Personal Use of Technology

08Oct09

As many of the rest you  throughout the world, my life revolves around one of mankind’s greatest achievements: technology. I use many different things in completely different ways, such as the cell phone I use to  text and talk on the phone, and the MP3 I use for working out, and cleaning the kitchen. Despite the numerous possibilities of usage, there’s one way I use it that stands out above the rest, like lightning in the rain: security. Technology affects me by making me feel secure in knowing I can reach anyone at any time, and therefore be safe and informed. Technology is quite literally my security blanket.

Whether it’s for gossip on the latest drama, a family emergency, or just a plain old conversation, I always need to be able to talk to someone. Technology throws the weight off of my shoulder that would once hold me down by allowing me to communicate with whomever i want to, at any time. I no longer need to worry about being out of touch with the rest of the world because of readily-accessible  internet sources such as Facebook, and Myspace, and because of the invention of the very  portable, yet reliable cell phone. These three things are the key to my communication.

With facebook, I talk to my family and the ones that I love on a day-to-day basis. For an example, I talk to my cousins that live quite a far distance away from my home town.It feels great to know that I can find out any updates on anything that happens despite that far distance, and I can just talk to them for any particular reason. I also use Facebook to talk to my significant other and his mother and sister when I am not able to access other sources. Facebook simplifies my every source of communication, and simplifies my life. I love that it is so easily accessible, and is virtually available anywhere, at anytime, and  to anyone.  Facebook leaves me with a way to get a hold of the cherished people in my life when I need to do it most.

Myspace is my source of communication for those that I’m “not-so-close” to. I use it to talk to my long lost friends from an earlier time and Myspace is just my way to keep in touch with those I’m not completely worried about keeping in touch with. I find many of my friends from high school on the popular web site and I love to find out what they’re doing with their lives’ at the time and to talk about the old times. Myspace is my little source of nostalgia. It’s always a fun experience to go back to the web site and find a new person, and I love to continue communicating with those friends, even if it’s not such a regular conversation.

When it comes down to using my cell phone, I communicate with a wide variety of people. For example, my managers and other bosses call me from work on a weekly basis. They let me know various things from my schedule, to any issues with my work or problems that I have been having. They enjoy being able to directly  get a hold of me without any hassle. Also, my mom loves to know where I am every second of the day(as most mothers do). I send her a quick text occasionally during class or other times like during a break at work or in between classes at school, and she feels relieved to know what is going on. For another example, I talk to my boyfriend literally nonstop throughout the day. It is hard to be at different schools, so we love to keep each other posted(and do the usual cute stuff, of course). But, not everyone gets my cell phone number. You usually have to be on closer terms with me to get my cell phone number and therefore communicate with me through it. I do not just throw out my cell phone number to whoever wants and those that have it are exceptional people. People that are closer to me are the ones I cannot afford to lose contact with.

Safety is a huge importance to many people in this world. Every person loves to feel that sense of safety and every person loves that feeling when they know for a fact that they are safe from all  harm’s way. I, too, love to feel these feelings, and I can achieve these feelings through the security I get from technology. Technology gives me the sense of  safety that I need at all times by letting me stay in contact with any person at any hour of the day, and it is not just simply safety for me. I want to feel secure in knowing that my family, friends and all of the others in between are safe. The things I use the most for safety are the same things I use for pure communication needs: Facebook, Myspace, and my cell phone.

As for linking safety and Facebook together, the terms are quite different than you may think. I do not simply just use  Facebook to shout “HELP!”, if I need it, but I use to make sure those far away and important are safe. As I have mentioned previously, I have many family members a great distance away from me. It means the world to me to know that every person in my life is safe. The safety of those I love is way more important than the safety of myself could ever be, so Facebook is one way that every person I love is secure. I also can use Facebook for my own safety if necessary as well. Facebook would be a great way to message my best friend in Peru without a cell phone if I needed to let a close friend to my family know that I am unsafe. If i was away from my cell phone, Facebook would be the first place I would run to in order to find anyone of great importance.

Surprisingly, Myspace actually gives me some valuable information in relation to my safety. Due to bulletin boards, there actually are many articles that get posted by right-minded people on Myspace that can warn you for the upcoming. For example, with the issue of H1N1 Flu rising as a higher and yet higher risk, there are many posts of how many fatalities there are from the disease. Also, through the posts, you can find out how many have the disease in your area and what to do to prevent yourself from catching the flu.You can also find out through friends on Myspace a varied amount of other things that are a potential danger to you. The open accessibility of the bulletin boards are a blessing to us all.

My cell phone gives me so much security, it is actually the number one technological object I rely on for my safety. Here is an example of how I use my cell phone for safety on a regular basis: every Tuesday night I’m forced to have class from seven o’clock pm, until ten o’clock pm. With this class, comes the parking spot that is two or three blocks down the road in the pitch dark of the night. being the paranoid person I am, I have to be on the phone with my boyfriend from the first step out of the classroom to the first step into my car. Doing this makes me feel safe because if anything does happen to me, my boyfriend can notify any persons necessary to get me in the arms of safety once again. Also,  as do almost all up-to-date cell phones, my phone has a satellite tracking device within its system that lets emergency services know exactly where I am at all times. This is a wonderful thing because if I try to contact any one during an emergency but cannot speak or if I amforced to hang up the phone, the police force may find me very quickly.

So, as you can clearly see, safety and communication are of huge importance to me. My world of  technology not only revolves around these things,  but these things are the absolute core of my world of technology.  I use Facebook, Myspace, and my cell phone for many things, but communication and the safety of myself and others outweighs the others by tons. Not only do I get one security blanket from technology, I get three very different, very special ones from and within the three things I use most. Facebook, Myspace, and my cell phone help me function with my life. It is very safe to say that the world of safety and communication would be drastically different if it were not for these things. I am surely grateful for technology and I am proud to say that I am a “tech-nerd” who finds her safety, and all sources of communication within technology.

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