Growing up in my generation, there was not a point in my life where I did not have technology at my fingertips. I, as well as my peers, rely on technology for everything. None of us could fathom what our lives would be like without the world at our fingertips.
My believe my digital footprint is larger than I could ever imagine. I was playing on our desktop from when I was in elementary school. I got an iPod touch in 6th grade where I had access to social media for the first time. I made my Snapchat, Instagram and Youtube account and posted frequently. I also had access to freely research anything I wanted online, online shop, listen to music, stream movies and much more.
In highschool, it became a norm to use the internet to do all of our assignments, take notes, and tests. This is still true today. I could not imagine school without the use of computers and the use of Blackboard. Even when I go to hand write things my hand cramps. I would much rather read an article online than in a book.
Using computers in school is a foreign concept to older generations. My parents thoroughly believe that if I handwrite my notes and do not have a computer or phone out, I would excel in my classes more than I am already. I disagree completely. Although it does have its distractions, having every resource I need at my fingertips has allowed me to learn more and perform better throughout my college years. 
When COVID-19 disrupted our lives, we relied on technology to continue to get us through college and work instead of putting our life on hold. I could not fathom how different our lives would have been in quarantine if we did not have technology. Would our lives completely go on pause? Would we graduate on time? Would more people lose their jobs?
Today, I use social media every single day, without fault. The social media platforms that I utilize everyday in order from most used to least are TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and VSCO. On top of that I use iMessage, Spotify, Facetime, and Safari just as much.
For the most part, I believe social media has had a negative impact on my life. Although I love keeping in touch with my loved ones, I do spend too much time on my computer and phone. I actually recently took a 2 year break from Instagram which was freeing in more way than one. I found myself having a lot less anxiety in my everyday life.
In the documentary, "The Social Dilemma," I learned how social media companies purposefully get their users attention and get them addicted to the app. Everytime we receive a notification we get a rush of Serotonin. They refer to this as the "Vegas effect" because when you hit the jackpot you get a rush that keeps bringing you back to the game. It was found that individuals who visited social media sites regularly were 3x more likely to feel socially isolated and depressed. We have overall become slaves to our technology. I highly recommend watching this documentary. It truly made me want to delete all of my social media and never look back.
Throughout this class, Media Law and Literacy, I have become hyper aware of my digital footprint. Everyone is told at a young age everything on the internet is permanent, but I never realized the seriousness of this until taking this class. We truly do not have an privacy. It does not matter if you have your account set to "private" or you only send things to certain people, everything is tracked and used against you.
Although I do sometimes wish that we did not rely so heavily on technology, I would never wish it to be gone. It has affected my life an both positive and negative ways. I love having it for school and work and it has truly made me a better, more successful and organized student. I do wish there was a way our generation did not rely so much on social media. I do believe that social media has an overall negative effect on all users without most even realizing.
