or advertisements for various shoe manufacturers. This is an example of machine learning. Social media apps like TikTok use extremely sophisticated machine learning AI programming that can collect a lot of information about us personally. 

Let's revisit the TikTok algorithm and go much deeper into how it works. This very sophisticated program is able to determine how long it takes you to become disinterested in something on the website. As a result, it starts to provide you with things that can be rapidly seen, keeping you continually interested in what the website has to offer. This is what makes TikTok so addicting. The algorithm can create a digital profile of you called the "For You Page" that includes information on your gender, age in general, and political views. The fact that this deep learning requires no human input to obtain the data is one of the strangest and most terrifying aspects of it. It works at a much higher rate collecting data and growing it AI to a high level of artificial intelligence since it can read and collect data more quickly than any person can. 

I am constantly on TikTok and as someone who has a decent sized platform on the app, I know more about the algorithm than most people. I go on the app every day and I am always surprised that they know what videos to put on my page and what I can relate to. Even if I did not include my interests when making my account so they know what videos to put on my For You, they still find a way to know everything about you. When watching certain videos, I will be like, "how did TikTok know" or "this is way too specific for it to not be about me." It is mind-blowing to see just how much technology has evolved and advanced over the years. It makes people like me become more addicted because you start believing every video you see because it is way too accurate. 

Additionally, as technology advances, computers are starting to teach individuals how to carry out specific tasks and have even replaced many people in the workforce. In terms of healthcare specifically, AI is capable of performing more exact incisions on patients and even providing exact diagnosis far faster than some of the most skilled medical professionals. Even some concealed threats like cancer that some doctors generally neglect can be discovered by them, according to research. It is becoming more and more unsettling to consider the possibility that many employments could eventually be created more by robots and AI than by humans. There will be fewer jobs available as this machine develops and learns more on its own. The machine is more effective and efficient in performing the task. 

We should keep a close eye on this ever-improving AI. It develops far more quickly, than we anticipated, which could ultimately ruin us all. Additionally, we must maintain human labor in the workforce and not rely solely on these technologies. Despite being less effective, they may nonetheless function in adverse settings, unlike other machines. In light of the fact that robots are constantly learning, even when people aren't aware of it, I advise everyone to log out of all their personal profiles and set Siri to muted. You never know you is listening or watching your accounts, so it is best that you can log off or turn off Siri so personal information cannot be targeted by a hacker or anyone listening.

Machine learning has both positive and negative effects. This is due to the fact that when a system analyzes our generated data, it collects their personal information, violating their right to privacy. Even merely by observing your online behavior, computers are able to determine a person's age and gender. Machine learning is harmful because as it gains knowledge, it becomes less dependent on humans to manage it and maintain it online, thus giving the computer an advantage over people in terms of power.

EOTO #2 Reaction: Online Influencers

Online Influencers are taking over social media. Many ordinary people are given a platform to express themselves and voice their opinions. I enjoyed this presentation from one of my classmates because I am someone who is always on social media and keeps up with many influencers' lives. Online Influencers, the individuals and organizations with a supposedly high level of expertise or social influence in a given field, endorse products and place them in advertisements as part of influencer marketing. Online Influencers are people who have built up credibility in a certain area, has access to a sizable audience, and has the ability to influence others to follow their advice. In fact, when done properly, influencer marketing is quickly becoming into a crucial weapon in a company's toolbox. It is important to consider the influencers' potential impact. In the past year, 72% of people say their faith in influencers has grown, 66% of people say influencers frequently impact their buying decisions, and 64% of people say influencers even assist them in discovering new products. For retailers, all of this is quite important. 

You can earn a bit of money as an influencer. Additionally, you may gain some notoriety and admiration from your following. But if you aren't authentic and genuine, it could be challenging to build a great, long-lasting personal brand. When you put yourself out there, people like to impersonate you online by making a fake account that looks like your personal one. Identity theft is a common issue in the world of social media and can be harmful when the theft posts content that could damage your reputation or image. While being an online influencer, there are other influencers who want to work with you. Those influencers you work with can be both a bad and good thing. When working or collaborate with other influencers, this allows both of you to grow your accounts. Their fans recognize or get to know you, through the influencer you are collaborating with. The bad aspect of collaboration is when they use you for clout. Fake friendships can happen when you meet another influencer and all they want from you is your fame. They can ask to collaborate and then wants that is accomplished, they can potentially never talk to you again. That means that they just wanted the attention from your followers. 

