My Relationship with Technology

 My Relationship with Technology

Everyone has had different experiences and different purposes when using technology. Personally for me, technology has had a big impact in my life. I have used technology for multiple instances, such as for my personal life, education, and for what I do outside of school. 

I have used technology throughout my entire life. However, I started to use technology more towards the end of my middle school years. Ever since, I became fascinated with technology as it has become a very important part of my life. Initially, I used technology for fun, whether it was playing video games or watching YouTube. However, to this day I still use technology for fun as I use it to watch sports or watch videos pertaining to sports. 

Social media has been one of the most positive aspects in my life and it has strengthened my relationship with technology. Five years ago, I made an Instagram page pertaining to the Charlotte Hornets. From the beginning I always wanted to reach across a wide platform of people and give them coverage of the team from a perspective of a fan. Since, my page has taken off, as I've reached over 26,000 followers across the world and met and chatted with many great people along the way. If it weren't for technology I wouldn't be where I'm at today and wouldn't have met the people I have. Technology gave me the opportunity to reach my goals and start heading towards where I want to end up in the sports field.

Another positive aspect of my life within technology has been sports. Sports has always been something i've really enjoyed throughout my entire life. Technology has given me a way to do so many things within sports that I couldn't have imagined as a kid. It has made my overall sports viewing experience much better. Some examples are reading articles on the web that surround sports stories and being able to watch highlights of games, if I was unable to watch the game. Technology has given me a lot more opportunities to watch sports and enjoy it in a different way. Technology gives you various options to watch games, whether it's through streaming, cable, or networking. 

Technology also gave me the opportunity to write articles for my favorite sports team on Hornets Sports Illustrated. As a kid it was always intriguing to read sports columns and stories, and now it's crazy to think now that I'm doing the same thing. Without technology, it wouldn't be possible because everything requires technology, whether it's finding statistics or finding highlights for a player or finding out details about a players past. 

Technology is only going to keep expanding as the years go on, which can be exciting, but also a little bit concerning. It's becoming more known that A.I. is aware of our every move and it's scary to think about how much information they know abut us, without us giving it out to them willingly. A.I. has already changed the world drastically and it's crazy to think about how much more it could change in the next decade or years to come. 

The Age of AI

 The Age of AI 

The Age of AI is a very interesting and controversial topic over the last decade. One thing that has become known is that "Artificial Intelligence has become a driver for increased inequality because it's the form of automation and automation is the substitution of capital for labor. 

When A.I. does that the people with the capital win, which means that with A.I. making an impact, it is only making things worse because it is making the wealthy wealthier and the poor even poorer. 

A.I. has been the ultimate tool for wealth creation and it is a set of tools that help you maximize an objective function. The objective function is usually to make more money and grow. 

A.I. is also involved in your daily life more than we ever could've known and not in a good way. Everywhere you go it is producing data, whether we want it to or not. It knows what we want to buy by our search history and what we look up on social media. It also knows what our interests and where we like to travel.

It's common when using Facebook or any other form of social media. Typically, an ad comes up with something that you're interested in without you looking it up. In some ways that can be a positive thing because it could be something you want to buy, but on the other hand it is a little creepy and unsettling to know that they know all this information about you.

An interesting quote from the video was, "social media has been us, not us using social media." I thought that kind of shows you in a way how A.I. has placed themselves in our lives in a way we didn't really want them to. 

Alexa has been one of the ways that A.I. has found out more about us. They can make inferences on if you're feeling sick or depressed or in good spirits just by talking to them or asking questions. Even in job interviews, A.I. is listening into our conversations. It seems like now that A.I. is just here to find out information about us and not for us to get information. 

The Importance of HPU Club Sports

 The Importance of HPU Club Sports

For many students at High Point University, club sports has been a way for them to continue playing the sport they love. 

Men's Club Baseball - picture by Chris Jones

By: Austin Leake

Q News 

HPU Club Sports is offered to students who enjoyed playing sports in high school and want to continue at the college level.

Club Sports that High Point University holds

Club Sports at High Point University holds 23 different sports as they cover across all the different types of athletics, such as the most played sports, basketball, baseball, softball, hockey, and soccer. However, HPU holds a much larger variety of club sports that includes ultimate frisbee, table tennis, bass fishing, and many others. 

- Men's Ice Hockey team - picture taken by Chris Jones

 Three of the club sports teams that have shown the most growth so far has been Men's Ice Hockey, Men's Baseball, and Men's Golf. The Men's Ice Hockey team has grown the most among the three and it continues to grow. 

