My Digital Biography

February 2003: Gameboy Advance SP

This was the first example of my digital interaction. When I was 4, I received the first gameboy on my birthday. This allowed players to play games individually and did not offer any system to play with other players. My parents bought me this, and often kept me busy during dinners or on trips. I used it to stay occupied when my parents wanted me to, or for trips on airplanes or when in the car. This was my first exposure to technology and was very fun and kept me occupied for hours on end during vacations and times without something to do.

June 2006: LG Migo

This was the first time that I personally was able to communicate with other people. This phone allowed me to call four numbers, in addition to an emergency number. This was the basis for more advanced phones to come later on, and was the first example of my social interactions with others beyond the length of my home. This was purchased by my mother to keep me safe while at school, and to be able to get ahold of them during emergency situations. This felt like the coolest thing ever to have a phone, and it was a huge popularity stint to have one of these.

February 2009: Motorola Razr

This was the first mobile phone I had that gave access to the internet. The browser was very slow, and was very expensive to use cellular data, but gave me the first freedom to access the web via mobile device. In addition, I was able to call any number and text any number (with very lofty priced messaging). My parents wanted me to have this phone as a lot of my friends began to get cell phones, and they wanted me to be able to communicate with all of my friends, and to stay in the popular trends. I loved this phone, and had it for a good number of years before moving to a smart phone.

September 2010: The Original Macbook

This was the computer that I had for the beginning of my middle school career. This was the first time I had free, unrestricted access to the internet. This allowed me to communicate with anyone, at any time, and for any duration on wifi. This gave birth to an era of online communication via multiple instant messaging apps and the start of social media applications. My parents bought me this for school, and were not originally very happy about the fact that I was able to talk to people without their knowledge. They were given no choice however, as the school required me to have a computer to be able to write. My experience with this computer was outstanding, as it was the first time I was fully free and given the chance to explore the web on my own.

September 2010: iChat

This app was one of the most widely used in my childhood years. In middle school, all of my friends would sit on iChat for hours at night after homework. It allowed me to stay connected to my friends after school, to see status updates, and to stay in the loop. I used them to communicate with friends and childhood girlfriends beyond school hours. All you needed was a wifi device by apple, so almost all of us were on this app. My friends told me about this, and I joined once I got a MacBook. My parents knew of the app, but did not like that I was able to communicate unmoderated with anyone online.

February 2012: The iPhone

The iPhone was revolutionary for social interactions, and was the first time I had unlimited access to the internet, and to all social interactions. This was my chance to be able to have access to the internet in its full capacity, from anywhere. This device allowed texts, calls, access the internet, downloading applications, and staying connected from anywhere that had cellular service. I used it primarily to text and play games at this point, as social media had not yet become a huge thing. My friends encouraged me to buy this, as it was the ‘next big thing’ to have. My parents supported this, as I was more able to stay in contact with both them and my friends. This device had a lot more to offer than anything else that had come before it, and was instrumental towards the society and digital culture in which we live today.

September 2014: Instagram

Instagram was my first form of social media. This began my freshman year of high school as everyone began to make accounts. This was huge towards my staying up to date on popular culture. This app allowed users to share pictures and comments, to engage other users posts and stay in the know with celebrity and popular news. I mainly used this app to share personal posts and see what my friends were up to. My friends got on this app before I did, and encouraged me to use it to keep others up to date that I did not see on a regular basis. My parents knew I had the app, and followed my account so they could also stay up to date on the things that I was posting online. This app has probably been the largest influence of digital climate of any app I have experienced in my life, as it seems to be the basis of all popular culture.

September 2014: Snapchat

This social media app has become one of the main platforms for communication between most of our generation. This app allows people to communicate in a private setting, to post stories of pictures and videos for other users to view, and more recently to stay updated on popular culture. I mainly used, and still use this app to communicate with my friends, and use this app multiple times per day. Every single friend of mine is on this app, and I was one of the last to get on this platform. They all talk on it, and for that reason I too joined the app. My parents did not like this app when I was younger because messages could disappear without being able to be recovered, and for this reason was often used by kids to text things that they did not want their parents to see.

September 2016: The iPad

The iPad was a huge device for me during high school and still today during college. My high school went ‘paper-free’ my senior year and required all students to use iPads for tests, notes and quizzes. In addition to school uses, it was able to text, listen to music, download apps, text, email, access social media and much more. I primarily used my iPad while at school for school purposes, but would also text my friends and play games during school hours. My school was responsible for me accessing this device, as it became a requirement for all students. My parents knew about this because I needed it for school. In retrospect this was probably not the best idea to give a bunch of kids unrestricted access to the internet during school and expect them to be responsible.

February 2017: Spotify

Spotify quickly became one of the most important apps in my life. Music has been a huge part of my growing up, and I am constantly listening to music. When I made the switch from a fading iTunes, Spotify allowed collaboration between users to build music taste, and share new and rising artists. You were able to view what friends were listening to, follow artists to hear their new releases and view top charts of your country and the world to see what others were listening to. My dad encouraged me to use this app, as he enjoyed music as well and liked the fact it made listening to music a social activity. I used this app to create and develop different playlists and stay up to date on new releases and popular music around the country in all of my different favorite genres.

May 2017: Playstation 4

I was never huge on video games growing up, but once I graduated from high school I started to get more into video games. This console allowed you to play games with friends and other users all across the world, and to chat with your friends while playing. I used this console to play sports video games with my friends, and to chat with them online while playing. Many of my friends grew up playing games like this, and I played while at friends houses, but they encouraged me to get my own once we graduated from high school so that we could all play together in college. My parents were aware that I got this, as they bought it for me when I graduated so that I could still play with my friends and stay in contact with them outside of texting or social media.

December 2019: iPhone 11

This is my current personal device. Clearly, as can be seen by the picture, the technology has come a long way since the first iPhone I had years ago. This phone allowed even faster service, a more powerful processing system and better apps and games. I use this to surf the web, use apps such as snapchat, Instagram, twitter and other social media. I also play games when I am bored or on flights, text and call my friends, and use it to stay in the loop while in Spain. It allows me to communicate with my parents and friends and family. My parents got me this for Christmas this last year, and I feel as though I was ‘invited’ to this product by social norms, and riding popular trends.

Today:

Today I own 5 personal devices. Technology has become an ever increasingly important part of life, especially for my generation, and it is important to stay with the times. I have upwards of 25 profiles online, as almost every service I use requires an account to be made. From Vueling for flights, to social media such as Instagram or Snapchat, to clothing websites, accounts have become more and more common to save settings and order history etc. I am constantly on my phone, as I am in contact with people for work, my friends and family almost the entire time I am awake. I would say outside of class I check every 10 minutes. Thanks to an app on the iPhone, I can say that my screen time average was last week was exactly 8 hours and 26 minutes.

Future Wishes:

As I look forward, the first thing that very obviously needs to change is my screen time. It terrifies me to know that I spend over a third of the day on my phone, and a majority of my waking hours on a screen. I aim to have more personal interactions, and spend less time looking at a screen. Additionally, I would like to be more conscious of terms and conditions, and the things I agree to sign over when I join a new app or service. I am still very uncomfortable with the fact that I have no idea what exactly I have agreed to, or who has my information online.