Similar ways that influencers can drive the economy exist. They have developed a new market by connecting with followers on social media. As more people become influencers, the demand for professional assistance in content creation may result in job opportunities. Influencers have the power to draw attention to and support for vital causes. Leading influencers frequently take part in social activism. Especially during the Black Lives Matter movement, there were many influencers that supported this movement and went to protests and organizations. This can inspire society to get involved and help with issues that arise in our society. Online influencers have a big responsibility to set a good example and use their platform for positive aspects that can create an impact on society. They help lead society to form opinions and make decisions based on what they say, do, or advertise. Several social media personalities advocate for having a positive body image and accepting oneself. Some social media influencers could also advocate harmful lifestyles, including dieting or overdoing it on exercise. Social media is one of the main aspects that cause society to feel insecure, create unhealthy habits, and become self-conscious. 

When I go online, I see influencers who pose a certain way and they might suck in their stomach to make them look skinnier. Even though all genders are on social media, this has a major effect on females. Females are more likely to develop an eating disorder. Males can still be effect when they see other males posting their bodies at the gym or they're flexing. They start going to the gym too so they can look like the influencers who create unrealistic standards. I have struggled with my body image my whole life. It got bad when I started to get social media and follow famous influencers. I would look at their bodies and want to change myself. This lead to eating disorders that I developed because I wanted to be thinner. I started to unfollow all of the influencers that encouraged my behavior and it helped me to realize that I am perfect just the way I am. Today, I only follow online influencers who preach positive affirmations and body image. I am now recovered from my bad eating habits and have posted content that is supportive of all types of bodies and shapes that we were born with and that spreads an important message. Online influencers can create a false and unrealistic image of themselves online that people might fall into and want to change themselves to look like them. They can also preach positive body image and help society change for the better. Many online influencers post their own workout routines and advice on how to change your lifestyle for the better in order to create healthy habits. Influencers may encourage young people to adopt healthy lifestyles or pro-social behaviors, but they may also set negative examples by smoking, drinking, or even engaging in criminal activity. Influencer content may potentially have an impact on the materialism and psychological health of minors. 

Online influencers are people who build a reputation whether it is good or bad. As someone who has always wanted to be an influencer, I have realized that the influencer life is not for me. Money and fame does not last forever for some people. I grew a decent sized following on TikTok in 2020. I had 165,500 followers and I used my platform to inspire others to chase their dreams. I danced on the app and I still do occasionally. It takes a lot of dedication and energy to continue to grow on the app. I wanted to grow even more, but unfortunately I was not able to. TikTok's algorithm can change and my videos were slowly doing poorly because people were not seeing them. It is hard to be confident enough to voice your opinion when everyone gets offended easily. I realized that online influencers have a hard job when it comes to taking criticism and hate. Online influencers are keeping our generation alive and impacting the world around us in many ways. They have been able to make money and grow an audience that they can influence on any topic they can imagine from a simple but effective post on their social media accounts. 

Diffusion of Innovations

Diffusion of Innovations is a theory that aims to explain the how, why, and speed of the diffusion of new ideas and technologies. It explains the manner and rate with which new concepts, behaviors, or goods diffuse among a community. The innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards are the main participants in the idea. It talks about the transfer of 'new' concepts, things, and social behaviors from one society to another and throughout society.

One of the products with the longest adoption cycles is the cell phone. Martin Cooper, a Motorola engineer, invented the mobile phone in 1973. Majority of people in the world own a cell phone. It is interesting to note that, as of 2021, 97% of people use a cell phone, and 85% use a smart phone. 

For a majority of my grandma's life, she used a flip phone for communication. As most people in this generation have moved to smart phones, my grandma has never cared to upgrade to a smartphone because the flip phone was her first and last cellular device. All of my family has an iPhone. It is crazy to see how the iPhone has improved and expanded on the various versions of an iPhone. I remember when the iPhone 3 came out. It was so small and easy to use as we can call and download any app we wanted to on it. Today, we have the iPhone 14, which is bigger and has various camera updates. The cell phone is a fast and efficient way for people all over the world to communicate. People caught on quick to this innovation because it provided a way for people to talk and get in contact with people instead of traveling to someone in order to have a face-to-face conversation. 