Student Experience in Club Sports

Tommy Yucis, a freshman student at High Point University competed with the club basketball team for the spring and fall semester. Yucis recently spoke about why he joined club basketball and one of the most important reasons why he joined.

- Tommy Yucis on why he joined Club Basketball - picture via Club Sports

Yucis mentioned that it was overall a great experience for himself and that with just two practices during the week and games on the weekend, it doesn't conflict with his studies and schoolwork. Yucis also said that "he's had a lot of fun and that he loves traveling to other schools to play, while becoming friends with people on the team. 

Another student, Wyatt Williams is a sophomore at High Point University, who has competed on the club soccer team during his freshman and sophomore year. 

Williams said that club soccer has been a positive experience for him because he has been able to play the sport he's played and loved for years. Williams said "to be able to play in college and do what I love has been super exciting." 

Williams repeated that one of the main reasons he joined club soccer was because it was an opportunity to play his favorite sport in college even if he wasn't on the D1 team. Williams mentioned that he has made a lot of friends while competing and that he believes club sports in general is a great way to meet people. 

One of the well-known positives from club sports is that there's only two practices a week and the games are on the weekends. That's important because it allows students to focus on school and still have a social life outside of their sport.

Where is Club Sports heading?

Austin Wilson, who is the director of recreational services and club sports recently spoke about the intention of what club sports is about, "I think it’s a mixture of a lot of things, the intention would be for people that played high school sports to continue playing sports at the college level. We do offer sports for students that are looking to try it out for the first time at the club sports intramural level."

Wilson takes a lot of pride in what he does to help students be able to play sports at the collegiate level. Along with that, he also makes sure students are enjoying their time with their respective sport with the three pillars. 

The three pillars are fun, competition, and engagement. If the club sport doesn't meet one of the three pillars then Austin Wilson will evaluate it and find more about what the issue is, however if it does meet all three pillars then it is heading in the right direction. 

Although club sports has came a far way, Wilson believes there could still be improvement. Wilson was asked about if there was room for improvement and he said, "we could always improve, there's always room for improvement. It kind of goes back to those three pillars and striving to be better."

If you are interested or looking to play a club sport in the spring or fall semester, contact clubsports@highpoint.edu. For more information please visit High Point University's Club Sports website. 

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Diffusion Theory

 Diffusion of Innovations

The Diffusion of Innovations is a theory that explains the speed of how new ideas and technology spread. TikTok is a good example of that theory as it has continued to grow tremendously over the recent years. 

TikTok is a very popular media app that began in September of 2016. It really began to take off around when Covid struck the world and everyone went on lockdown. It gave everyone something to watch or enjoy during the tough times that the world was experiencing. A lot of people started to catch onto Tik Tok around that time because the videos on the platform were getting shared all over the world. TikTok was also a way for people to make the most of the terrible situation that the entire world was going through. Whether it was sharing videos with your friends or family members, TikTok has continued to grow across the entire country. 

TikTok would not have been where it's at if it wasn't for Musical.ly, which started in 2016, but the name was eventually changed to TikTok in August of 2018. The early adopters were those that owned Musical.ly because it wasn't a very popular app at the time. After the app became TikTok it started to take off, but it wasn't until covid hit, when most of the users started to download the app. 

TikTok allows you to post anything, whether it's sports, politics, news, music, photography, school, travel, etc. TikTok became one of the most viewed social media apps, over Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter because of it's appeal to the younger generation. Over 44% of individuals around the age of 20-39 are actively using TikTok. As well, in 2021 TikTok was the 7th ranked social media app, which was higher than Twitter and Snapchat, and many other social media platforms. 

EOTO #2

 EOTO #2 Cancel Culture

Cancel culture is a very debatable topic in this generation. Cancel culture is when someone completely rejects an individual because they have said or done something that is offensive to them. Some people believe that punishing people for their actions is appropriate, but others think it's too harsh.  A number of individuals believe that people should get a chance to be forgiven or have a second chance. 

Some of the positive impacts that cancel culture has had is it can encourage "accountability and growth." In some ways it points out the mistakes that someone has made that can be offensive to someone or a group of people. It's meant to help show the individual getting cancelled that they messed up so they can then educate themselves for the future. The main thing cancel culture is supposed to help is to make people think before their actions or hold people accountable for their behavior. 

