My relationship with technology

 

After watching these videos and thinking a lot about my relationship with technology I have come to realize that it is very confusing. So much good has come out of technology but as we talked about in class every upside has its downsides. I think about everything that is made possible with technology. Technology allows me to communicate with my friends and family back home in New York while I start a new life here in North Carolina attending college and eventually moving here after I graduate. I can connect with friends and wish people a happy birthday that I may have never remembered if it weren’t for social media and technology. I can click an app on my phone and search for potential jobs, I can order dinner from my bed, and I can find any piece of information I could possibly need the answer to without moving a muscle. When I think about what I spend the most time doing with technology I automatically think of one thing- social media. On average I spend 4 hours a day on social media. That is 4 hours a day I could be catching up on sleep, working out, studying, or doing anything productive. Instead, I am sitting on my phone mindlessly scrolling through social media apps. Of course, there are benefits to social media, but for me, the results of social media are mostly negative. Between feeling like I should be doing more with my life or wishing I was living the life of someone else who I follow on social media, almost anything else I could be doing seems like a better use of my time. I know that most girls my age struggle with mental health as an effect of social media and the unrealistic and totally unattainable body image and lifestyle it promotes. I read an=n interesting article about why girls still use social media even though it seems like mental torture. I learned that people talk about themselves about 35% in real life. However, on social media, people talk about themselves around 80% of the time. When we receive a notification with positive feedback and someone engaging in our lives, we feel a positive feeling from dopamine. On social media, people talk about themselves 80% of the time. So when they receive a notification of positive feedback, they feel a positive sensation from dopamine. We are quite literally addicted to our phones. There are many studies that have proven mental health issues have gone up steadily because of new smartphones and social platforms being released. As more people use them, there are more people with greater health concerns.

Back to the positives- it is incredible how much the app Tok-Tok has taught me. From simple life hacks like how to make the best chocolate chip cookies in an air fryer, to relationship advice, to learning and teaching yourself how to know your self-worth, and why it is important to wake up in the morning and move your body and drink a lot of water. There are so many amazing things that have come from technology. Being able to see what your friend across the country is doing at any point in the day, being able to look up what 35% of $115 is within seconds, and being able to load your grades on your phone whenever you would like. Sometimes I think about how much I am on my phone. The screen time feature on my iPhone has been a game-changer in regard to realizing how much time and energy I am putting into my phone. I wonder if I am on my phone way more than other people and how unhealthy it is for my mental health, eyes, and even physical health. Instead of sitting on my phone for an hour in between classes I could be going for a walk or calling a family member I haven’t seen in months. I wonder how it affects my social skills and how much of a negative effect it has on my communication skills. People who are friends on social media and like and comment on each other’s photos will simply look down at the ground when passing that person on a sidewalk. It is so weird how our society and especially my generation is because of technology.

Technology is great for my relationship with friends and family. Having moved 12 hours away from New York with just my mom and dog, I have a much better relationship with everyone I left behind than I would if I didn’t have social media. I connect with family and friends every single day, I see when it is their birthday or when they just got a new job, and just about every other accomplishment that social media tells me about whir lives. For my mom technology is only a positive. She is old enough to not let social media affect her body image, and she is not naive enough to believe that everything she sees on social media is real. She always reminds me that people only post the highlights of their life on social media. You always see people happy and smiling, and you only see the best pictures of people on social media. This is what makes social media so toxic for young girls who do not keep this in mind when scrolling through social media each day. My mom is also always asking me “do you not know how to use google?” every time I ask her a question. Everything can be found on the internet these days, when thinking deeply about it it becomes mind-boggling. There is nothing you cannot find on the internet, which brings me to my next point. I always think about getting my first job and my boss searching my name on the internet and what may come up. Every time I search for my name it’s something new. From old Twitter posts that I made when I was 14, to random pictures of myself that even I have never seen before. This part of the internet is extremely scary. As I get older, I become more conscious about what I am putting out there for everyone to see, but back when I was younger, I did not care. The scary thing is that that stuff is out in the world forever. It may seem like you “deleted” something, but it will never really be gone. We talked in class about how when you download these social media apps you are practically signing your life away to these companies. You are agreeing to anything and everything they want by just clicking a little box that seems harmless because everyone has Instagram. No one is not going to download Instagram because of their terms and conditions, not my generation anyway. I am a much different person now than I was years ago when I was mindlessly posting whatever I want. As I go out into the real world, I worry about the effect social media can have on my future career. I have seen people’s lives ruined by others digging things up from the past, which was never a problem before social media.

