Blog #11 EOTO Presentations

 When listening to each one, teach one presentations, I found the illusory truth effect to be very interesting. This theory suggests that it is a human tendency to believe any repeated statement as true. The repetition of the message influences human perception of validity. At some point, we have all probably done this whether we realized it or not. Sometimes it is just simply easier to believe a lie than to really find out the truth.

The illusory truth effect was introduced by Lynn Hasher, David Goldstein, and Thomas Toppino in 1977. Some examples of this is the Iraq F.W.D myth, when there was false claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and President Obama not being born in the U.S. This shows that serious lies can be extremely harmful to society and politics. I believe that the rise of technology most likely had an impact on this theory due to ordinary people being able to spread what they want on social media. We know that lies and rumors spread like wildfire on social media. During presentations it was also mentioned that this happens whether people realize it or not, this highlights that is always important to thoroughly research. 

Alex suggested that we use the truth sandwich to tell the truth and stop the spread of harmful lies. This technique was created in 2018 by George Lakoff. To reinforce what is the truth, we begin by telling the truth followed by what the lie and how its a lie to finally restating the truth. That way people are hearing the truth twice and was left with it last. to read more about the sandwich effect click here.

To me the illusory truth effect makes sense, but I don't think the lies are the key factor here. I think that people just remember what they hear frequently whether it's a truth or a lie. It reminds me of studying for a test, we resort to cramming information in our brain to retain it so when it naturally occurs we are of course going to remember it. However, I do think it is important to be aware that we do this especially when it can result in misinformation. 

Blog #12 Final Post Launch

There is no question that technology is taking over our everyday lives, and it is just the beginning of a revolution. When I think back to my childhood, I can remember the evolution of technology just by what was in my parents' hands. The change from my mother holding a Sony Cyber-shot to her purchasing her first iPhone in 2014. I'm sure that most of my generation can relate to this. After all, we are the last generation to have the majority of our baby pictures on a digital camera. 

We have seen the change of our peers holding up a screen to snap a picture, to us scrolling to view others' pictures. Although I understand Facebook and Myspace were a thing in the early 2000's they were not as accessible as today's social media. To reach social media, then, you needed a laptop or a desktop with wifi. Today, you reach into your back pocket and pull out your phone that you unlock with facial recognition, and as long as you have good service or wifi, you can view and upload from anywhere. 

Along with the physical rise of technology, what is on our technology comes with it. The first iPod was released in 2001. For just three hundred and ninety-nine dollars, you could purchase this pocket-sized music player that could hold a whopping number of one thousand songs! Today, we don't even stress about downloading a song; we have access to music almost anywhere and everywhere. We even have the ability to make our own music on our devices. I don't think I even need to list today's technology in detail because if you are reading this, you already have access to it all. Almost everyone in America has access to the internet and devices, from five-year-olds to even the homeless.

So the question is, how has technology changed us? Technology has become a part of us; we do not leave the house without our cell phone, we do not enter an educational institution without there being technology, and we do not work without technology. In The United States we even vote using technology. We are constantly surrounded by technology and we do not even realize it.

For me personally I find myself to have a very healthy relationship with technology. I am very blessed to have grown up the way that I did, I was always surrounded by family and playing outside with my siblings and cousins. The first Ipad didn't come out until 2010 when I was five years old and even if I wanted one at the time my parents couldn't have afforded it. I also have never been much of a user of tv either, I think that I don't have the attention span to stay focused which is truly a blessing in disguise. 

I wish most of the world would unplug for a while and really let reality soak in. I hate sitting down at a table and seeing phones covering my friends and families faces while we are together. Although we are extremely blessed to have access to our devices we are even more blessed to have one another. Technology can also create delusion and cause some to become out of touch with the world.

I think it is our responsibility as users to understand the personal impact that technology has on us. I don't find it be anyone else's responsibility but our own. My hope is that my generation will prevent our children from becoming over consumed and addicted to their devices. Children today are really at risk for having mental health issues and it's not even their fault. We as adults have to do better about this issue and understand the long term affects and stop avoiding it.