Student Voices
By: Jibriel Ghazali

This reflection was written by Fordham University undergraduate student Jibriel Ghazali, FCRH ’26 as part of the The Chynn Undergraduate Ethics Summer Research Scholarship.

Over the past five weeks I have researched and written about several topics, all related to the ethical implications of specific types of technology. While researching these topics I have not only reflected on the norms of society, but I have also reflected on what I have accepted to be normal in my own social life. In this exhausted age of technology, people have sacrificed their privacy in order to have access to new gadgets. Other private aspects of our lives we freely give up because it has been normalized to do so. For example, there are several contexts in which many believe it is normal to share your location with another person. Whether someone shares their location with their parents, friends, or romantic partners, people should be aware of both the good and the bad that comes with freely giving this information to another person. Instead, people feel the need to share every sliver of information about their day to day lives. With such a great abundance of technology at our fingertips we have the urge to do things that were once unthinkable. Without technology, things that we have become accustomed to would not be possible. Texting, for example, allows people to communicate instantaneously, whereas without phones or computers, our only way of communicating would be through letters, which would make communicating a process that took days to possibly even weeks. After all of my research and all of my writing, I have come to believe that technology, while extremely helpful and convenient, has sucked the magic out of several things that we all do in our lives. 

Technology is deeply ingrained into our society. Every aspect of our lives is dominated by devices and apps that are, while helpful in several cases, are very addictive and extremely invasive. Ranging from social media to security devices, there are always eyes watching our every move. Many devices and apps distract us from the real world, pulling our attention to something that may be amusing but is ultimately foolish or absurd. Instagram, for example, feeds its user unlimited content in order to keep its users engaged, stuck in an endless “doom scroll.” Other apps, such as Life360, are designed to track people with as much detail as possible, going so far as to tell people how fast a loved one is driving their car. 

Tracking apps, devices, and features, such as FindMy, give people the ability to watch someone’s every move. Modern culture has normalized sharing locations between friends and family. While sharing locations can be reassuring for some, it gives people access to information that should not be shared with everyone. Other modes of security, such as the Ring camera system, while installed in the hope of increasing safety, instead can introduce new dangerous situations. Ring, as well as other home security cameras, are known to be easily hacked. There have been several stories in which private conversations are recorded or where hackers are able to communicate with children. While security is an issue that we all deal with, there are boundaries that we must all be aware of. People must research these apps and devices before utilizing them. 

For most of us, the relationships we have with others are either rooted in technology, or are reinforced through technology. Many people do not understand what life would be like without the ability to communicate with anyone at any given moment. By creating the ability to communicate from any distance, we closed the gap of space that we had with each other. Everyone needs time to themselves, everyone needs privacy, but with the ability to text or call, everyone is constantly communicating with others. Furthermore, socializing with others no longer requires in-person interaction, allowing people to seclude themselves. People are meant to interact with others in-person, and without these important interactions our mental health can decline. Social media, for example, while being able to connect people with each other, is also very notorious for causing stress and anxiety, and spreading hateful messages to people. 

During my internship with the Chynn Undergraduate Ethics Summer Research Program, I was tasked with critically thinking about our usage, and abuse, of technology. Technology has its pros and its cons, and people need to be aware of all of the implications that technology introduces into our lives. Apps and devices that we take for granted can often take advantage of us without our knowledge. This simple fact is dangerous for users, as it is becoming more and more common for companies to secretly track our data. People have begun to accept this fact without really considering how invasive it is, and this is extremely dangerous. As the boundaries of our privacy are slowly blurred, soon they will be non-existent, and we will be none the wiser.