Some of the negative impacts that cancel culture has had is that it affects people's mental health. The impact it has on your mental health can be different depending on if you're the person getting cancelled. If you're the person being cancelled it can turn into bullying, which can lead to them feeling lonely. Loneliness can be "associated with higher anxiety, depression, and suicidal rates". Typically if a person gets cancelled they receive a lot of harsh words on social media and the internet as well. One prime example of someone experiencing mental health issues after being cancelled is Chrissy Teigen, who is a best-selling cookbook author and model. After getting cancelled, she said that "going outside sucks and doesn't feel right, being at home alone with my mind makes my depressed head race. I feel lost and need to find my place again." 

The biggest problem with cancel culture is it tends to not let people be forgiven for their mistakes. It seems like people get "cancelled" and they have no chance to apologize. It's like if you get cancelled, everyone stops talking to you and then you have no opportunity of being forgiven by the general public. Cancel culture is supposed to show what's wrong or what isn't appropriate and punish people for their actions or words, but instead it has turned into a corrupt trend. It's corrupt because although it's supposed to make you learn from things, it doesn't give you a chance because once you're cancelled you aren't given any chances to redeem or learn from your mistakes.

Cancel culture can affect anyone, it doesn't matter if you're wealthy, poor, or middle class. It can affect all sorts of people, there's no specific type of person that gets cancelled more than anyone else. In fact, a number of celebrities have been cancelled over the years for numerous reasons. For example, J.K. Rowling, who is the author of Harry Potter got cancelled for making a comment on Twitter in June of 2020 that offended members of the transgender community. Another celebrity that has been a victim of cancel culture is Chris Pratt, who is an actor most commonly known for Marvel movies has been cacnelled multiple times on Twitter over claims that he is allegedly "homophobic" and goes to an anti-LGBTQ church. A lot of his fans have turned on him since and he has been harassed on social media at the same time.

In conclusion, cancel culture is a very debatable topic that has recently grown more and more over the recent years. If you're the person being cancelled it can be very hard emotionally on you, but some would agree that it needs to be done for that person to grow and realize the mistake they made. It has been very controversial before and it most likely will continue to be just as disputable in the near future. 

EOTO Presentation #2 Reaction

 

Confirmation Bias

A term that I found interesting from one of the teams is confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is a decision making bias, which is typically unintentional based on preconceived opinions and stereotypes.

 

It typically occurs when someone only collects evidence of information that is in agreement with their opinions and beliefs, and ignores anything that disproves or argues against them. Confirmation bias has a tremendous effect on increasing stereotypes, whether it is gender, race, sexuality, class, etc. 

Some of the most notable examples of confirmation bias being shown is within judges, doctors, or romantic partners. Confirmation bias has also had numerous real-world effects in medicine, law, and relationships. 

One example is if a person believes homeless people are dangerous and they see a homeless person harming someone, that furthers their belief. The main point that comes along with confirmation bias is if someone is told fresh information and it goes along or confirms what they already believed, then they are more likely to "accept it as true and accurate."

The contradicting part is people tend to avoid when their stereotype has been proven inaccurate because they're still focused on their preconceived opinion. If it weren't for their previous opinion, then they would be more open to hearing both sides. 

To conclude, confirmation bias is typically not true, but just a thought or opinion that has been misconstrued because of their bias and stereotype to the situation. These people usually will blow off or shrug off the things that don't back up their stereotype or opinion. 

AntiWar Agenda

Antiwar Agenda 

 If you take a look at the websites ANTIWAR.COM and The American Conservative, they have an antiwar agenda, but if you looked at the mainstream news then it would be quite the opposite. I've seen articles before about people being against a war, but nothing close to how these websites portrayed it. It makes you speculate a little about why we aren't seeing this in the mainstream news, rather than being almost hidden from the world. 

Some of the potential reasons as to why we have to seek out obscure websites to see these strong antiwar voices are because it doesn't fit the news that the media is trying to portray and it can be sheltered so people only see a certain side of things. Typically when you look at the internet nowadays there's numerous of websites that try to appeal to an audience and avoid speaking about certain things. 

The websites were more opinionated and more direct than the ones you would typically see in the mainstream news. I feel like that's one of the biggest reasons as to why it gets hidden from the mainstream news because it has their own opinions and they're not afraid to hide or filter it. The mainstream news, for the most part says things that is widely known across all medias. While, on the other hand there seems to be a distinct difference between the two. These antiwar websites say things that aren't well-known across all media platforms, which makes them different. The media sometimes doesn't like different, which negatively impacts this websites' views. I've never once heard of either of these two websites and it's because they've been sheltered from me and everyone else due to those reasons.