Reflection Blog

Source: "ProBlogger"

So here we are. The final stretch of blogging is now before us as the end of the semester approaches. Before I began my first blog, my initial feeling about it was that (1) it would be easy and (2) it would be boring because its basically writing papers, but through the internet.

I can honestly say that my opinion has changed. Although the writing process of the blog wasn't exactly something I enjoyed, it was more about the content of my blogs that mattered the most. I chose psychology as the topic of my blogs because its something I was really interested in, considering it is my major. But I didn't know that I could write so much about the relationship between technology and psychology.

My favorite blogs were those dealing with text messages and social networks. These topics were really enjoyable to write about because they were topics I was most familiar with and the studies I read about them were interesting to say the least. Because text messaging and social networks are technologies that I use most often, its always good to know how they can affect me psychologically. In my blog titled, "Psychological Effects of Texting," I ended up arguing against the evidence I found, but regardless it was a learning experience. For example, I didn't agree with research that "Texters" tend to be more lonely than "Talkers," based on personal experience.

In addition, I found some of these topics humorous because it really made me think about myself and my actions, and at times I found myself embarrassed. I didn’t want to be one of those people that can be classified through a research study, such as fiddling with my phone when the person I am with starts talking to another person (also mentioned in one of my blogs).

Source: flickr.com

My least favorite blog was when we had to take pictures and/or find pictures online that related to our topic. Initially, I thought this was going to be easy. However, I think I had the most trouble on this assignment than the rest of them. As for the pictures online, it was difficult to find different technologies that related to psychology. Of course the most common ones were pictures of MRI scans, PET scans, etc. but I wanted unique pictures. In addition, a lot of the pictures I found online weren’t aesthetically pleasing to the eye. They were either boring, old, etc.

As far as taking my own pictures goes, this was the hardest part and probably what I hated the most. I love taking pictures and videos. However, when it comes to taking pictures that related to my topic, I wanted to take pictures that weren’t flawed or planned out, which is why it was so difficult. With every picture I took, I had frustration about what the picture looked like and if it adequately represented my topic well. Looking back on it, it just goes to show that I need more practice in my photography skills and that I need to be more creative when thinking about what pictures can be related to both technology and psychology.

I hope my readers thoroughly enjoyed my topic of technology through psychology. The blogs were more than just blogging for an assignment. I chose psychology because I wanted to learn more for myself about how psychology can affect us, specifically through technological devices. I think psychology is one of the more interesting topics and hope that my readers felt the same. I also hope that my readers understand how everything we do in life, whether it be everyday occurances such as talking on the phone, checking Facebook, taking pictures, etc, can have a psychological effect on us. There are a lot of things that we are not aware about that in essence, could be important to our health.

In addition, it is important to read about the breakthroughs in technology that have impacted psychology. For example, my blog about how depresson can lead to cancer is an excellent example of how technology can be used to see the relationship between depression and cancer. Readers should note that this is important news because depression is a common illness that can potentially lead to one of the deadliest killers of our human generation. In other words, technology is more than just making our lives easier and simpler by making tasks less difficult and less stressful. Technology is about improving our society, whether it be psychologically, mentally, socially, etc. I hope my readers had a good time reading my blogs and that they think about how the technological devices they are currently using are affecting them as a person. It would be interesting to hear your thoughts and whether or not you think technology has helped you positively or negatively in a psychological sense.