Only those who could afford a $4000 cell phone would purchase one when they initially became available. They were mostly used by wealthy businesspeople who needed to be near a phone line. I would argue that tech reviewers and product experts are among the first to upgrade to the newest edition of the smartphone due to its yearly adjustments. These are the individuals who would evaluate the goods and provide reviews for customers who intended to upgrade.

Due to the expense cost of the device, there were few early adopters of cell phones. Men and women were among the first to own a cell phone in the 1980s when they first became available since they were frequently away from home. Many women carried a mobile phone in order to connect with the other members of the family through the home phone because they wanted to be sure that their husbands were safe at all times. Typically, the working member of the family carried this device. People who can afford to upgrade their phone every year because of their plan or job are the early adopters of the smart phone. The early adopters are also those who, rather than upgrading to a phone that merely offers speed increases, are the first to go out and purchase the new features-packed smartphone of the next generation. 

The group of consumers who purchased a cell phone just as they were beginning to gain popularity is known as the early majority. Due to the high number of people using cell phones while out and about in the 1990s, early majorities bought them. They desired constant knowledge on the whereabouts of their relatives. When Apple sold the iPhone 4 and 4s, which was my first iPhone, the early majority of smartphones were produced. Like yesterday, I recall the iPhone 4s. When the iPhone first came out, every one of my teachers and family members owned one. The majority of those who were ready to upgrade could afford an iPhone 4, but not those who did not want to learn how to use a new phone and operating system. Some members of the early majority believed that their smartphone would outlast their old cell phone. While his partner consistently upgraded her iPhone, my grandfather, who travels and lives abroad, continued to use an iPhone 4. He was one of those individuals who was trapped in the iPhone 4 era. If you ask someone about their first smartphone, they will likely answer that it was an iPhone 4, as the newest iPhones serve as a constant reminder of the iPhone 4 era because the iPhone 4 is where it all began. 

People who solely own smartphones and have never felt the need to own a cell phone make up the late majority of cell phone users. With the iPhone 6, the late majority gained significant ground. The most popular item was the iPhone 6. Many older folks in the 1960s who had previously been hesitant to get an iPhone now felt comfortable to do so. My mom who was born in the 1960s got a phone not too long ago. She did not get a phone until she was 35 and she is not 50. Most of her life growing up, there was no cell phone. When cell phones came out, she never felt the need to buy one until all of her kids got one. She realized it would be easier if she bought one so she can text and call her kids to make sure they are safe and to notify them about an important situation.

According to research, excessive phone use causes relationship problems, anxiety, sadness, stress, and sleep disruptions. Cell phones are a distraction. When I am in school, I see everyone on their cell phones. Nobody tries to stir a conversation or talk to the people beside of them because they are too busy looking at their cell phones. Cell phones have had a negative effect on our social skills and how we perform. I have a hard time studying sometimes because my phone is right next to me. I constantly look at my phone if it is on my table next to my homework. It is a major distraction that decreases our attention span. This is why some people do not get a cell phone. They see the generation of today always on them and they lose interest in getting one. Cell phones take you away from reality and you lose the connection you once had with people because we are addicted to our phones. No cell phones can help us appreciate the environment around us and make us more comfortable with the people and environment around us. Most people have said that cell phones have been more positive than negative in regard to the attitudes toward cell phones. People can access the web and research information with their cell phones and keep in touch with relatives that are miles away. We have access to information from all over the world. Even though cell phones can be a negative aspect of people's lives in regard to distraction and inappropriate content with social media apps on cell phones, they are a vital part of living in our society and have been beneficial to society as a way of being informed and sharing information. 

The laggards are the people who do not have a cell phone. There are also laggards that own a cell phone but have never updated. My grandma has not updated her phone as she still uses the first phone that she has owned for 8 years. She barely knows how to work her flip phone and only uses it for calling someone. She has no interest in getting an iPhone and does not care about social media or the apps that comes with it. Laggards do not like change and are not interested in getting the new products until the traditional alternatives are not available anymore. They make investments to survive and do not care about the latest and newest gadgets of technology.

