# Reading Response (Set 1)
### #1: Tuesday January 26 - Attention
Technology is both extremely beneficial, and extremely harmful to individuals and to society. Superconnected by Mary Chayko clearly explains the various advantages and disadvantages of being so easily connected by technology. As a teenager myself, I can not put down my devices. “Digital and mobile technologies provide the means for social networks to be constructed and available to members nearly all the time” (Chayko, p. 178), and with just the touch of a button I can do, find, and speak to anyone and anything I choose to. Especially during the pandemic, I have the ability to speak to my friends 24/7 even if they are in a different country than me. The easy availability of people and the world through technology can lead to dangerous habits.

Prior to reading this chapter, I only considered there being an addiction to technology, however, my mind changed when Chayko mentioned the “debate whether technology use can be considered an actual addiction or more of a dependency” (Chayko, p. 19). I would consider technology to be a mix of both. Some aspects we may be addicted to, such as a game, but some aspects we may be dependent on, such as the connection to others through social media. For example, during the pandemic, there are many positives to technology, however, in regards to online schooling, there can be many harmful effects. Chayko mentioned that “research indicates that too much time spent in front of computer and mobile screens is associated with low energy and fatigue” (Chayko, p. 193), and as I and many of my peers have experienced, we deal with “zoom fatigue” from constantly staring at our screens. I have even noticed that my eyes hurt a lot because in my spare time I am on my devices, and when I am learning I am on my devices. Additionally, I find myself multitasking a lot more when in class on zoom, and Chayko even mentioned that “people who attempt to multitask regularly and chronically suffer cognitive and behavioural deficits” (Chayko, p. 185). The combination of zoom fatigue and multitasking is a hard cycle to break out of, but with the many downsides of technology, there are still the many positives which, for me, create a balance.
### #2: Friday January 29 - How the Web Works
I often struggle to understand what I read, especially if it is a new, confusing, and complex subject. In order for me to grasp the subject better I need to break it down into smaller sections and try to visualize what is being said. Digital technology and communication is a new subject for me and something I know nothing about. Of course, I know how to use my phone, laptop, and other devices extremely well, however I do not actually know how it works. After reading “How The Web Works” I got a much better understanding of what is actually happening when I use technology, especially the internet. The way that the article used the analogy of the client and server as a road and explained what every component of the internet did in both technological terms, and analogical terms, made me more interested. For further example, the article described internet connection as “the street between your house and the shop” (MDN, 2016), HTTP as “the language you use to order your goods” (MDN, 2016), and component files as “the different parts of the goods you buy from the shop” (MDN, 2016), along with many more easily understandable explanations. This article overall gave me a better understanding of how technology works as well as peaked my interest in learning more.
Comment

Unfortunately, unlike the previous article, I found “How HTTPS Secures Connections: What Every Web Dev Should Know” much more confusing as it lacked the analogy and clarity. I find the subject of the public and private key confusing and a bit unclear, and that is something I would like to learn more about and more clearly. Additionally, both articles explained the various components of technology and using the internet, and though I have a slightly better understanding about the security behind it, it makes me wonder how it is so easy to hack into websites. Over the break my snapchat and email were hacked. This was and still is something I do not understand not only why, but especially how the hacker managed to get in when without knowing my password. I would like to learn about how hackers hack so hopefully I can be aware of how to manage the security of my accounts better.
### #3: Friday February 5 - Fake News
“Crap detection” is an extremely important skill to have, especially in today’s climate when everyone has access to any website imaginable at the touch of a button, that can produce whatever information they want–true or false. If everyone in the country learned and used “crap detection” skills, I believe we would not have been so affected by “fake news” and media manipulation as much. It is concerning that in the final three months of the 2016 election, “20 top-performing false election stories from hoax sites and hyperpartisan blogs generated 8,711,000 shares, reactions, and comments on Facebook” (Silverman, 2016) and “the 20 best-performing election stories from 19 major news websites generated a total of 7,367,000 shares, reactions, and comments on Facebook” (Silverman, 2016). The false news sites should not be gaining more attention than the more reliable news sites as the writers on the false sites can create any story they want and manipulate readers very dangerously. If more people looked into the sources they get their information from and are aware of a bias or even that the story can be false, as well as analyse the author and author’s intent, less people would be believing such made up stories.
Comment

