Throughout the semester we talked about how we are in a filter bubble and it is hard for us to break through because we do not really realize that we are in a filter bubble. This filter bubble is created because we provide a lot of our personal information on the internet. But I think people do not really mind because there is convenience when we provide our information on the internet. A practical step that I have taken to prevent myself from being trapped in a filter bubble is to clear my browsing history. I think clearing your browsing history from the beginning of time is helpful, because sites such as Amazon cannot track your searches and send you deals or possible items you might be interested in. Also from browsing sometimes you turn off/on features of your browser without knowing. But auto fill makes searching a lot easier, which makes us stay within our filter bubble.

Another step I would suggest taking is to log out of everything, especially when it is not your computer/phones. This is about convenience, a lot of people like to stay logged in because it is easier. Also if you want your phone to receive your emails you need to stay logged in, we want to stay connected and it is more convenient to be able to access our emails all the time. And going back to the Amazon example if you are not logged in Amazon cannot send you emails suggesting products you might like. It is easier to buy something when you are logged on to Amazon because you can just click but if you search logged out you have to log in to purchase. But this makes our information vulnerable for hackers. I remember a long long time ago, I forgot to log out of Myspace and someone hacked it. Myspace is not very important but today our address, credit card, passwords and much more is up for grabs for the hackers. This information is important unlike Myspace. Be careful where you are logging on because stores like Apple saves your email addresses. So try not to log on to anything on other computers and other people’s phones.

I saw this post on Facebook and it caught my eye, it is a video that talks about how we have these social tools but we are not really that social anymore. Yes we are able to connect to more than one person at once but we are looking at a screen. We spend so much time on these social networks that we do not interact with each other. I agree with this to some extent because when I see people sitting around the table for about an hour and all they do is look at their phone. They are all sitting at the same table but they are not speaking, everyone is just looking at their phone. When I see that I think to myself what is the point of being together in the same room if you are going to stare at your phone. You can do that at home by yourself. I also agree that children today do not know how to be children because I see little kids with tablets and cellphones. I know that there are apps that help them learn but they are so young they do not need to be exposed to the technology. Because they are going to become reliant on the technology.

On the other hand I do not agree with the video because I have a group chat and we still spend time together every week. There are times where we are playing on our phones but majority of the time we are talking and just spending time with each other. The group chat can be hectic but it makes planning and communication a lot easier. We also use these social tools to talk to family and friends that are far away from us and it is our only way to interact with them. Technology also keeps us updated which can be very important, for example school emails are very important. information on finals week, school work, blackboard updates, registration and much more. Yes we are reliant on technology but we can do so much more with it. When we are with other people we should put our phones away and just enjoy each other’s company.

Not many people use Internet Explorer today because many people have switched to Chrome and Firefox. But here is another reason not to use Internet Explorer! I read this article recently where Homeland Security is recommending that everyone use a different browser than Internet Explorer. Apparently version 6-11 of Internet Explorer has a security bug, where hackers can gain access to your computer and your information if you click on a bad link. Microsoft was alerted about the bug but they have not found a solution the flaw. So everyone do not use Internet Explorer!

Hackers are everywhere and using Chrome or Firefox does not prevent hackers from hacking your computer but the bug is so serious that Homeland Security is advising that we use another browser. We are always on the internet and we have a lot of personal information saved on the browsers. And if not the bug can also gain access of your hard drive so protect yourselves from the hackers as much as possible and switch to a different browser if you have not already.

This made me think about how much we rely on the internet. It saves our passwords, usernames, credit card information, home address and much more. We put so much information on the internet but we sometimes forget to protect ourselves. We mindlessly put information on the internet for convenience or to use social tools but we do not think of what would happen if someone gains access to this information. A lot of people have their Facebook or Dropbox linked to their computer, tablet and smartphone. This is why losing one of these items are so important to us because our information is on it. But with this bug you don’t need to lose your phone or computer, they can just access it from one bad click. Protect yourself from getting information stolen from you!

I recently read this article, about a man getting a divorce with this phone because he believes that he is spending too much time on it. In the article he mentions that phones are supposed to be an accessory but as time progressed it has become more than that. We are so addicted to our phones that we put it above many things such as our loved ones. I agree because I cannot remember a time when I am with family or friends and I am not texting someone else. To some extent I think that we are so addicted to our phones because we don’t like to be alone. For example, when we are waiting for someone we are on our phone because we are still in contact with others so we don’t feel “alone”. But the problem is even when we are with others we are still playing with our phones.

I read this article that talks about a man named Philip Parker who developed an algorithm that writes books. It is actually really interesting because the algorithm is able to think like a human being. It can write X amount of books for a certain genre by using words from the dictionary and analyzing how other books of the same genre are written. Think about how creativity, literature and publishing has become. At first we are able to publish  what we want at an amateur level but now we are  taking the amateurization to a new level where it is getting closer to  a “professional” level with an algorithm. And I’m not sure is the created works are considered professional because it was written with an algorithm, there was no thought put into it. Being able to think is what differentiates humans and computers but it seems that the algorithm is able to think for us.

There is a project called the UNICEF Tap Project, the goal of this project is to help others get clean water. It is a really simple task all you need to go is go to their website on your smart phone and there will be a timer for how long you can resist not touching your phone. Every 10 minutes you don’t touch your phone the more donations they will receive to provide clean water for others. The longer that you don’t touch your phone the more donations they will receive. I thought that this idea was interesting because we are so attached to our phones. I think there another message not just for donations but there are greater things that can be achieved without your phones. My time was 1 hour and 10 minutes, how long can you go without touching your phone?

I just saw one of the most disturbing video in my life. This video made me wonder why do we feel a need to express everything. The technology today it is amazing we are able to stay connected and share our ideas with others. We are able to express ourselves with no limits because, on the internet there are no rules/laws telling us what we can and cannot talk about. This is a luxury and I think that some people abuse it. For example the video that I just watched. It should definitely not be something that should not be shared with others. It is disturbing and it does not enrich us in anyway. There are thoughts that should not be said but are said through the internet. For example I remember a few years back a college student posted a video about racial stereotypes and got expelled from school and another student  posted a racial video and got expelled also. Yes sometimes the racial jokes are funny but at the same time it can be very offensive to some people. Even if it is not something disturbing or offensive there are people that post about everything. It seems like with the internet people mindlessly say these thoughts aloud. And this still happens today, I don’t think that the internet should be censored but I think that people are abusing the internet when they should be more careful. Because I remember when I was applying for college my teachers told me make sure you don’t have any bad pictures on Facebook because colleges might look you up and companies today might do that as well. Just because you can doesn’t mean you have to.

I don’t know how many people have actually played this game but everyone that has I think we can agree that it is one of the most frustrating games out there. The game is very simple you just tap the screen and the bird flies and your goal is to go past obstacles without hitting anything. Many people are trying to get high scores or beat their friends and family high score and with the technology that we have we look at tutorials. Every Flappy Bird Tutorial I have seen so far do not end well. The person doing the tutorial usually tells you to delete the game or they just smash their phone. It’s interesting how the people that upload these videos, call it a tutorial to attract people who want to do well in the game to watch. But when they watch the video they don’t learn how to get a higher score. The video is more for entertainment than actual teaching purposes. I find that a lot of sources on the internet has the title of what you are looking for but when you click on it, it is not what you wanted. It is interesting that although it is not what we are looking for we sometimes still watch to the end. Why do we do that? Why don’t we get upset? Also I find it very interesting that the game has such a simple objective but many of us do poorly on it. We use our smart phones and tablets daily but it is hard for us to do well on such a simple game.