Chapters 1-5

I definitely agree with your stance on electronic dependency. School and society really make it almost impossible to go without these devices, because it would be a huge disadvantage to anyone who would try. It would almost have to be an all-or-nothing kind of thing. But I do agree, I think life would be a little less stressful, and we would even be more susceptible to the exploration of hobbies and interests. However, I do love the communication and innovation that technology brings us. It is crazy what electronic devices can do nowadays compared to the past. I mean, my grandmother went until 2018 before getting a cellphone and was always curious about things like, "how would she call for help if she needed it?" "how do you always know the time or even connect with friends?". Devices and technology I think have made us more well-rounded and informed. It has brought to light things we never would have known without it, whether that be good or not. It allows us to instantly gain information in mass amounts. I think it is something that we often take for granted, but can also be harmful. All of the information that I have in my brain, about how much the world sucks, can tend to stress me out about things I have no personal control over. But instantly talking with my friends across the country is a really great plus. 

I can definitely relate to your post. I could not work at a Mcdonald's and be as fast-paced if we didn't have the technology that we do today. I also find myself becoming dependent on electronics. I use my phone every day. Last Saturday my screen time was at 4 hours and 38 minutes. I could have done so many things in that four hours, rather than being on TikTok and Snapchat. I feel like most of America has this problem but no one talks about how horrible it is because it provides them with entertainment. How often are you on your phone? Does that affect your day as substantially as mine? 

Social media is definitely something that has a choke hold on many people (me included.) And i share your sentiment with how people upload things for views and likes, how it can take away the moment your in now just for these little insignificant things. Especially the part where you mention that people will see your post, but scroll past it only seconds later. A thing that lots of people dont think about, just the attention their getting, and not the fact that people probably don't even care that you posted something.

This is similar to what I was thinking to post, but I couldn't word it. I love the take of how people should live in the moment, I feel this way as well. Ive definitely fallen victim to social media, being obsessed and unable to give up social media. When something seems picture perfect or fun, I fins myself reaching for my phone to take a picture, so I could remember this event, or send it to other people. Though I realize i'll almost never visit those pictures again. 

While I think a lot of people feel the same way we do, I feel like theres a broad sense of people who would never give up social media, even if everyone else did. I think there are so many people obsessed with the attention they get from it, that they would never let up, never "live their life" and instead post everything they do on social media. Not even to capture their memories, but like I said before, for the attention they get.

Although I don't believe I would ever be able to totally give up social media (as I have become so accustomed to it) I definitely see the intentions of your post. Social media has so many flaws that you don't always realized when you're just scrolling through a feed. But when somebody brings it light... it becomes clearer. I may not always notice the effects that social media is having on me... but at times I find myself enthralled with everyone else's seemingly "perfect" life, that I can lose sight of my own. I get caught up comparing my myself and the way I look to social media influencers, comparing my opinions to the opinions of others, and comparing my own relationships in life to those of others. So I totally understand that social media has so many negative effects. When you bring people actually arguing and bombarding other people's lives on social media... that's a whole different story! To touch on your point though about not taking in moments at times... some feel that social media, posting are great ways to capture moments that you never want to forget, or want to be able to look back on. What are your thought on this type of posting?

I agree with you on how you think that tools like AI chatbots, art programs, and virtual assistants are overused. People depend on these things now on a daily, and if they were taken away life wouldn't be the same. It's so easy just to click a button rather than do the work by hand.

The extent that these things are used on a daily exceeds even what you've mentioned above. We're so dependent upon it that we don't even realize it. Just take a moment to think about all the ways you use AI on a daily and don't even second guess it, here's a link with some examples, https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2019/12/16/the-10-best-examples-of-how-ai-is-already-used-in-our-everyday-life/?sh=9c70a351171f . I use google maps all the time to figure out where I'm going. Every time I go on my phone it scans my face! Back even thirty years ago people would've never thought technology was going to get as far as it has.  

With that being said, I wonder where the world would be right now if we'd never created AI. Would we have just created something else to always be busy with? Or would we still be how we were back in the 1950s? I guess we'll never have an answer for that. Do you have any ideas on how the world would be today, even if we still had AI but were less dependent on it? Or if we suddenly lost all AI? 