It is very troubling that people want to believe what aligns with their beliefs, even if the information is false. What especially caught my attention was the fact that “public trust in doctors is declining sharply” (Boyd, 2017). This quote is especially relevant today in regards to the Coronavirus in various ways including if it is even “real”, the vaccine, effectiveness of masks, and more. These ideas tend to come from supporters of the former President as he and politicians alike often promoted false websites. As seen in the article “Recontextualized Media: Biden ‘Voter Fraud Organization’ by Emily Dreyfuss, Donald Trump, his children, political commentators, and other supporters, had no issue with promoting false statements and stories to their followers (Dreyfuss, 2020). What causes concern is that given his position, people should trust that the President is not lying and promoting false stories and information, however that was not the case. His supporters believe and trust what he says so much that they do not use “crap detection” or even want to question what he is posting, which as we have seen, can have dangerous results.
### #4: Friday March 5 - Contributuion and Gender
The degree to which one communicates, participates, and contributes digitally is heavily influenced by gender. According to the National Center for Women and information Technology, the percentage of women in “professional computing professions” was 26% in 2016 [(Jeong, 2017)](https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/16/16153740/tech-diversity-problem-science-history-explainer-inequality). Companies in Silicon Valley also had a lack of numbers when it came to female technical employees with Google at 20%, Microsoft at 18%, Apple at 23%, and Facebook at 18% (Jeong, 2017). Due to the field being dominated by men, a culture of “man” is created, which makes women feel excluded. Prior to reading “[‘Free as in Sexist?’: Free Culture and the Gender Gap](https://reagle.org/joseph/2012/fas/free-as-in-sexist.html)”, I had never heard of the term “brogrammer” (Reagle, 2013). Although I am not surprised a term like this exists, I was still surprised at how normalized the exclusion of women was in the technological field. I was shocked to read about the experience by the woman who was on Wikipedia and explained how men online have “discussed [her] appearance, what clothes they think [she] wear[s], what kind of bras [she] wear[s], whether [she] fear[s] being raped, whether [she’s] a whore, [and] whether [she’s] had to sleep with men in real life to get jobs” (Reagle, 2013). Examples like such is just one clear and evident reason as to why women stay away or stay silent when it comes to being in male dominated areas.

I agree with the quote “the focus should be on becoming more open and diverse in general – becoming more inclusive to everyone, which will naturally bring in more women” (Reagle, 2013). As a female, I relate to feeling as if I do not belong somewhere or that I should not do something because it is male dominated. It is a sad and unfair reality many other women face, but if the companies and fields of work that women feel put down by, became diverse and transformed into more comfortable environments, women would not feel as worried to participate in what they desire to.
### #5: Tuesday March 9 - Manipulated
We all have heard the sayings “social media is fake” or “don’t believe everything you see online”. These sayings don’t just stand true for images or headlines, it is for reviews, ratings, and comments as well. It is estimated that between 10% to 30% of online reviews are fake [(Reagle, 2015)](https://readingthecomments.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/1cubrkat/release/2), and the amount of fake reviews that may be, has a big influence on whether consumers buy something or not. I agree with the quote, “while negative reviews do seem to have a greater impact on purchasing decisions, a few negative ratings are not necessarily detrimental: they might prompt consumers to more carefully consider the reviews or have greater confidence when they can see the balance of opinion” (Reagle, 2015). When online shopping, I never trust websites that have hundreds or thousands of reviews that are only positive, because to me, it means there is something to hide about the product. The balance of positive and negative quotes makes me believe that the product and website is more trustworthy as they show the bad side of the products. If a company uses bots and fake reviews to look positive, then I think it really only ends up hurting them and breaking trust with possible consumers who do research the products they will buy.

I have already known not to trust everything on social media, but after reading about [Instagram pods](https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/instagram-pods), I feel the need to trust social media much less. Of course, I have texted group chats of my friends saying to “like and comment on my Instagram post” but only to get their attention to the post. For influencers, the Instagram pods that manipulate the algorithm, can influence audiences to see a user more due to the engagement, when in reality, it is just their friends or Instagram pod. I think the idea of an Instagram pod is interesting as it is a way to gain engagement for the group, however as the article mentions, it is not sustainable for long-term growth of the account (Forsey, 2018), to which it then can both manipulate the algorithm, but also manipulate the engagement insights to the creator on what their followers like and do not like from them.