The Tears for Fears video attached to this blog resonated with me. Sometimes I really do feel like that little cartoon character surrounded by a bunch of zombies with their eyes glued to their phones. And sometimes I feel like one of those zombies. We live in a world where you cannot go out to eat without each person taking photos of their food, and then likely having them sit on their phone the whole meal being completely un-present. Being surrounded by people trying to keep up with this fake persona of being perfect feels suffocating sometimes. It is hard to live life when it feels like everyone is just competing to see who can have the best life (or the best social media profile). While technology can be great and it is awesome to have every piece of information we could ever need at our fingertips, I think the world needs to take a step back. Everyone could benefit from putting their phones down and being present. “Reducing social media use to even 30 minutes a day results in significantly lower levels of anxiety, depression, loneliness, sleeping problems, and FOMO.” Calling people you care about instead of putting a heart on their picture, leaving your phone at home and fully engaging in conversation at dinner, and just learning to live without feeling the need to post every moment of your day every day. Below I attached an interesting video on the effects social media has on young girls on social media.

 https://youtu.be/Ui0UNXsEGJ8

Diffusion of Innovations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QnfWhtujPA

The diffusion of innovations is a theory that explains how why and at what rate new ideas and technology spread. The idea was popularized by Everett Rogers who was a professor of communication studies and wrote a book titled diffusion of innovation which was published in 1962. It talks about how there are five main elements that influence the spread of a new idea and they include the innovation itself, adopters, communication channels, time, and a social system. Of course for an innovation to be popular and for societies to use it it must be self-sustainable. An early adopter is one who sees potential in a new invention or idea and capitalizes on it early. Late adopters are not so sure and wait until the innovation has gone through many trials and some time before testing it themselves. I think my generation is one of the early adopters who are there to try a new product as soon as it comes out. Let’s take Instagram for example and put it into the diffusion theory. There are always new forms of social media and different platforms making their way into the modern world. Certain things make them catch on and spread or make them fail and never be talked about again. In the world of social media, Instagram seems like the perfect platform for people to take pictures post them and keep up with their friends and community. I think when Instagram came out the early adopters were those who had previously had other platforms on social media like Facebook for instance. If Instagram was the first type of social media I do not think that there would be so many early adopters. I would say that the late adopters are likely older demographics who did not grow up with social media and are skeptical about the whole thing. I think the diffusion theory has a lot to do with generations and can explain why some people are early adopters and some later or maybe not at all. For instance, the oldest generation was already quite old by the time the first social media platform came out. If they did not take to the first platform there’s no reason for them to take to Instagram either. I do not blame these types of people for not being on social media as there are many negative effects. Sometimes I wish I grew up in a world where social media did not exist. While it is a great way to catch up with friends and a fun platform to take and post pictures it can be hard to be a young adult and a female in the world of social media. I think Instagram can be a very toxic place which is common knowledge to anybody that has a social media platform. There are also other reasons someone would not have Instagram like privacy concerns, which are also valid. Someone who does not have Instagram may miss out on what is going around in the lives of those that they do not see on a daily basis but there are of course other ways to catch up and communicate. Someone not on Instagram can easily reach out to friends and family to see what they are up to without getting all the negative effects of Instagram. These would be people who do not adopt at all. I feel that each person would have to weigh the cost-benefit analysis with Instagram and any new communication technology on their own. For instance, for some, it may be more taxing on their mental health than beneficial to have the Instagram app downloaded on their phone.