Comparing expected or estimated costs and benefits connected with a project choice to ascertain whether it makes sense from a business standpoint is the process of a cost-benefit analysis. Cost benefit analysis entails totaling up all expenses associated with a project or decision and deducting the sum of all anticipated benefits. You want a new communication technology to be efficient, affordable, and accessible to anyone who needs it. The cell phone has been successful so far in providing an impact on everyone who has bought the product. Cell phones continue to be one of the biggest innovations and has provided the world with a way of being connected to our society around us.

Online Privacy

 Technology has a vital impact on our lives as we use our phones, laptops, and tablets on a day-to-day basis. We make social media accounts and google accounts that hold and contain valuable information that includes private information. What we do not realize is that it can be dangerous and harmful when we encounter privacy violations. Viruses and hackers get into your accounts which can make your life miserable when a stranger has full control over your important information. It is important to protect our privacy to ensure that we have safety and human dignity. Online privacy issues can affect anyone and everyone as privacy concerns continue to increase when we continue to use technological advancements.

From the TED Talk, "Think your email's private? think again", Andy Yen discusses how there is an astounding amount of personal information online. Our data continues to last forever, even when we are no longer on earth. In our generation, we are being taught to share information online. On Facebook, we communicate with our friends and families as we share pictures and information of our lives. Social media has become an outlet for people to talk about information that should be kept private because you never know who is watching or what hackers and spies could be trying to take your information. The rapid increase in technological innovations has outpaced the protection of privacy. Digital footprints are easily tracked and handled by corporations, as well as the government. Digital footprints are consistently and rapidly growing. It contains large amounts of data that contain the most intimate and personal aspects of our everyday lives. 

Online privacy issues affect me in many ways. I am always on social media as it is a big part of my life. I share information about myself online whether that is Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. I am more likely to be a target for hackers and people online who can easily take and use my information. My Instagram account has been hacked several times and the only way I can get it back is to change my password. Nowadays, it is hard to freely develop and openly talk about my personality without someone taking that information and ruining my reputation or boundaries. These issues affect my friends and families when they all have phones and technological devices. One of my family members has dealt with surveillance issues in our phones. In the Ted Talk, "How to avoid surveillance... with the phone in your pocket", Christopher Soghoian talks about how surveillance backdoors are built into the phone system by default to allow governments to listen in on everything we see and do. We are never safe in these types of situations and every conversation and move we make is being watched and recorded. Dangerous hackers and the government agencies are violating our privacy to the point where we have to cover our cameras on our phones and laptops so we cannot be seen. 

The government should be educating the public. Everyone can be easily gullible when it comes to hackers and stolen information. In addition to ensuring the businesses disclose any potential privacy or security issues and follow their states rules, the government should safeguard its own network. The government should not be destroying our privacy as they should be in charge of protecting our information that is held online. The main issue with our government is that they are taking data from us without our permission. We are being watched and monitored with our emails and online activity. The government needs to secure our information without opening or sharing our information. The government should take cautious steps in order for our online security to be secure. Political reform is required. Governments will simply be one step ahead by learning how to crack the technologies if we try to rely solely on technical answers. Companies must do their part as well as stand up. By encouraging governments to implement these changes, spending more in device security, and by default protecting data sent to and received from connected devices.

A major and important way of protecting ourselves from invasions of privacy is to clear our search history. I clear my search history almost every hour. One thing I need to work on that can protect my privacy is to not overshare information about myself online. It is hard to do that because I like to overshare. When I go on Facebook, I like to tell people that it is my birthday and what I did that day.  We need to be more cautious about posting and sharing personal information online because we never know who might be watching. We should deactivate and ignore the ability to save our password. When we log into Google or a social media account, we sometimes get a feature that allows us to save our password. This can increase your chances of privacy invasions, so ignoring this conveniency can save you from trouble. One thing I have done recently is deleting apps I do not use. I delete my apps to improve the performance of my phone. I never realize that removing apps can also help with security flaws. We should limit the apps that we use so we do not receive any updates or cookies from websites that can be a threat for getting private information from your device. Accounts that are private can be a more trustful way when we limit who sees your content and information. Private accounts have to accept a follow request in order for the person to see their account. This is a safe way for people to cut off the public viewings and share content with people that they know personally. Most importantly, be careful where you click. Devices can easily get viruses that can steal your information. Always be aware of what websites you are using and research what browsers and search engines are reliable. 

