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.