Learning about the Smith-Mundt Act

 

I found the Smith-Mundt Act to be intriguing and something I had never even heard before. In 1945 after World War II had ended the government realized they needed a way to prevent future war and a way of effective political communication. This was created by Karl E Mundt and passed by the 80th Congress. The US information and educational exchange act of 1948 begin a new page in the US diplomacy policy. This act was known as the Smith Mundt Act (SMA). What this did was give the state department and the government the right to create propaganda through various forms of information to foreign countries. This pretty much allowed the United States to create lies and scare the people and governments of other countries. This was delivered in ways that propaganda is typically distributed such as broadcasting, books, media, and in person communications. While learning about this act I just could not stop thinking about how insane it is that the government-funded such a scary and horrible thing. As we know from history propaganda can start wars and kill millions of people. Thankfully years later they were debates on the ethics and how effective the act was. Eventually, the act was abolished in 1999. However again in 2012 while Obama was in presidency the administration passed the Smith Mundt Modernize Act. Of course, this is built on the foundation of the original Smith Mundt Act and allowed propaganda to be used once again. I learned that this act puts Free Press at risk which is our first amendment and why our country is free. This also takes away trust in government because of course if our government is lying to other countries why would they not be lying to us too. This act shows so much corruption in the government and is a huge red flag to Americans. I chose to write about this in my blog because I was astonished at how anybody can still trust the government after reading this blog and learning about the Smith Mundt act.

Mainstream Media ETO

The Oxford dictionary defines it as “traditional or established broadcasting or publishing outlets” It also may be called legacy media, corporate media, or Establishment media. Includes news such as New York Times, ABC News, CNN, NBC, and other big-name news sources. The point of mainstream media is to be objective and state the facts. The media is supposed to ask questions, get statements, investigate everything the government does and report it to the citizens to keep government and politicians honest. They’re supposed to look for corruption and report it. Unofficial but widely accepted “Fourth estate” because it checks government power just as much as the other branches of checks and balances. This is really good for society when is actually goes this way because it keeps citizens up to date on what is going on and gives honest information and states facts about what is happening inside the government. Citizens have the right to know what is going on, however, in recent years it has not been this way. Over the years the mainstream media has become biased and focused on agenda setting instead of objectively reporting the news. The Mainstream media uses spin, Cherry picking

, and editorial commentary to deliver the desired message. Instead of stating facts, they give you information they want you to hear in order to change your opinion on an issue. The mainstream media affects different people in different ways. Those who have not had access to education are likely to believe everything the mainstream media tells them because they think they are getting valid facts. They do not know any better and this can be detrimental to our democracy. A large portion of the country will listen and believe anything they hear on the news and do not have the resources to research and learn for themselves. It is easy for the mainstream media to sway these people to believe what they and can even change the outcome of an election. Giving society facts and not spinning things to get the desired outcome is what makes this country free. Additionally, if you are against the mainstream media and their agenda you may be seen as the minority and looked at in a different light. The mainstream media affects me and my family because they take what they want people to know from what’s going on in the government and use it as a call to action for people to act a certain way. For instance, the way the mainstream media wanted to perceive Covid affected the way that citizens acted. The way the media portrayed covid caused mass hysteria and made everyone scared to leave their house. Mask mandates, vaccinations, and quarantining for years have been made worse by the mainstream media and caused everyone to be scared when facts showed that death rates since covid have been no different than other years. The media also has got caught fabricating statistics and numbers to make Covid seem more dangerous than it actually is. The media gets caught for this type of thing all the time and affects everyone no matter the demographics. While we are lucky our country has a way of telling its people what is going on there are certain things about the mainstream media that need to change in order to protect our citizens and democracy.

https://deadspin.com/how-americas-largest-local-tv-owner-turned-its-news-anc-1824233490

