Final blog post

 In today’s hyperconnected world, our digital footprint often tells a more honest story than we might realize. A quick look at my Screen Time data from April 21 and the past week paints a revealing picture of my habits, priorities, and where my attention tends to drift.

On April 21 alone, I logged 5 hours and 44 minutes of screen time. Unsurprisingly, nearly 3 hours of that came from TikTok—a platform that blends entertainment, social connection, and algorithmic hypnosis into one endless scroll. It’s clear I use TikTok not just for laughs, but as a digital escape and a source of creativity or inspiration. Instagram also made an appearance at 18 minutes, continuing the social media trend. When paired with my weekly total of 5 hours and 1 minute on TikTok and 2 hours and 4 minutes on Instagram, it’s clear that social media plays a big role in how I spend my time—and, perhaps more importantly, how I stay connected and informed.

Maps clocked in at 1 hour and 11 minutes on the 21st, which matches a total weekly use of 1 hour and 14 minutes. I use maps alot whenever I am traveling from high point to chapel hill where I often go during the weeks and weekends. Apps like Fan Duel Sports Network and YouTube (both regulars on my weekly roundup) suggest that entertainment and sports play a role in shaping my leisure time. I love to watch hockey, golf tournaments, basketball, and football. Fan Duel is an app that I can use to watch the Carolina hurricanes during their playoffs. sometimes when I go to sleep I also will turn on Youtube and will sometimes fall asleep during a video which will increase my screen time for more then 9 hours.

Interestingly, the CHCC app appears both daily and weekly, showing my consistent engagement with the community I work for or when I want to look when tee times are available each week. Voice Memos, though only 6 minutes, indicates that I sometimes use voice memos for whatever it may be. Recently I have had a class where I record a video and I had to use voice memos to do voice overs for my video clips.

Looking at the broader view, my average daily screen time last week was 6 hours and 4 minutes, with over 7 hours dedicated to social apps and nearly 3 hours to entertainment. That’s nearly half a day in the digital world. ( not too proud of this moment) 

What does this all mean? My digital footprint reveals a blend of productivity, creativity, connection, and things I like to do in my downtime. Like many others, I rely on my phone as a tool and a connection point. But it also serves as a reminder to live in the moment and not be so glued to our phones.

diffusion of innovations

 Have you ever wondered how new trends catch on or why some technologies seem to go viral overnight while others fade away? The answer often lies in a powerful concept called the Diffusion of Innovation Theory, developed by sociologist Everett Rogers in 1962. This theory explains how, why, and at what rate innovations whether new products, ideas, or behaviors spread through a social system.

At its core, the theory breaks down the process into four key elements: the innovation itself, communication channels, time, and the social system. An innovation is anything perceived as new by an individual or group. For it to spread, it must be communicated through mass media, social media, or word of mouth over time and within a social group that either accepts or resists it.

Rogers identified five categories of adopters in this process. First come the innovators, who are adventurous and willing to take risks. Then the early adopters, often opinion leaders who help influence the rest of society. They’re followed by the early majority and late majority, who are more cautious and deliberate. Finally, the laggards, who resist change until it becomes unavoidable.

Why do some innovations succeed while others flop? According to Rogers, adoption depends on how well the innovation scores on five attributes: relative advantage (is it better than what came before), compatibility (does it fit into existing values and experiences?), complexity (is it easy to use), trialability (can it be tested before full adoption), and observability (are the benefits visible to others?).

This theory isn’t just academic it’s widely used in marketing, public health campaigns, education, and technology. Companies rely on it to time their product launches and identify early adopters. Health officials use it to encourage behaviors like vaccination or quitting smoking. Even social media trends follow similar patterns of diffusion.

However, the theory isn’t without criticism. It can overlook systemic barriers or cultural resistance, and it sometimes assumes that every innovation is inherently positive. Still, it remains a foundational model for understanding how change spreads.

