There is no question that inhumane technologies are constantly used across the globe. This has almost always been the case throughout history. With the emergence of mobile devices and the constant requirement for many people to be connected to the internet on a daily basis, staying out of reach of inhumane technologies is nearly impossible. We have spent a lot of time analyzing the messages in “Stolen Focus” and one thing is absolutely apparent. The reaches and impacts of the technology are strong and affect everyone. In one of my earlier discussions, I was interested in exploring the idea that these technologies are non-discriminatory and have a similar effect on all who choose to use them. For the most part, I believe this to be true. 

In one of our class discussions a couple of weeks ago, I stated that there is a lot of bias in our own discussions because the features and functions of the applications we use are something naturally on our mind because of our field of study. I personally have found that a lot of people have frustrations when someone’s thinking doesn’t align with their own. The majority of this can be surrounding politics, but it applies in a lot of places, like life values, athletics, and academics. People’s beliefs and understandings of the world are going to come from the content that they consume. If they are naturally engaged by particular forms or styles of content, they are going to continue to be fed similar forms of content by the platform. Similar forms of content oftentimes carry similar ideologies, which means that constant consumption can result in understandings that lack diversity.  

The goal of these media companies that control the content we consume is in not to ensure that have we have a diverse understanding of the world but simply to generate engagement. “Persuasive technologies use scientifically tested design strategies to manipulate human behavior towards a desired goal like increasing time on site or user engagement.” (Humane Technology Chpt. 4).  As a shareholder of these companies, the concern is not with the impacts of the content on the viewer, but the impact of the content on the viewers engagement.