Privacy Invasion

Privacy is so important in this generation and privacy invasion

has become a large issue. Mostly because nothing is private when it comes to the internet. Stuff online about you is going to be there forever. When we sign up for social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat we enter into a legally binding contract that we are legal parties to. Things are mentioned in the contract like “whatever you post on Facebook belongs to Facebook” and “even if u cancel your account with Facebook, Facebook still retains all of that data forever.” These contracts of adhesion mean that 1 party holds all of the power. There are so many invasions of privacy with all of the technology in our generation. Even more include Stingrays which can send tracking signals inside houses to see what devices are in each home. What you do in your home and what devices you have should be completely your privacy. This is a huge safety hazard and should not be illegal. Surveillance cameras watch what people do in public at all times, and now that it has gotten so cheap to store videos, they are likely to keep them forever. Every single thing you have searched on google or every website you have visited can be tracked and used against you. It is scary to think about and one thing you search may be used against you and affect you for the rest of your life. All of these things violate 4th and 5th amendment rights. It is impossible to be free if the government is watching every single move you make and it needs to change. Data mining companies can even make money from selling your data. The government needs to do something to fix all of these problems and protect our freedoms. If the person does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy that is one thing, but a text message sent on What’s App or iMessage should never ever be able to be wiretapped into or used against people. Protecting citizens of the United States is important and tracking down criminals is necessary, however, it has gone too far. We need to protect ourselves as well. When signing up for emails and other internet platforms we should not use any of our real information that can be sold. We need to be careful what we look up and what we post on social media. Keeping in mind that anything you say or do is being watched is a priority to keeping ourselves safe in this crazy world. 

New Local Microbrewery and Beer Café Near you

 

The Tap Dance is a new microbrewery and café located in the heart of Saratoga on the corner of Caroline Street and 5th Avenue. This place has an awesome vibe, with great live music on Friday and Saturdays from noon to 9 p.m. TTD specializes in local brews and they now have their own IPA named Toga Tap. They have gluten-free beer options as well. This place is an open area with over 50 taps and a small hometown vibe, perfect for a night out or to bring out-of-town visitors. The brewery is perfectly located in walked distance to Main street and surrounded by plenty of amazing restaurants. This brewery near you is truly one of a kind and a local gem. Have you ever heard of a brewery with a cafe vibe? You can even grab a coffee on a Sunday morning before walking the downtown strip. The Tap Dance will be open 7 days a week from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. serving coffee and pastries until noon each day (but of course beer as well!) The tap dance has gotten in touch with other local breweries and microbreweries to ensure the best experience for its customers. We are so excited to share this new spot with our local customers and favorite neighborhood!

Microbreweries also may be called craft breweries. They are breweries that produce small amounts of beer. These types of breweries are usually perceived in marketing as having new flavors and large varieties of different beers. Microbreweries usually produce 15,000 barrels or less per year. With these breweries being smaller and producing less beer than most some people may prefer the large commercial breweries owned by millionaires. Microbreweries are often independently owned which means they need locals' help staying in business.

The Tap Dance was opened by a couple born and raised in Saratoga. Their mission is “We want our brewery to feel like the neighborhood home” and they stress the importance of shopping local. Covid-19 took a huge toll on the opening of their restaurant and caused a ton of financial stress. Now that the microbrewery is open, however, they will make a conscious effort to fundraise and donate their tips to other small and local businesses affected by the pandemic. Shopping locally through small individually owned businesses helps to put food on family dinner tables which is why you must #shoplocal!

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Microbrewery-10K-100K

Brewery near you-10K-100K

Controversy about war has always and will always be a topic of discussion within the government of the United States. We are always hearing what is going on between America and other countries and are constantly wondering if problems with other countries will eventually lead to war. But why is it that we are never hearing or seeing antiwar voices in the media? Is the government regulating what American citizens hear through the media and are they the reason that we don’t hear why war is bad and why most of the time it may not be necessary at all?

