Reflecting on Technology's Impact In My Personal Life 

The youtube video Mad World by Steve Cutts was very impactful and emotional. He did an astounding job at keeping the audience engaged while portraying real life through a dramatized and at times humorous approach. The result was brilliant, a short film that perfectly describes how the world is falling victim to technology. The video asserts several different themes such as, the loss of personal identity, increasing sense of vanity and a lack of personal interaction and emotion. I was surprised by how emotional I felt after watching he film. Steve Cutts portrays these themes of sadness, addiction and vanity through characters in the film that seem to be lost, scared, clueless and depressed. Although the scenes are overblown for a dramatized effect, I understood that they were based on real events and real emotions. There is a scene where a woman commits suicide and another where a woman poses in front of a burning building as people jump from the windows. There is a loss of humanity caused by technology that we all must address before it is too late.

In my personal life, technology has been both a tool and a distraction. Growing up in the age of technology has afforded me the opportunity to learn and develop with the assistance of advanced learning tools. Technology has had a huge impact on education by connecting the world and giving students access to the largest database of information in existence, right from their phone or computer. This has been the most beneficial use of technology in my life.  While technology has been a driving force in my education and has improved my notetaking and study habits, it has also been a main source of distraction. That is currently one of the biggest downsides of technology in the lives of many people. If this gets out of hand, it can lead to overconsumption and a lack of awareness in the real world. Like the youtube video, Mad World, there are times that I have felt a growing addiction and dependence to social media. One of the most negative effects in my personal life may be the inability to pass time without some form of media or entertainment technology. Many people experience this in needing to watch TV while they eat or complete chores. I have recently been taking steps to curb my dependence on technology, especially social media and decrease my time spent on screen. For me, the most effective way to do this is to delete apps. By deleting apps it takes away the ability and the desire to waste time scrolling on instagram, tik tok or twitter. Unfortunately, social media apps are designed to keep us engaged with endless scrolling and data preference tracking, so it is up to us to regulate our social media consumption and limit the time spent on screen. This is especially important considering the plethora of information available on the internet and social media. Because of this, I am not very active in posting on social media and would not claim to have a large digital footprint. Although I do use the internet for many things, I usually refrain from oversharing. 

Overall, technology has had both positive and negative impacts on my life, but as time goes on, I realize the many impactful benefits of technology that should not be overshadowed by the negative impacts. Technology has advanced learning, equality and has even saved lifes. I am truly grateful for technology and the role that it plays in my life. It is up to us now to ensure that we don't allow technology to ruin the world and turn our society into one that mimics the “Mad World” video.