My Relationship With Technology

     There is no doubt that at my current age, 19 years old, I am at the center of the population engulfed in technology. My generation has never seen life without it and only knows how to live with it by our side. This is a scary thought, but is also so interesting when really looked into. I feel that I have a very good relationship with technology, however, I am not blind to the problems and issues it causes in my life and those like me. The world and the internet are a scary place these days and its hard to not get sucked into the mess.     

    I feel that since I have grown up surrounded by technology, I have been able to make it work in my life exactly how I need. From an outside perspective some may say I, or teens like me, use it way too often, but that is just because they don't understand the way in which it works within our lives. A great example of this is how productive I can become because of technology. Being born with these devices means I know exactly how to use them and exactly how to manage them. The new generation is able to create and learn so much quicker because of technological advancements. That doesn't even bring in the idea of how much we are able to communicate and learn from each other. Social media alone has created such an amazing space for children to experience things they never would have without it. This statistic from statisa.com show exactly how many of us truly are connected and within each others reach. 

    However, as I had mentioned before, I am not oblivious to the harmful effects social media has on so many individuals along with myself. I ,myself,  have been victim to cyberbullying and I know so many others that have as well. I would be lying if I had said that technology has not caused me to have depressive episodes or effected my mood. Nevertheless, nothing is perfect. For as much as social media may be harmful to us and can cause a variety of issues, nothing compares to the amount of good that it can do for us. We have been able to push so much farther forward because of it and have grown as a species more than we could ever imagine. 

    Lastly, my digital footprint is something that I have never been very worried about. I see social media as a way to express yourself, to have fun, and to be who you are. There are always people saying that you have to be careful what you post and to worry about what everyone else thinks. And while I completely agree that it is important to be careful and smart on social media, I do not think individuals should have to limit themselves. A study by Inc.com shows that in today's day and age companies do not really care about "drinking" or things of that matter on social media accounts. Everyone knows that you've done it, and everyone knows that everybody does it. Its things like this that make me unworried about my digital footprint. I know that I have been smart with what I have put out there, and I can say that I show exactly who I am. That personally is what is most important to me.