Ja’Kerion’s Blog

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Mother says school lied about body slamming incident before video surfaced on social media

Here is an instance where social media actually shed some light on an incident that happened at a school. A young boy was body slammed for apparently trying to bring candy into school. Now as we all know, there is always two sides to a story, but what makes this significant is that the security guard that denied slamming the boy and the school defending their employee are faced with the reality that it was captured on film. It just goes to show that even when you think you’re not being watched, you probably are.

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After reading the article “The Internet’s Original Sin” and watching Maciej Ceglowski’s talk, I think I liked Ceglowski’s idea that data collection is based upon fear. The example he used was September 11th and how the government basically just asked the telecom company to tap their data base and they let them. The most common way that businesses influence surveillance and data gathering is through pop-up ads. Companies such as Facebook collected your data and sold it to other companies in order to produce ads that would appeal to you based on your search history and app usage. As said in the article, advertising became the default business model on the web because of its simplicity and ability to easily market to investors.

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After watching the lecture video and the 60min segment “The Data Brokers,” I realized that information privacy relates to big day in the sense that our information and data can be packaged, analyzed and sold to businesses for their benefit. Businesses such as Tiktok had a policy in their terms and conditions where they were able to collect data about your app usage or even your files on your phone. I think to limit the harm from big data that users and businesses should view the terms and conditions/ contracts they sign in to. It’s easy to glance over and skim through the information, but to be certain we should pay more attention to what we are agreeing to.

#BigData

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After watching a video of Louis C.K. (left) and a separate video of Sherry Turkle (right), I agree with their theme idea that cell phones/ technology has taken a hold of our society. Technology creates a theoretical barrier between people by allowing their sole form of communication to be through a screen. For some, the effects of technology are far less than for others. A fine example of just how much technology has altered our human nature of wanting to communicate and be next to one another came during the pandemic. Students didn’t want to show up to class due to the chance of getting the virus, so we resorted to looking at one another through a computer screen. People who ordered delivery didn’t even want the delivery driver to actually hand them their food, but would rather have them just leave it at the doorstep. Fast forward a few years with the restrictions lifted and this is still the norm. Students would still prefer web based classes and contactless deliveries are still on the rise.

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After taking part in a social media experiment for class, I came to the conclusion that social media has became a sort of staple in my everyday life. One of the first things I do when I wake up for practice in the morning is check my phone for messages and also one of the last few things I do before I go to sleep at night. However, even though I may consider it a staple, I certainly believe I’m not dependent on checking my socials constantly. As part of my experiment, I did a 24-hour social-media-free time (excluding actual text messages since I needed them for potential practice details or family emergencies.) During that period of time, I preoccupied myself with practice, classes, school work, puzzles, and cooking. Outside of the first few hours of the day, I didn’t struggle much at all from the lack of connection through social media. In fact, I accomplished more throughout my day than I normally would have.

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https://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_social_media_can_make_history?language=en

How social media can make history

While news from Iran streams to the world, Clay Shirky shows how Facebook, Twitter and TXTs help citizens in repressive regimes to report on

After watching Clay Shirky’s Ted Talk, I think it’s pretty amazing how the platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, TXTs, and those on their platforms are able to spread awareness. Trying to censor something in today’s time is similar to trying to stop a pack of hyenas. You may take down one or two, but there’s always another one trying to accomplish their goal. In this case, it is trying to help citizens in repressive regimes to report on real news that isn’t controlled by the political leaders.

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Hello everyone,

My name is Ja’Kerion Merritt. I am from Hopkinsville, KY, and I was recruited to Central Michigan for wrestling. I am majoring in entrepreneurship and minoring in marketing. I am hoping to better my ability to blog and produce valuable information.