How My Digital Life Has Shaped Me Into The Person I am Today
My relationship with digital media, technology, and how it has changed me over time.
Ever sine I remember I have been around technology, it has always been a part of my life. For my whole life my Dad has worked for Intel Corporation, so what came along with that was all of the new gadgets he would bring home. From new tablets, to computers or him winning new tech at customer events, I always knew the latest things around. It was always part of my life, when I went to computer class in elementary school, I knew everything already. My dad taught me everything I knew about technology. In our neighborhood my Mom, Dad, brother and I were known as the technology family. I have always loved technology.
“My generation is the last generation that baby pictures were not taken on cell phones, rather with actual cameras.”
Fast forward to my life now I am completely engrossed in technology and as much as I hate to say it, it consumes my life. From scrolling on instagram, watching Netflix, and checking the weather, everything I do is on my phone. How could I not be on my phone 24/7 when there are apps for everything, even apps I have to use everyday. For example I have to fill out my daily symptom screening everyday for school, so they know I do not have COVID. How can we all not be addicted to our phones? It’s hard. However, I do not think it is a bad thing. Having all of this technology makes life so much more efficient and fast, time is saved. I LOVE using social media it has changed my life! I love to create content for social media, posting pictures, creating graphics, I love everything about it. It has even made me want to pursue a career that social media involved.
I definitely think I was 100% meant to be born in this century, there is no way that I could have lived in any other time in history. I am so blessed that I was born when I was in 2000. I got to experience life without a lot of technology and have a childhood playing outside, watching VHS tapes, and using a house phone still. The kids today will never know the pain of calling your friends house phone and asking to speak to them when their parents answered. The anxiety I would get when I would call, I would pray that my friends siblings would answer so I did not have to talk to the parents. It was so dramatic but also if you know you know it was SCARY. However, as I grew up technology and social medias got more advanced and as I grew so did technology. This article talks about the way 90’s kids felt during the creation of the internet. It gives a good perspective, since I was so young when all of this started. However, I am so glad I got to experience all of it, I really think it has been such a special time to grow up. My generation is the last generation that baby pictures were not taken on cell phones, rather with actual cameras.
My first encounter with social media was with Instagram, it was the first account I ever made. All of my friends were downloading this new app and I was very curious. I was in fifth grade at this time and had an iPod touch with my name engraved on the back with a hot pink case that looked like a purse. I would use my iPod to play games like Cut The Rope, watch Youtube videos, and iMessage my friends. My parents had rules for it but nothing too crazy, just not being on it all day, and I had to get permission to download and app. So naturally when I asked to download Instagram there were many questions about this app my parents quizzed me with. Who is on this app? What is the app about? They need your personal information? There were so many questions, because no one in my house had ever heard of it. I remember my parents telling my brother and I they were going to think about it and get back to us. I thought it was so un-cool to not get one right away, and had to go another day at school without having an instagram. Then, a few days later my parents let us know we could get instagram accounts under a few rules:
- No posting pictures of our faces
- No using our full name
- My parents had to follow the account
- The account had to be private
- We could not let people follow us we did not know
Yes you read that right, I could not post pictures of my face, and could not use my full name for my own instagram account. So me being the creative thinker that I was used decided on the instagram name @tropicalsmileyfaces. I though this was the most epic name I could ever think of because I loved Hawaii, and I loved to smile, so from there the the name was born.
Obviously many years later I have grown from that and as I changed my Instagram has changed. I posted pictures of myself eventually, I changed my instagram username and bio millions of times. I now have evolved into the normal instagramming person and have changed my instagram name to just my name @michellevalcich. The pictures are pictures I take with friends, by myself or cool places I visit. I love my instagram now it is my favorite social media app to use.
Instagram inspires me throughout everyday, seeing all of the things people I follow post. I love to see al of their accomplishments, cool places they have visited, or just fun pictures that people take. It makes me want to go out and do stuff and enjoy the world we live in. I also love to follow inspirational accounts and feeling like I can do anything after looking at those posts. It makes my creative juices flow for more things I can post, or content I can create. As a result of these feelings it makes me want to be on instagram all day, that is where I stop myself sometimes. But, it is all a balance, balance is key.
My relationship with digital technology has changed drastically since I first encountered it. I went from maybe playing a game on the computer for an hour a day, to using it at least once every 10 minutes for something. That is how the world is today though, you can not be a successful person without being on technology. As the technology changed so has the world, so have I. Technology and social media will always continue to change and grow. As a result of that it will continue to help people evolve as well.