In my reading list, I hope to detail for all of you reading here not only what I read on a day to day basis to keep up to date on technology, but more information on some of the sources that I have been using and hope to continue using in my subsequent blog posts that are important for my reader to have taken the time to examine and come to their own conclusions so that they will be able to better form an opinion on the subject of technological impact on communication. I will separate these articles into two groups, one for learning about new technology and the other on the actual impact it has on us.
I. For the Latest In Modern Tech: Gizmodo, Kotaku, Polygon, Mashable, GigaOm
Each of these blogs are constantly updating themselves with new information on what new technology is available, the release dates, functionality, and accessibility. Most of them update on a daily basis with information on the latest Apple Product, and I personally follow all the examples listed above on Facebook and Twitter just to keep up with multiple perspectives all the time.
Specific Example: “This Shifty USB Drive is Rigged to Fry Your Computer” from Gizmodo
The article itself discusses the nature of this USB that was created to destroy your computer. It goes into it’s technical specifications as well as its availability and it’s function. More specifically, this article provides the reader with brand new information as it is released on new hardware that could potentially be harmful to a user.
Citation: Limer, E. (2015, March 11). This Shifty USB Drive Is Rigged to Fry Your Computer. Retrieved March 13, 2015, from http://gizmodo.com/this-shifty-usb-drive-is-rigge…
II. Impact of Technology: Brookings Institution, Stanford Research, Journalists Resource
These sources are more based in scientific study, examination, and observation. They provide the reader with in depth information about what actually happens when people are exposed to this technology, whether it be a piece of hardware, such as your iPhone or laptop, or a website/software, such as Facebook or autocorrect. These sources are unbiased and provide an impartial commentary on what technology is doing to us today. One of the things that this article provided me with is stimulation for me to re examine some of my views on the subject.
Specific Examples:
1. “Multitasking, Social Media, and Distraction: Research Review”
This article details some of the modern ailments that many of today’s technology addicts suffer from, including but not limited to reduced cognitive function, chronic multitasking, and general reduction in motor skills. But more specifically, within this article are detailed another 14 studies that were made by various research institutions such as Stanford, Harvard, Columbia and articles from scholarly works on Psychology. This article provided me with so much information in the form of follow up articles and research to examine that would provide me with more information.
Citation: Wibey, J. (2013, July 11). Multitasking, social media and distraction: Research review. Retrieved March 13, 2015, from http://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/so…
2. “Who uses Facebook? An Investigation Into the Relationship Between the Big Five, Shyness, Narcissism, Loneliness, and Facebook Usage”
This is a scholarly article written by two esteemed scientists Tracii Ryan and Sophia Xenos, where they tested over a 1000 Facebook users and had them take various tests about their personality traits. These tests revealed that while Facebook users were most certainly vary narcissistic, but that certain types of people tended to use Facebook to communicate differently and with varied levels of frequency depending on their mental state. This article very carefully details some incredible statistics and raw data on people and their response to this new technology that was made available to them, and as a reader on the impact of technology on communication, information such as this goes an incredibly long way to deepening our understanding and what our future policy should be to respond appropriately to our new devices. For me personally, this study was incredibly enlightening on the specific connections between our use of our devices and our personalities.
Citation: Ryan, T., & Xenos, S. (2011). Who Uses Facebook? An Investigation Into The Relationship Between The Big Five, Shyness, Narcissism, Loneliness, And Facebook Usage. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(5), 1658-1664.
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