So the next time you're early to a trend or late to one you might just be participating in a predictable pattern of innovation adoption.

blog post 6 EOTO #2

 

For my second EOTO I chose to talk about the overton window, before i dive more into about the overton window I wanted a brief overview of what it is. the Overton Window is a political theory that describes the range of ideas the public finds socially acceptable to discuss or support at any given time. throughout the EOTO presentation I talked about what the overton window is and dove more deep into the positives and the negatives of the overton window. First off I wanted to discuss the positives of the overton window.  For the first positive I wanted to talk about the overton window explains that radical or unpopular opinions or ideas can become normalized some examples of this can be civil rights, same sex marriage, etc. The next important positive is that the overton window empowers social movements, activists can use the concept strategically to shift a public opinion and expand what is politically possible. now for the negatives, the overton window can actually have a few negative downsides to it. to start, the overton window can be shifted by extremism, the window does not have to move toward progress it can be pulled toward regression too (normalization of hate speech or authoritarian policies). another negative I wanted to talk about is that it creates performative politics where politicians might only support what’s “safe,” avoiding leadership on ideas that could be unpopular in the short term. Finally Understanding the Overton Window can help us make sense of how public debate evolves and how social movements can create real change. If an idea feels too “out there” today, that doesn’t mean it always will be. The more people talk about it, the more it moves from unthinkable to possible to policy So the next time you hear someone call an idea “too extreme,” ask yourself: is it outside the Overton Window or is the window just about to move?

Blog Post #7 EOTO 2

 For my EOTO reaction post #2 I chose to talk about Ryan Seide's topic which was the illusory truth theory. I found this really interesting and something that I decided to learn more about after the presentations. to start out, the Illusory truth theory is a cognitive bias that occurs when repeated exposure to a statement makes people more likely to believe it is true, even if it is actually false. Essentially, the more often people hear or encounter a piece of information, the more they tend to accept it as true, regardless of its accuracy. One thing that stood out during the presentation is the video about all of the news anchors that were reading the same script no matter the political beliefs that one may have. Next up I will be talking about the science behind the illusory truth effect. The illusory truth effect was first studied by psychologist Lynn Hasher and her colleagues in the 1970s. In their experiments, participants were shown a series of true and false statements. They found that after hearing each statement multiple times, participants were more likely to believe the false statements were true, simply because they had been repeated. This effect is linked to the brain’s tendency to favor familiarity. When we hear something more than once, it becomes easier for our brains to process, leading to the false assumption that it must be true. This effect is also stronger when we don't have the motivation or resources to critically evaluate the information presented. In the age of social media, the illusory truth effect is more relevant than ever. Misinformation, rumors, and fake news spread like wildfire online, often because people are exposed to these falsehoods repeatedly. The sheer frequency with which a statement is repeated, whether it’s through news outlets, social media posts, or conversations, can make even the most dubious claim seem credible. For instance, political campaigns and advertising often use repetition as a strategy to reinforce a particular message. The more a candidate or company repeats a slogan or claim, the more likely it is that people will start to believe it, even if it’s misleading or untrue just like we saw in the video that was shown for the presentation. The illusory truth effect is a powerful psychological bias that influences the way we process and believe information. In a world where misinformation spreads easily, it’s essential to recognize the impact of repetition on our beliefs. By becoming more mindful of how familiarity shapes our perceptions and taking steps to critically evaluate the information we encounter, we can better navigate the complex landscape of news, media, and social platforms and to avoid being swayed by the repetition of false stories.

Blog post #5 EOTO reaction post

 Throughout our EOTO presentations one really stood out to me and that is the presentation that was on cookies and your online safety. This stood out to me because not alot of people actually know what cookies does most people know what cookies is but most likely could not explain it more then it is something you accept where you get ads that are related to what your viewing. To go more in depth I will be talking about what exactly cookies are and what the differences are, Cookies are small files stored on your device by websites to remember your preferences, login details, and browsing history. While they enhance user experience by personalizing content and streamlining logins, they also raise privacy concerns.

There are two main types of cookies: first-party cookies, which are created by the website you visit and generally improve usability, and third-party cookies, which track your activity across multiple sites for targeted advertising. Third-party cookies are the reason you see ads for products you recently searched for. 

To protect your online privacy it is essential to manage your cookies, clearing your cookies regularly is crucial to protect your online privacy. Another thing to add onto is that you should adjust your browser to be able to block all third party cookies while using a private browsing mode when it is necessary. Third party cookies are placed by other websites like advertisers which can track your browsing activity across multiple platforms. 

Some benefits of cookies is that it helps out by remembering your passwords for specific websites, and keep personalised website settings. websites also learn what our behavior is on websites and provide relative content on what you are looking at.