After reading through two antiwar publications ANTIWAR.COM and American Conservative

it is clear that the government is trying to hide and refuses to cover anything antiwar-related. It is obvious that war is not ideal so why does the government want to hide those standing up for the lives of every soldier that has lost their life and every soldier that will one day lose their life? After doing some research on the topic and sifting through the two websites given it seems as though the government orchestrates some war to make their donors in the defense industry happy. No matter how many Americans die in war it seems as though money is at the forefront of the government's consideration. The American Conservative talks about promoting and prioritizing liberty, localism, strong middle-class advocacy, and staying out of foreign wars that do not put American lives at stake. These values seem like values that every single American should hold especially at this time and in our free country. This all goes to show that the government only tells you what they want to tell you, which is why no matter the political party, you’ll never see any antiwar voices in the mainstream media. This just raises the question of “is the government ever open and honest with its citizens” and “do we ever really know what’s going on in our country and if our freedom is at stake.”

Learning about Bluetooth

Bluetooth was invented in 1993 as a way to connect electronic gadgets to each other. It was invented in Sweden by Jaap Haartsen, who named the technology after a King with a dead tooth, giving him the nickname "blue tooth". Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard. It allows for data exchange between fixed and mobile devices. I use Bluetooth every time I am in my car to play music. On the settings on my iPhone, I am able to click on the Bluetooth and my wifi and the music from my car plays on my phone and vice versa. This has changed the way I and so many other people use technology and listen to music. Its other goals were low power usage and better battery life. 86 percent of all vehicles now offer Bluetooth. An average of 44 million Bluetooth speakers are sold per year. Apple car play developed on the idea of Bluetooth. I have this in my car and it allows me to put google maps from my phone onto my car, listen to podcasts, and do a ton of other things. Computers, smartphones, audio devices, and gaming consoles are all different types of technology people can use Bluetooth with. Bluetooth has become extremely popular over recent years and is used for so many different things.  

Google

Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin started Google in 1999 while at Stanford University as graduate students. By the age of 31, they were billionaires. Google never needed to advertise because from the beginning, users spread the news about how fast and efficient the search service was, and the best part, it’s free! Google's motto “Don't be evil” is their belief that one must do good in the world and has launched google into an ambitious philanthropic organization over the past few years. 

Google started as a graduate school project and the goal was to perfect how people search for information on the world wide web. The monumental problem they were trying to solve in the world wide web environment was “how can you find the best data for your purposes from an enormous amount of available data?” The end goal was to make the world's information available online through search. Larry and Sergey both had incredible talents that allowed them to become a team and create google. Larry’s dorm room became their first data center and Sergey created an office in his dorm room. They found investors and capital venture firms to support the business as it was beginning. Google not only has changed the world of search but also the world of advertising and communication. People now depend on Google for so many things including shopping, news, research, and quick answers. Google is also the leading search engine because of its ability to provide the most relevant and up-to-date information. Google uses a complex algorithm that puts the most up-to-date information at the top when someone searches for something

It is no secret that Google has changed our world, especially because the number of Google searches per day has grown from 9,800 in 1998 to over 4.7 trillion today. One way it is affecting us is that as humans being that we are relying on Google to store long-term knowledge instead of using our own brains. I use Google every single day, usually multiple times a day to find out information from basic facts to information for schoolwork and so much more. I find that I commit a lot less to memory because I know that if I need the answer to something I can just look it up on google and find an answer within seconds. This seems positive but I feel myself and many others would be much more intelligent if we stored our knowledge in our brain instead of using Google for even the most basic questions. Google has changed the way I shop as well. Instead of going to specific websites you can go on Google and type in blue jeans and find an array of different websites and companies selling blue jeans. Google has transformed the way we communicate. For example, Gmail was invented around a decade ago by google and has changed ways of email and communication forever. Features like voicemail transcription, call recording, call routing, and conferencing are all new and important tools for individuals and businesses that have completely changed communication. A new feature called Google plus hangouts allows up to 10 people in a call where participants can chat, text, share documents, and screen share. Google Hangout has 540 million active users and includes free video conferencing that connects users anywhere in the world for free. Google has practically taken over online communication and is still finding new ways to improve technology. Google has also changed the social media game. Google Analytics now tracks who visits your website across different social media platforms, some including Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. Google has pretty much changed every aspect of our world and goes even further beyond what anyone can imagine. For even more information watch The History of Google.

