Blog #11: EOTO Final Presentations

 In the most recent final presentations, I feel like we as students collectively came together and agreed on our feelings about our usage of technology on a daily basis. We all seemed to express our desire to disconnect more and not rely on constant stimulus from our phones and computers. This would increase our productivity, focus, sleep, mental health, and our lives in general, however, technology has an iron grip on our age group as a whole as it has been integrated into a huge part of our everyday lives. In Jack O’Donnell’s presentation, two things stuck out to me about his technology use that I related to and learned more about.

Academic Relationship with Technology:

As college students writing papers and responses weekly while also experiencing the birth of AI sites, it becomes hard to be original with our work. When I first discovered AI generated content, it seemed harmless and just a tool to help me generate ideas for papers and other academic tasks. However, there is a huge risk to it. Sites like ChatGTP and Easybib, as Jack talked about, have made us reliable on them to help us generate more than ideas. They can generate whole papers and analysis’ if we desire, and also citations. I related to Jack when he stated that Easybib has robbed him of actually knowing how to do any form of citation himself. I myself do not know how to do this anymore (at one point I did), but now, I fully rely on Easybib to help me create citations for my academics. I no longer can do this task by myself, and as helpful as it is, I hate that I am dependent on a site like this. It is not cheating, but it is cheating myself out of retaining important skills and information that I used to execute on my own. 

“For example, I have no clue how to actually make a works cited page for the life of me because every time I have needed to make one for the last couple of years, I have gone to EasyBib.com and had it generate a works cited list for me based off of the information on my sources that I put into it. It’s not a huge skill, but I do feel bad that I have robbed myself of learning the skill of being able to format a works cited list” (O'Donnell, Jack's Media Law Blog). Jack’s presentation about his experience also sparked my want to discuss ChatGTP in my response. ChatGTP is another monster on its own separate from Easybib. ChatGTP was introduced to me a little over a year ago, and I did not think much of it when I used it for fun on my own to generate responses, like recipes and stories. Even though this can be a useful tool, it takes away originality and the ability to form your own thoughts and analysis’. I have spoken to a few of my friends about the effects of their ChatGTP use in their academics, and they explained to me that they fully rely on it now to even start a paper. Because the site so easily generates content, ideas, and answers within seconds, people will use it for everything because it is so accessible and fast. People no longer can form their own ideas into words, and this should raise concerns about the potential impact on academic integrity and creativity. I have seen it myself first hand. In a Tech Business News article, there were many points made in this piece that hit the nail on the head about the academic use of AI. “Chat GPT generates pre-written responses, which may limit students’ ability to express their own ideas and perspectives. [...] If students know they can use Chat GPT to complete their work, they may become lazy and not put in the effort to truly learn and understand the material” (Editorial, Chatgpt may lead to the downfall of education and critical thinking). It is now so easy to access pre-existing text, and this can directly contribute to a lack of originality in academic work. Many students and researchers now rely heavily on AI generated content without fully engaging in critical thinking, and this is having a huge impact on student’s abilities to have real creative work of their own. 

Personal Relationship with Technology: 

Another technology aspect that Jack touched on that resonated with me was his need for constant stimulation in his day to day life. I can admit that most of my spare moments throughout the day like walking to class, breaks between my shifts at the gym, and study breaks are almost always filled with stimulation from my devices. Whether it is music playing, scrolling on Tik Tok or Instagram, replying to texts, or watching Netflix, I feel that I always need some sort of background noise. Even as I am writing this blog, I am listening to music for a little dopamine boost that I feel dependent on nowadays. I have my Airpods in everytime I walk out of my dorm to walk to class, or anywhere on campus. I feel naked without Airpods while walking to class. Jack touching on this seemingly harmless need made me feel less alone. “I will also acknowledge that I use technology to keep me stimulated too much. Between social media, having an Airpod in my ear at all times to listen to music [...], I pretty much always have some distraction to fill any awkward amount of time during the day. Now I love listening to my music (I do get about a thousand and a half hours a week) but I do think that this stimulation makes it hard for me to adjust to silence or boring moments when I do not have access to my phone or laptop to distract me or give me something to do” (O'Donnell, Jack's Media Law Blog). 

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I myself also have trouble adjusting to silence and “boring” moments as well. Music that is always playing in the background as stimulation can make it harder to concentrate and focus, especially in school or work settings where we need to pay attention for elongated periods of time. I have found I now cannot function without my Airpods fully charged and in my ears the entire time that I am studying or doing homework, and unless I am with other people, I also do not eat meals without watching Netflix, a Youtube video, or scrolling on Tik Tok. I call it my “iPad kid” time as a joke, but in reality, I am concerned about my dependance on the stimulation that technology gives me at such an alarming rate just as Jack also expressed.

All in all, Jack’s presentation sparked my interest more into trying to disconnect from technology on an academic level because of lack of originality and dependance on sites such as Easybib. I want to continue to create my own original work and remember useful tools that we are taught in school, and to continue to not rely on technology to carry me through a class like I have seen others do. Jack’s experience with needing constant stimulus made me feel less alone in my, for lack of a better term, addiction, but it also made me think deeper about how this affects me in the future when I have a real job where I can’t take technology breaks and listen to music to work. His presentation was informational, relatable, and made me think about my personal technology use, and our generation's usage of it as a whole. 

Works Cited

1. O’Donnell, Jack. Jack’s Media Law Blog, 11 Dec. 2023, odonnellmedia.blogspot.com/. 

2. Desk, Editorial. “Chatgpt May Lead to the Downfall of Education and Critical Thinking.” Tech Business News, 1 Dec. 2023, www.techbusinessnews.com.au/blog/chatgpt-may-lead-to-the-downfall-of-eduction-and-critical-thinking/#:~:text=Reduces%20creativity%3A%20Chat%20GPT%20generates,learn%20and%20understand%20the%20material.