Privacy online has always been a significant issue. Privacy is important for keeping our information safe and hidden from the evil world. Online privacy protects our safety from not just online, but in public. In our homes, we do not want anyone coming to our doorsteps because they found out private information that was stored online. It is so easy to share our locations, especially on Snapchat. I can look at people's locations on Snapchat by going to an icon called snap maps. I have that option hidden so no one can see where I am at, but a lot of my friends and random people I have on Snapchat have that option on. It is scary how easily we can locate someone and see where they are from or what they are doing at an exact moment. Privacy protects us as a society and as individuals. Data mining is a way for your data to be stolen when someone tries to get as much information out of you as possible. Data can be stolen in a matter of seconds, and we need to be aware of the ways in which we can limit how much information we store online and how we can protect ourselves and society.

Smith-Mundt Modernization Act

As one of its provisions, the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act forbade the domestic distribution of any materials prepared by programs intended for international audiences and broadcast in accordance with State Department guidelines. "Modernization" refers to the removal of propaganda safeguards and the enabling of government employees and agencies to provide "news" and "opinion" for the American people. The Smith-Mundt Act was first introduced in 1945 by Congressman Karl E. Mundt. On May 10, 2012, American Congressman Mac Thornberry introduced it. The Co-Sponsor for the act was Adam Smith. It was introduced in 2010 and became a bigger piece of legislation in 2012. In order to change specific sections of the 1948 Smith-Mundt Act, the act was included in the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bill as section 1078. It repealed the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948. The 1948 Smith-Mundt Act was repealed by the Obama administration. The Smith-Mundt Act requires the media to report truthfully, but Obama first enacts the 2012 Smith-Mundt Act, which permits the media to fabricate news and much of it to be slanted. According to U.S. Congressman Adam Smith, the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 would enable the U.S. government to use the State Department to communicate public diplomacy information in Arabic to counter in other countries where al-Qaeda was infiltrating the internet to spread anti-Americanism. 

The United States Information and Education Exchange Act of 1948 was amended by a bill sponsored by Representatives Mac Thornberry and Adam Smith to allow for the domestic distribution of information and materials about the United States intended primarily for international audiences, among other things. The bill lifts the ban on allowing Americans to access public diplomacy materials, removing a fictitious barrier to American global engagement while raising home understanding of international matters and encouraging supervision and accountability of the same. The bill underlines the true "anti-propaganda" protections in the legislation, which call for the State Department and the Broadcasting Board of Governors to make the best use of private resources and avoid monopolies.

Greater audience participation and global connectivity will be made possible by the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act, which will increase transparency for publicly supported media. The law will make it possible for individuals all around America to see and hear the important news that the Agency's skilled journalists report, it considers contemporary content distribution channels including the internet, mobile delivery, and satellite television that are not constrained by geographic borders. Given the changing definition of "publicly available" for media organizations, the Act may now be in violation of the First Amendment right to access material that is made available to the public. The U.S. State Department is prevented from executing an efficient and education 21st century public diplomacy strategy, according to arguments that the efficiency of present public diplomacy initiatives a deteriorating and that the domestic dissemination ban is to blame. The Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 enables the American public to be the target audience for information efforts funded by the U.S government.

Given the economic, political, and technological changes that have occurred in the 61 years since the Smith-Mundt Act was passed into law, many experts today contend that the Act is not only out of date but also has a negative impact on 21st century public diplomacy strategies. The growth of the internet has made it practically impossible for the American governments to shield its citizens from learning about American propaganda campaigns carried out abroad, especially radio and television shows that are readily available online. 

To stop the government from shaping and promoting public opinion through the media, the Smith Mundt Modernization Act was created. This made it possible to hear opposing views and voices. For example, there is only one collective "expert" voice about Covid-19 and its remedies in the mainstream media because of the current environment, which silences any voices that challenge the dominant narrative. The Smith-Mundt Modernization Act now permits the government to influence public opinion by using the media. This may affect different people in my generation. It allows the media to form a story and create biased news that can be fake. This leads to "terrorist" events where there is false misinformation. 