Google. (n.d.). Google. Google Books. Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=OZJxDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=google&ots=fA4zOKnKNZ&sig=WqJKPiojqCASjZmW9uMO2Xqg3VM#v=onepage&q=google&f=false

AcademicEarth.org, a Red Ventures Company. (2015, January 26). How the internet is changing your brain. Academic Earth. Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://academicearth.org/electives/internet-changing-your-brain/

Do google use social media in their search algorithm? Channel Digital. (n.d.). Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://www.channeldigital.co.uk/seo-articles/do-google-use-social-media-links-in-their-ranking-algorithm.html

8 Values of Free Expression

We have talked a lot about the first amendment and why is so important to our country. The eight values of free expression feel personal to me especially with the climate we are in today. Each of the eight values of free expression discussed I see in action today. For each theory, there is something going on in the real world today that ties the two together and helps to explain it.

Promote Innovation and Protect Dissent are two that resonated with me for a couple of reasons. Promote innovation says that “a community in which free speech is valued and protected is likely to be more energized, creative, interesting society as its citizens actively fulfill themselves in many diverse and interesting ways.” When I think of this theory the first two things that come to my mind are COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement. While the effects were not all positive and may have gone too far, groups of people came together to stand up for what they believe in which is what makes our country so different and so special. These people likely felt a sense of belonging and fulfillment from acting on their first amendment rights. I feel when people take advantage of the first amendment it creates a more energized and interesting world, which then makes people feel freer. During the Black Lives Matter movement groups of people band together on social media to take advantage of their first amendment and speak how they feel. Now people take to different platforms to speak about their rights involving the repercussions of COVID-19. This also resonates with me because I feel like with the political climate we are in today you can be shut down, canceled, or invalidated because of your feelings, political views, or the things you say both online and in person. I think this freedom is important and I think people need to remember it before hating people with different beliefs than their own. Without this freedom our country could become like many other countries and our freedom could be taken away.

The second freedom that resonates with me the most is Protect Dissent. This says “our system is not supposed to be one of mob rule. The first amendment protects minority views, no matter how unpopular. You have a strongly protected right to disagree with the government – and everyone else. In fact, it is your patriotic duty to criticize the government.” This relates to what I said about the previous freedom. Being that it is our duty to criticize the government nobody should be getting canceled for doing just that. Our country is so polarized that people feel if somebody disagrees with them they should have no right to speak at all. Our country is based upon freedom of speech and without it, our country will not be free. While privately-owned social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter have the right to remove information that they disagree with, I think it is tampering with the first amendment and causing even more polarization and hate. It seems like people are pressured into not speaking up if their views are not the most common ones. For example, during Donald Trump's presidency people who voted for and supported him were looked down on, criticized, and even completely canceled. It was so rare to see people speak up and show support for their president because they were afraid of what people would think about them and the results it would have on their lives, especially celebrities and influencers. Facebook was also deleting posts where the views went against that of the democratic party and eventually banned the president from using the app for the rest of his presidency. ​​

Facebook Bans President Trump For The Rest Of His Presidency : Capitol Insurrection Updates : NPR. It seemed to me Facebook and Instagram would block and delete posts and claim it was “misleading” information when in actuality they did not want people seeing posts disagreeing with the democratic view. Criticizing the government is our right and there should be no "mob rule" against people who disagree with the majority. Agreeing with the government is just as legal as disagreeing with the government. Everyone is free to feel how they feel and there should be no anger towards people who feel a different way than you, even if they are not the majority.