I appreciate how you mention AI automation "that will be missed", like Alexas and Kiosks. Those are things when talking about AI creation or creative AI, that I never would of thought of. I love how this is mentioned, how you show the perspective that even some would be missed by you, but still keep that it's clear you would rather not have any at all.

Ive seen so many AI made creations, from art to writing. More or less, it displeases me when I see it. And I understand how frustrating these things are, as I like making art myself. Ive seen people take pictures of human made art, and put it in AI to "make something new." It frustrates me to no end, that these people are doing this for themselves, and not even given permission to use these pieces of work. Human made things are much more emotionally connected, we as a species can connect ourselves to other peoples works, see ourselves in them. But as soon as we have the knowledge that it's made by AI, those feelings dissipate. And I always think, quality over quantity.

There are definitely people who don't have the same perspective, they care about having things for themselves, making things with no effort. And they disregard the people who actually care about what they do, put time, effort, love and soul into their works. But it feels like they can be discredited, when someone can easily make something they see as "similar" with little to no effort because of AI. 

I find the topic you choose interesting and I agree with your statement about how alcohol tends to not lead to anything good. The amount of accidents caused by alcohol consumption is and driving is far too high so I am glad that you brought the piece up in your writing. I agree with you that the issues of drunk driving incidents or any sort of alcohol abuse could be lessened if we as a society became more aware of the dangers that alcohol can cause.

A few family members of mine have suffered from having an addiction to drinking but they have turned their lives around since then. I cannot imagine who they would be today or what their lives would be like if they had not turned their decisions around and continued to feed their addiction. They are very important people in my lives and I would hate to see them face that road of addiction again. Many others battle addiction or know others who are struggling with alcohol addiction so I am glad that you wrote about this topic because it is relatable for others and I feel like it is not expressed enough sometimes.

Is there anyways we as a society could help limit the spread of alcohol addiction? Are there ways we can help support others that are battling their addiction that expand beyond AA meetings?

I agree with your post. I have had some people I know fall ill to alcoholism and it's scary. I also agree with what you said about moderation. Alcohol in moderation isn't technically a bad thing, however, it still adds risk. I never tried alcohol so I can't say anything about how it makes you feel, not to mention I never want to try alcohol simply because of the repercussions. I think the world would definitely be better off without alcohol. There wouldn't be any unnecessary deaths because of it. Everyone would simply be better off. Do you know anyone who has fallen into alcoholism? How has that affected you or your view on alcohol/drugs?

I definitely understand the desire to leave alcohol and people's dependency on it. As you said, there doesn't seem to be any benefits for anyone who doesn't get involved in drinking culture: and I think that's were it gets bad. Because of drinking and bar culture, people feel expected or obligated to drink in adulthood. 

I empathize with the frustration with all the risks that come with alcohol. Alcoholism causes many terrible things like domestic abuse, drunk driving, assault, death, etc. and it doesn't feel like anything is worth losing your family or life. 

Do you think that a change in drinking culture would help fix the problems caused by alcoholism? Do you think that things like prohibition laws would even make a difference or would we need to create a complete societal upheaval of the culture around alcohol?

I love the way that you incorporated your own personal piece about your love of baking and your mom's cooking into your piece to explain why you would want to get rid of machine made food. I also agree with you that it would be a bit slower if human's produce all of the food products than machines but the overall consideration and time that was put into preparing the food would be better in my opinion. 

My grandma's put so much love and care into their cooking and I can always tell that they put their everything into their cooking. Your post made me think about how I need to appreciate the time they spend cooking for my family because they took their time and effort into creating a meal for us instead of just buying all machine made food products from the store. There is just something better about a homemade food compared to food that is made by machines.

I wonder if it would be plausible to actually have only humans make food instead of machines. Do you prefer homemade foods or store bought foods? Why is food made by people or family much more comforting compared to a machine?

This one is honestly so wholesome and I love it. 

Food automation is an interesting and semi-complex topic because you think about all the ways it's helped and hurt society. I think food automation is great because it means that more food is made more quickly, and, usually, without less waste. This means more people get fed and there's cheaper food available for people. The problem with machines that make food though is the price many people have to pay. Low income families often face obesity rates much higher than those who have more income available for food because companies that make cheap, quick food make their money from using things like corn syrup, preservatives, sodium and fat to cheapen their products but also to get people addicted to flavors and textures that aren't natural or "desirable" (since when did human society collectively agree vegetables are gross?).