Blog post #4

The phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison with help from his other inventions, the telegraph and the telephone, Edison had a mechanic, John Kruesi who helped Edison build the phonograph. Edison created the phonograph in 1877 with also the help of a Phonautograph that was invented by the french inventor Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville.   

Edison, had a lot of goals in mind, he first visioned the creation to be used as a tool for business applications to be used as a source of recording messages, letters, and even telegraphs. After working on the phonograph for awhile he realised that it could be used as a broader source for communication and entertainment for the whole world to use. Edison's goal with the phonograph was to be able to record and playback sounds; he achieved this by using a stylus to record sound waves on a rotating cylinder. 

The phonograph was invented because Edison was inspired by the human ear and the ideology that sounds can be mechanically recorded and produced. At first when the phonograph was invented Edison lost interest in the development with the device once the public lost interest in the initial invention. This helped Edison with stepping away for awhile and make improvements to the sound of the phonograph for a few years before coming out with a revised version of the creation.

He was attempting to find a way to record and reproduce telephone messages. The invention of the phonograph changed the world in many ways just how Thomas Edison visioned it, some reasons how the invention changed the world is that it allowed people to record and playback sound which revolutionized how people can experience music and audio technology. This use of technology also allowed people to conduct research in fields such as musicology, ethnology, and anthropology. This was not Edison's goal of the invention but this is another reason why the invention changed and revolutionized the world and helped with the creations of future inventions.

The phonograph solved the problem of not being able to permanently capture and replaying sound. This allowed people to listen to recorded music essentially whenever they want to. Not only did this allow people to listen when they want, the creation helped with communication and documentation for businesses. It had the potential to be used a tool to help improving communication, Edison's original thought was that it can be used as tool to keep historical speeches. Afterall, the creation of the phonograph revolutionized how we listen to music, after the creation of the phonograph, within a few years entrepreneurs started putting phonograph recordings into coin slot machines on city streets where passerby’s can listen to songs, monologues and much more. They were an instant hit and brought in nearly hundred dollars weekly. though it was started as a relatively simple mechanical device just how Edison visioned the phonograph, it lead to becoming a cornerstone of the music industry that influenced the development of recorded sound and entertainment for decades to come.

Blog post #3

 Throughout looking at the eight values of free expression there were two that really stood out to me. For starters I think that individual self fulfillment is the most important or one that resonates with me.  Individual self fulfillment contributes to our overall well being as humans, a sense of happiness, and a sense of purpose. this allows people to live their lives and be able to make choices that can be meaningful to them. Achieving self fulfillment can guide people to becoming more happy, having a greater self esteem of oneself, and a overall satisfaction about their life. I chose this as first priority because this is something that is meaningful to me,being able to live a life that I can and feel comfortable about my life and life choices that I have made along the way.  

I have done some more research on my own about individual self fulfillment some stuff that stood out to me about this is that it is crucial to have it enhances one's personal well being, gives motivation, & encourages meaningful contributions to society to the world around them. 

For my second values of expression that resonates with me I chose stable change, This stood out to me because I believe that there should be a balance between free expression and other societal values like privacy, national security, etc. 

two things about stable change that make them important are:

1.protection of fundamental rights: 

With stable change there has to be rights that are protected such as free expression, this is crucial because expression is a basis of democratic societies. this ensures that all individuals have the ability to say their opinions, challenge authority, and be able to talk about public discourse with one another. Stable change also allows our society to be able have core principles like free speech, while also adjusting to challenges they may face. Another way that stable change works is how it allows legal frameworks or laws that adapt in a way to ensure that one right isn't put down in a harmful way or a unfair way. I think this is also very crucial to the protection of fundamental rights because it ensures that every fundamental right is protected in a way that reflects based off our current values and norms in our society 

2. Balancing competing interests: 

Balancing other interests are a very important key detail on why stable change is important. there are often competing values, or concerns that need to be in consideration to ensure that free expression doesn't undermine essential rights and societal goals. 

Afterall I believe that individual self fulfillment and stable change resonate with me the most out of the eight values of free expression. I think this is the most important out of the eight values, I also think that more people should consider this being the two most important values. I also believe that balancing competing interests is important because the goal is not to limit others and what is said but it is used to ensure that it does not harm essential values.