Final Post - Technological World

Futurama

Above is the Futurama ride in New York.

At the 1964 World’s Fair in New York, there was a famous display called Futurama. It predicted a world in which technology would be our savior. Technology would save us; technology would comfort us; technology would solve all of our problems; technology would be the key to our heavenly utopia. The ride gave visitors a glimpse at what America may look like in the “future”—they weren’t wrong about these technological advancements. The narrator of the ride talks about what to expect out of future cities: “plazas of urban living rise over freeways, vehicles electronically-paced travel routes remarkably safe, swift, and efficient.” With these developments in technology, there is new beauty and strength in the “city of tomorrow.” A whole new world of answers is discovered in order to fulfill the needs of man. These newfound technological advancements support many individuals and lead to a domino effect of even more discoveries. The latest goods and materials are said to bring prosperity to the world. Technology is leading the adventure to a future of “limitless promise.” A course that frees the mind and the spirit as it improves the well-being of mankind. These innovations don’t just include public transportation and other businesses, but also medical advancements, which is definitely needed at a time like today.

Mad World 

Above is a screenshot from the Mad World Remix of Moby.

This “Mad World Remix of Moby” depicts the world centered around technology. People rather live in a virtual world full of color than reality in black and white. Even though these advancements in technology have improved communication and have been an outlet of endless information, it has drastically damaged people’s wellbeing. People are abusing and overusing technology, which has negative consequences. In the video, the main character is surrounded by people that are glued to their phones. He gets trampled over and is continuously ignored, which makes him upset that no one is paying attention to him. People are putting all their attention to their devices that they aren’t paying attention to the world around them. With that being said, they fall into a sewer hole and even fall off a cliff at the end of the video. The remix video includes current trends in the media such as selfies, texting, people taking pictures of their food, and even dating apps. Another issue this video emphasizes is cyberbullying. For example, a video was posted on social media of a girl dancing and people were making fun of her. This harassment pushed the girl into taking her own life. Social media and other digital media platforms can be very damaging to people’s wellbeing and self-esteem. Technology has its advantages and disadvantages; however, we must balance out our usage of technology to be physically and mentally healthy. 

MAN

Above are screenshots from the video MAN; evolution of man.

This video looks at “man’s relationship with the natural world.” It starts at 500,000 years ago until today. As man goes through time, it is evident in the decrease of animals and trees that man becomes less environmentally friendly. Man first kills a fly and then goes on to make products out of nature and animals. For example, man created new advancements such as snake boots, basketballs, fur coats, and pianos, just to name a few small products. These advancements have killed sea life and other wildlife in order for man and the rest of the world to prosper. The biggest destruction man has made was cutting down trees and animals’ homes in order to build corporations and other businesses. In these businesses, animals are being tested and treated as lab rats in order for humans to find cures or other things that will become products for us humans. With all that being said, man is constantly changing, and technology is constantly adapting to growing generations and its increase use in these technological devices. We live in a landfill of technology. These advancements are not all advantageous and the killing of animals and their homes are a disadvantage to these developments.

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Sherman Anti-Trust Act

The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was the first legislation enacted by the United States Congress, in 1890, in order to curb concentrations of power that interfere with trade and reduce economic competition. Several states had passed similar laws, but they were limited to intrastate businesses. This act was based on the constitutional power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce. It especially targeted big corporations operating in multiple states. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was created to help workers and smaller businessmen by encouraging competition. While it did assist these two groups, the act eventually hindered workers in attaining better working conditions.

Above is a picture of John Sherman.

The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was named after US Senator John Sherman of Ohio, who was an expert on the regulation of commerce. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act passed the Senate by a vote of 51 – 1 on April 8, 1890, and the House of Representatives by a unanimous vote of 242 – 0 on June 20, 1890. President Benjamin Harrison signed the bill into law on July 2, 1890. The legislation was passed at a time of extreme public hostility towards large corporations like Standard Oil and the American Railway Union, which were seen to be unfairly monopolizing certain industries. The act signaled a shift in American regulatory strategy towards business and markets, which made competition more strict.

One of the act’s main provisions outlaws all combinations that restrain trade between states or with foreign nations. A second key provision makes illegal all attempts to monopolize any part of trade or commerce in the US. These two provisions, which constitute the heart of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, are enforceable by the US Department of Justice through litigation in the federal courts. If one where to violate the provisions of this act, the resulting punishments would be fines and imprisonment. 

The first enforcement of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act occurred during the administration of US President Theodore Roosevelt’s term from 1901 to 1909. Congress passed two legislative measures that provided support for the Sherman Act: the Clayton Anti-Trust Act and the Federal Trade Commission.

Today, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act means a financial relationship in which one party gives another the right to hold property or assets for a third party. In 2019, the Justice Department began a broad review of potentially anticompetitive behavior by “market-leading online platforms,” including Google and Facebook, and a coalition of attorneys general from 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico announced coordinated antitrust investigations into alleged monopolistic practices by Google.

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Mediasphere

Mediasphere is the collective ecology of the world’s media, including newspapers, journals, television, radio, books, novels, advertising, press releases, publicity, and the blogosphere (what we do each week). In simpler terms, it is any and all media both broadcast and published. Newspapers became a political force in the campaign for American independence. The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees freedom of the press because the creators recognized the importance of keeping government and its officials accountable. Information is important to maintaining the balance of power in this nation. 

MSM refers collectively to the various large mass news media that influence people, and reflect and shape prevailing thoughts. An example of an MSM is The Walt Disney Company, which owns the ABC television networks. These mainstream networks and publications cater to the majority of the population. MSM is the contrast to alternative media, which may contain content with more dissenting thoughts at variance. Alternative media is a source of information and publications that fall outside of MSM. FOX started out as a form of alternative media; however, its growing viewership resulted it being labeled mainstream media. The criteria for determining whether a news source counts as alternative media is based on these questions: Is it corporate owned? What is its content (news that is either repressed or misreported by the mainstream media)? How is it produced and distributed (the internet is the most popular outlet for alternative media)? Does it seek some kind of political or social change? Is it intended to generate profit? Alternative media is considered tabloids or to be full of conspiracy theories. 

An echo chamber is an environment where a person only encounters information or opinions that reflect and reinforce their own. They can spread false information and distort a person’s perspective, and are driven by confirmation bias, which favors information that reinforces existing beliefs. Echo chambers can happen anywhere and everywhere information is shared. In order to recognize echo chambers, think of these questions: Do they tend to only give one perspective on an issue? Is that viewpoint mainly supported by rumor or incomplete evidence? Are facts ignored whenever they go against that viewpoint?

A whistleblower is a person who discloses information to the public about any wrongdoing, which could be fraud, corruption, etc. There are specific laws that protect whistleblowers such as False Claims Act, Dodd-Frank Act, and the Whistleblower Protection Act. Whistleblowers experience retaliation for doing the right thing, and anonymity is crucial to whistleblowing. If whistleblowing turns to leaking classified information, then the whistleblower could be charged with crime. All in all, the person needs to know the rules and the consequences before whistleblowing. 

Citizen journalism involves amateur individuals generating and sharing their own news by collecting, reporting, analyzing, and publicizing information. Social media plays a huge role in citizen journalism because people have 24/7 access to technology. Not all citizen journalisms are reliable sources because the writers are not professionals. They may not fact check, which could threaten professional journalism.

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