The Thrill of a Lifetime - Skydive Key West

“Ready to jump?” Not really, I thought to myself while 10,000 feet up in the air looking down at the Gulf of Mexico and also death. Never did I think I would trust some string and a man I had never met before with my life.

When I think of a significant event, nothing pops into my head faster than that one time I jumped out of a plane. I have never described myself as a thrill-seeker. I played sports while growing up, but was never the type to put myself in harm's way to save a goal or anything like that. I mean, I don’t even like roller coasters. I have an extensive bucket list, but skydiving was never on there. I could not even picture myself jumping out of a plane while I was in the plane getting ready to jump out of it. While I am not an adrenaline junky, I also do not lose bets. When my best friend bet that I would not jump out of a plane, that is when I decided to do it.

My college best friend of only a few years now is a total thrill-seeker and has always wanted to go skydiving. We went to Key West, Florida in July to celebrate his twenty-first birthday. Key West just happens to have one of the most beautiful sky diving experiences in the world. The thing about skydiving is that you cannot book it far in advance because of the weather. I told myself for months and months that there was no way the weather was going to cooperate with us, or maybe I just hoped and prayed that it wouldn’t. However, with my luck, it got to be July 12th and the skies were completely clear. We sat down at breakfast around ten in the morning and called Skydive Key West. We asked if they had any openings to skydive and they told us that if we got there by one we would be fine, but that there was a storm coming later in the afternoon.

We rushed back to the hotel and changed before calling an Uber to bring us to the place that would soon put our harnesses on and send us off with almost no instruction. On the way there I was telling myself that the storm would come and that we would not be able, or have to in my case, jump. The next thing I knew I was 10,000 feet up in the air looking down at the Gulf of Mexico and out at a thunderstorm coming towards me, with a random man attached to my back. I had only met this man 20 minutes ago and there he was telling me “We should be fine to jump, but we better go soon”. The doors busted open and the coldest rush of wind filled the plane. At this point I knew there was only one way down, and to be honest, I was ready to get out of that tiny unstable plane. I watched my best friend jump, and then before I could even blink my instructor launched us out of the plane head first. All of a sudden my feet were on the ground again, and I realized how brave I really am.

SEO TERMS: Skydive, Skydive Key West, Skydiving, Thrilling experiences

SCOTUS history

Both the video we watched in class and this Supreme Court - HISTORY article changed the way I think about The Supreme Court. I always knew that it was important, but I did not know the extent of how crucial it is for the United States to have. Without The Supreme Court, we may not be a free country. The supreme court can deem new laws unconstitutional, and without this power, we may become a monarchy. 

The Supreme Court is the highest federal court in the country and the head of the judicial branch of government. The Supreme Court is unlike any other court in the world and ensures that laws throughout the United States are deemed constitutional. In the video, they compared being appointed to the supreme court to being struck by lightning which I was most surprised to hear. I was also surprised to hear that this is a position that is held until the justice dies or retires. The Supreme Court handles extremely important issues like the most devise issue in the history of the Supreme Court, the question of slavery, and the Dread Scott Decision. 

I was unaware of the process of The Supreme Court Decisions. There are nine supreme court justices including the chief justice. During supreme court cases, there are lawyers on each side of the court, which was a fact that I found interesting and was unsure how I did not previously know of. Each case ends with justices voting and one justice gets assigned to write an opinion describing the legal decision. After that other justices can write other opinions, and just like that the previous majority may become the minority. Justices then will release copies of their opinion to the press. Lastly, they will report what the court has decided on and why. 

The most important takeaway is that when it comes to the Supreme Court, the power of the court is the power of trust earned. People have not always supported the court's authority. People not trusting the court could take away all of the freedom that this country is built on. The Supreme Court is crucial to our country and needs to keep the trust of the people to ensure the freedom of the United States. The most surprising thing I learned during the video was how important the Supreme Court is, and how much power it holds as sort of the “glue” that holds our country together and keeps it free. I was surprised to understand that no matter how polarized our country is, people keep their trust in The Supreme Court.