I think food automation is a gift, but I also think people take advantage of the technology to make money, not necessarily to help people or make a product that provides ease, satisfaction and health to their customers. I don't know if you thought of any of this, and I understand just liking homemade foods better (homemade mac n' cheese can not be duplicated), but I like that you said intention was also important. Back in the day, food was solely produces by humans, and they didn't seem to have any problems (sure, a bunch of them starved to death, but half their population had the plague and stuff so they probably weren't working at max proficiency). Do you think it would be possible to slowly wane off foods that are processed by machines? 

You bring up an interesting idea. There' s a lot to understanding how food it made, how much effort is involved and the craft and artistry necessary when food is made by hand.  It is very easy to throw away mass produced food because we don't attach people to it, but we don't experience the same ease when Grammy brings homemade pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  

One of my favorite "traditions" is to go to Grant's Bakery every time I (or my kids) get a haircut. It is nearby and a great counterpoint to our regular grocery shopping (oreos etc.) to buy some homemade whoopie pies, cookies and a cake.  My wife makes fun of me because I'm so predictable, but Grant's reminds me of the little bakery next to my middle school where we would go and get a whoopie pie and a chocolate milk after school for less than a $1 each day. 

Is the cost (money and time) prohibitive? Is it possible to live this way and only eat handmade / homemade foods?  What would it do to our economy? Wouldn't this mean we'd need far more "little" bakeries and delis? Would this mean we'd be healthier? 

I completely understand how you are feeling. Tiktok has been embedded in our generation since our brains really started developing, and I think that our dependency is insane. You stated how you almost feel like you're missing out without it, which is completely true. TikTok is so interesting in how it sucks you right in and keeps you in this "mindless" cycle of finding what's popular. However, because TikTok is kind of catered to you and you're interested, nobody's streams are made exactly the same. So the inside jokes that form on TikTok you might not see anyways, due to differences in interest. It's so strange that we feel so entitled to make others feel "embarrassed" for not liking the same thing, but that same thing has happened for centuries with bullying for stye, fashion, trends, etc. is it really so different? 

But I also find myself victim to the late-night scrolling of TikTok, and maybe screw up my sleep schedule just a little bit (more than I would like to admit). But with our dependency of social media, we were bound to find one thing to capture our attention. 

This I feel like is such a universal one, but no one ever wants to talk about it (really talk about it) so I appreciate this. It always baffled me that things that are so incredibly out of our control, like vision, are considered things that we have to invest our money into. Especially since glasses- something so necessary- are oftentimes really over-priced because corporations take advantage of the fact that people can't avoid paying for them.

Glasses is just one example, but the more serious ones are even worse. Someone who develops cancer (whether that be genetically or because of their environment, it doesn't matter) shouldn't have to put themselves into danger because they can't afford it (think Breaking Bad). College as well is extremely expensive for little reason. Theoretically, we'd want the best and most passionate students to have the best educations, not the richer students on the basis of their income.

Free community college in Maine is a great start, but with it ending this year, it feels like we're moving backwards. When it comes to things like affordable education and universal healthcare, where do you think it's best to start? Do you think that free community college was a good investment (even if it's ending)/do you think it'll have less impact on legislation now that the free community college opportunity is ending?

It has always struck me to be unfair that those people who were born with needs like corrective lenses, hearing aids, etc have a greater financial burden from the start.  Similarly, we preach upward mobility through education, but make it difficult for those who need it most, which means that not only are we are people start from "behind", but there's an extra barrier placed in their way.  Looking forward to my own children going to college (or not), I (on my own) make significantly more than my mother did when I was looking for colleges (I was in a one parent household) and since I'm married, I don't know what my household will qualify for in financial aid. I worry that hard decisions and discussions are in our future. 

Wes McNair, who was my college Advanced Poetry professor would rail against our college system, while working in it.  He hated the idea that he was part of saddling students with debt before they had the ability to make any money of their own.  I definitely felt the pinch.  There was a real urgency to find a job when I left college because my loans would come due.  I might have thought to explore other opportunities had this not been an issue.

What do we do to fix this? Many Scandinavian countries do much better by their citizens (in my opinion) in this area. They pay more taxes, but surveys have shown they are happy to do so because of what they get in return.