Every statement made by this propaganda machine is false and represents the worst form of existence. At my high school, I have heard of several fake shooting threats from classmates. Students get scared and they leave, even though nothing happens. Especially on social media, news can get sent around really quick. We see fake news and tend to believe it. This can influence me to believe it too since I get my information from social media. My family and friends tell me about what they heard from Twitter, Facebook, or someone online. They never step back and research just how accurate the information is. In our society, rich people have more privilege and power to do everyday things. People who are poor get silenced because of their status in society. Americans have this idea that the rich create more value for our society and make our businesses become successful that creates products. The rich have more dominance which lessens the value of the poor. On the web, we hear that America is "richer" than other places without acknowledging the poverty this country has. In political news, we see more male figures. There is little to no female political voices and figures in our country. It is mostly male dominated. On social media, we get to hear everyone's voices no matter what gender they are. We hear opposing views from people who may not have been heard with the Smith-Mundt Act. Females may not feel like they are valued and feel shushed at times, but news is being sent out to everyone around the world. We all have access to information and opinions from different news sources. Everyone has the ability to access news and take into account all of the non-restricted reports and journalists. All audiences are engaged with world news that provides audience connectivity in our society. Fake news can happen anywhere at any time which affects how our society functions and responds to information.

Anti-War and American Conservative Websites

 When I first clicked on Antiwar.com and American Conservative, I was overwhelmed by the loads of information on the site. There is always false information going around in the news about specific topics. We have access to media no matter if it is accurate or false information. It covers information from all over the world which is very useful and cool to see. It has everything from highlights to breaking news and YouTube video attachments talking about the latest news, including Biden and Ukraine and other political news. The website contains information that you typically would not see on national headlining news. By reading these sites, I am becoming more educated on worldly news that I most likely would never find while scrolling on social media. But the real question is, why do we have to dig out information in order to hear strong antiwar voices. 

The reasons why you would not see these websites when you search anything on the internet is because of backlash or threats. Antiwar.com has unedited and honest news and analysis. They do not edit or censor their content. They do not push their specific viewpoints into a protected template. A lot of stories and media these days focus on information that will result in higher viewership and will get more monetization. Sites like these are being covered up by news that will spark interest in the public because the "more important" news will make more money and create more attention. If it is not interesting enough, it will not get revealed to the public. The news likes to cover up information. It is getting more difficult to find voices that question and go against the media and investigates the truth. There is little to no mainstream coverage on antiwar because mainstream media is managed by huge companies who are mainly interested in their own interests and not on people who want social change. Anti-war voices are being silenced on purpose and large companies are wanting to control the media as they are getting in the way of spreading information from all sides.

From my personal stance, I believe that the government does not have an issue trying to mute different viewpoints that are not for what they think is right. We do not see most information and news sites because it is hidden from the public. America shows itself as a land for opportunities and where dreams come true but does not talk about the failures and concerns of human rights. There is news that gets covered up because it can ruin reputations and spark controversy. 

The American Conservative website provides unbiased material. The layout of the site was more organized and not dispersed everywhere on the page to where it is super overwhelming. This website contains information about the future of American Conservatives, the past events, and there is even an article about The Conservative Wisdom of the Infield Fly. It is about how the infield fly rule, like the Senate filibuster, reflects the conservative impulse. I have never heard of these articles and events because the website is not pushed out to the public. The government has so much control over the news and only wants you to see certain topics. I believe the government makes big and popular companies, as well as sources like Google Scholar easy to access. Both the Antiwar and American Conservative website are vital to look back on because the information given is not typically seen on national news outlets.

Based on my observations and discoveries about the two websites, I realized that strong antiwar websites suffer by never getting the recognition the same way that pro-war voices do. Especially when doing research, we always want to hear both sides of the story and get specific viewpoints from each side so people can base their opinions upon that. People want to get factual and accurate news. We hear about people's opinions all the time which can turn into a big controversy because not everyone is going to agree with everything. I want to learn more about the opinions of others and be more open to listening to different stances on specific subjects. We need to be provided with a variety of viewpoints so we can make our own decisions about what we stand for and believe in. Being shoved away from all viewpoints would do us more harm and we need to make a change in order for voices to be heard.