What Technology means to me
Technology is a part of my life every single day, from facetiming friends back home, to Snapchatting friends on campus to figure out who I'm going to eat lunch with. Technology gives me the best of both worlds, with instant communication with friends as far as 2,000 miles away. Tech has a massive impact on my social life, without being able to communicate with my HPU friends when I'm home we may not be as close when the next semester rolls around. However, I try to limit my dependence on technology to a healthy level. Many college kids are unable to leave their phone for more than five minutes, but I will sometimes go hours without checking my phone. I think it's important to unplug and refocus yourself every few weeks. I do this by going to my family's cabin in the mountains, I'll spend the whole weekend outside and avoid using my phone as much as possible. This time lets me refocus on what's really important. I have a tendency to not talk to my family for days on end when life gets hectic, five projects due in a week and work every single day doesn't leave much time for me to give my parents a call. However, I try really hard to focus on calling them at least every few days and my brother and I have a standing phone call every Friday at noon. Without technology I wouldn't know what's going on at home, I wouldn't know when my dog got sick or when my dad travels for work.
Where else does it fit in?
In the past few years, my understanding of complex technologies has grown massively. I've gone from never touching a camera, to building and editing graphics and transitions in limited time spans. As I understand it more and more, it makes my appreciation of technology so much higher. Understanding exactly how hard it is to create these programs and use them to the best quality, has led me to find the job that I want in the future. I've gained a lot of respect on campus based on my understanding of this technology. Although I've had many people teaching me pieces of the tech, I've spent numerous hours playing with it and learning more than those before me have understood. Many of the members of the athletic department respect me as their equal even though I'm as much as 20 years their junior. It's important to me that I have a place where I can learn, but can also show how much I truly understand. Without understanding and using these technologies everyday I may not have figured out where I want to go in life.
Working with the athletic department has also helped me figure out where I fit in at High Point. This opportunity has led me to find the people that love sports and broadcasting as much as I do, and have helped me create life-long friendships. Although work does stress me out, and sometimes I don't want to go, every time I sit down in my chair in front of my computer I'm so excited to see what graphics I can throw up and how I can edit them to give even more information for our broadcasters to talk about. This piece of technology has almost no negative impact on my life. Even when it's stressful or doesn't go the way I want it to, I love the technology completely.
The Negatives
Although technology is mostly positive in my life, it's important to mention the few ways that it creates some negativity. Some of my friends and family have a negative relationship with technology and it has an impact on me. It drives me nuts when someone can't put down their phone while having dinner or when someone is talking to me. Technology creates distractions for everyone, but understanding that it takes effort to ignore them is vital. Many people that I know, are incapable or unwilling to fight against the distractions and that can really frustrate me sometimes. However, this reliance can show a lot about the people who actually care about you. If someone is willing to put the phone away and have an honest conversation without any distractions, they truly care what you have to say. The opposite can show who you might want to avoid as they may not care so much about what you have to say.
Putting it all together
Although technology can have negative impacts, my relationship with it is almost entirely positive. The best way to keep a healthy relationship with technology is to realize that sometimes it's more important to put the phone down. Once you understand the hold that technology has over you, it's much easier to break away from it.