My top 5 News Sources!

I love to keep up to date with what's going on in the world around me, from politics to pop culture. Finding trusted and nonbias new sources to get information from can be difficult, especially in the environment we are in today. With complete polarization throughout our country, it can be hard to find political news that is just stating facts rather than inserting an opinion to change how people view certain issues. Since I know how hard it is to find unbias news sources with straight facts I try to take in information from both sides when looking at political news. However, of course, there is also news that may not affect my life in any way but can still be fun to follow, like pop culture!

#1 Eonline.com

E-News (Entertainment news) is my favorite place to get the most recent news on celebrities and anything pop culture. E! Online has all of the latest news including sections such as “trending now” “today’s hot photos” and “this just in”. There are also sections for more specific types of celebrity news which are ideal for people more interested in specific topics. For example, a whole section for The Kardashians and Bachelor Nation has its own coverage too!  I am even subscribed to E-News alerts, which keeps me up to date with all breaking celebrity news. I like E-news because they are on so many different platforms. They have a website, every social media you can think of, and even had a show up until recently. E-News is the perfect pop culture news source because you can get information about any celebrity drama in so many different places.

#2 Mom

As mentioned in the introduction, finding trusted information can be hard. Which is the reason for my second favorite news source. There is no one I trust more than my mom, and she loves to keep me up to date on all of the latest news. My mom is extremely smart and loves to keep herself in the loop on all things politics and pop culture. I can always count on my mom to keep me in the loop about what is going on. When she sees something interesting she will send me a screenshot of the post or article she is looking at. I also know that if I ask her a question about what is going on in the world, she will go out of her way to find and send me trusted articles. My mom always tells me that while politics may not affect me at this time in my life, soon they will and that it is extremely important to know what is going on in the world around me. I love that important information and news is sent to me every day by my mom to keep me up to date. When in doubt about what type of news and information to trust, try asking a parent!

#3 CNN

I like to go to CNN when looking for news and information. Not because of my political views but because I like to take in both sides from far left-wing to the far right-wing. While I am aware CNN is biased and leans pretty far left, I believe it is important to be looking at news coming from both sides. I think it is nearly impossible to find news where the writer does not take a side in some way, so at least this way I can understand the issue and compare the news to a source more right-winged. I find that this helps me put opinions to the side and understand the facts. Instead of trying to find a neutral source, I prefer this way because I find it helps to make me smarter and also helps me realize what is facts and what is opinion. I think everyone who watches or gets their news from CNN or Fox should try also looking at the opposite source at least once a week. However, I do also like how CNN has such a wide variety of news ranging from sports to the Royal Family in England!

#4 Fox News

Fox News is the other news source that I get news and information. I like Fox News section on their website “exclusive clips” because it is actual clips from TV that you can just click on and watch at any time. However, like CNN I am aware it is biased and in order to look at and follow FOX news, I find it important to also follow CNN or a news source on the opposite end politically. I believe our country is so polarized because once someone chooses a news source, they are completely influenced by that side. It is always important to hear the opposite side's opinion to be completely informed and understand the facts.

#5 Instagram

I am on Instagram so often that it is definitely in my top 5 news sources. I follow around 1,000 accounts, so I am always getting different types of news on my feed. I like getting my information from here because it is a fun and less serious way.
Watching FOX and CNN is informative and important, but getting news while scrolling through Instagram is way more fun. It feels less forced and can be less upsetting because one post will be something sad happening in society, and then the next will be a funny video to take your mind off of it. Sometimes our news can be pretty upsetting, especially in this day and age. I truly find that just looking at the news on my phone can change my whole mood. I like Instagram because I am still getting informed and learning, but it is not so serious. Of course, I also like to follow the pop culture pages to get information on celebrity drama. If you are someone who feels like the news can change your mood or even ruin your day, follow some news outlets on your Instagram so that it is mixed in with funny videos and pictures of friends and family!