Research
(Doubled the amount of research)
	As new technology is created with the scientific knowledge scientists have, the media makes it seem that those inventions will be abused and in turn created fear within people. While the pandemic continues and vaccines begin to be created and distributed, the media causes the people to second guess receiving a vaccine. As vaccines are produced, anti-vaccine advocates and the media use irrelevant statistics to reinforce their narrative. For example, in the article produced by chop.edu, it goes on to show some of the statistics used to scare off citizens from receiving the vaccines, “About 1 in 2.4 million recipients of the oral polio vaccine, which is no longer used in the U.S., were paralyzed following vaccination when the vaccine virus reverted to “wild type” poliovirus. This happened when genetic changes to weaken the virus in the lab were lost during viral replication in the vaccine recipient.” When vaccines were being distributed for polio, the vaccines paralyzed some of its patients. THis vaccine caused a change in the genetics of the person and in some cases caused the person to become permanently paralyzed. Many suggested that this vaccine was rushed and had very little research done on it before it was produced. When vaccines like these are produced, they are mostly controlled and distributed by the government. Therefore people argue that the same thing could happen with the COVID vaccine. Although there is a chance that the vaccine has negative long term effects on the people of America, the chances of something like this happening again are very slim. Many tests and trials are completed that ensure the safety of the recipients. Science has made many advancements since polio terrorized the United States and the World’s best scientists have collaborated to ensure the safety of the vaccines. Statistics like these have recently been used by anti vaccination companies and media outlets to scare off citizens from receiving the vaccines. They claim that the vaccine is going to have another effect like this on the people and that citizens should not get the vaccine. This causes the citizens to fear the vaccine and prolong their exposure to the dangerous virus. 
	New weapons and defense mechanisms are created by the military but instead of creating a sense of safety, the media fabricates fear within the citizens.As the U.S. military creates new military weapons, the media spotlights the potential dangers of the weapon. For example, in the article written by thebulletin.org, the damage done by a new American bomb is described, “It will be able to travel some 6,000 miles, carrying a warhead more than 20 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It will be able to kill hundreds of thousands of people in a single shot.” Having a strong military that protects the country should instill confidence and comfort for the citizens. Knowing that our military has the most advanced and strongest weapons creates a sense of safety that no other nation will attack us. Especially with the current conflicts and super powers in the world, it should be expected that the United States, the most powerful country in the world, will have the most advanced military and weapons. But here the media spotlights the weapon as a bad thing. They highlight the lives that it would take in a single shot and try to convince the readers that this is a weapon that should never be used. The media tries to make it seem like the military created this weapon for destruction only and not for the protection of the citizens. The article continues to go on and inform the readers that we are not the only nation with power of this destruction and that the creation of this new technology will cause a world fallout. This invention should make America’s citizens feel safe, but the media and this article do the exact opposite of that. The media convinces the reader that this invention of mass destruction will be turned on us and we could potentially suffer a terrible death. But this invention will most likely never be used as if it were to be used, it would surely cause another world war. The United States is a peacekeeper within the nations and having technology like this keeps the world at peace instead of encouraging war like this article tries to convince the reader. The article produces fear inside of civilians that should not be there and causes them to second guess the government and military.
	Over the past few years, small drones with cameras have been created to reach new camera angles and to give a new perspective on the world. But the media has highlighted the misuse of drones and has instilled fear of any drone use. For the most part, drones are used for their intended purpose; to get camera angles of landscapes and buildings that were never attainable before. But sometimes, people abuse the power of drones to spy on others. An article by burnabynow.com captures what it’s like being spied on by a drone, “She was sitting there with her daughter watching TV when they noticed something flying outside the window. ‘We both went out onto the balcony and saw a drone flying around,’ Terry said. ‘It was moving slowly, as if spying inside the apartments, and hovered way above us before moving out of sight.’” When drone spying occurs, it is almost impossible to stop. Most of the time it is done outside of the window or high in the sky which makes it difficult to prevent the spying from occurring. The drones have cameras on them which makes it very easy to get camera angles and pictures of people while they aren’t noticing. Drone spying is a rare occurrence within the drone community. Most of the time drones are used to get great landscape photos and videos that humans have never seen before. But the media shines spotlight on times that the use of drones is abused and used inappropriately. This causes people to be paranoid of all drones and causes the people to have fear of any drone usage. Articles such as these that highlight the misuse of drones tarnishes the name of all drones and instills unnecessary fear within citizens.
	Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine, new technology has been created and released that has allowed students to learn safely from home. Programs like Zoom and Google Meet have allowed students to connect to the classroom, but again, the media shines on the negative of the situation and fills citizens and students with fear of this new technology. For example, teenvogue.com goes on to explain how remote learning has made it easier to catch cheating and punish students, “She says the switch to online learning has helped administrators identify how widespread academic integrity violations are at K-State. In spring 2019, the college recorded 97 cases for the entire spring semester; during the online half of spring 2020, it saw a stunning 238 cases.” In times such as COVID-19 and the pandemic, safety has been the number one concern of the government, country, and schools. The safest way to uphold the education of teenagers and students is to have them learn from home instead of going inside a densely crowded school. Learning at home keeps people away from each other and prevents the spread of the virus. But this has also increased the amount of cheating exponentially and invalidates some of the success students have while learning from home. Yes, as students returned home to learn, it was natural that cheating was going to increase. Not only do the students have access to their phones and the internet from home, but they also can have books out or other resources that teachers cannot see. Of course this doesn’t apply to all students but it can be very tempting to use outside resources. But the technology that is implemented in homes for students allows them to receive a similar education. But the media highlights the misuse of this technology and blinds the public of the good that remote learning brings to society. Schools are one of the places that germs spread fastest and with a deadly virus spreading, it was completely necessary for remote learning to occur. The media makes it seem like remote learning is bad for students and encourages cheating which causes fear and mistrust to be created within teachers, parents, and schools. 
	One of the biggest technological advancements in recent history has been the creation of the smartphone. Not only has it allowed everyday life to become easier, but it allows us to communicate with others efficiently and easily. But again, the media spreads and exploits rumors about the smartphone that cause citizens to second guess smartphone products and become paranoid that people are listening to them. It is rumored that smartphones have listening devices in them so that companies and the government can listen to your everyday conversations. Many people think that they are used for targeted marketing as well. For example in usetoday.com, this theory was tested to be true, “In mid-2018, a reporter for Vice experimented to see just how closely smartphones listen to our conversations. To test his phone, the journalist spoke preselected phrases twice a day for five days in a row. Meanwhile, he monitored his Facebook feed to see if any changes occurred.” Smartphones and iPhones are one of the most influential technological advancements in modern history. They take pictures, make communication a lot easier, and give us many resources at our fingertips. Almost everybody in our society has one and many would agree that survival without a smartphone would be nearly impossible in today’s world. But it has been rumored and speculated that our smartphones have been listening to us. Many people think that the government can tune in on our phones anytime and that companies can listen to what we say when we are near the phone so that they can target ads to what we want. Considering that smartphones make our everyday lives easier, it is something that we should not be scared of. The media often portrays that smartphones and the companies that produce our smartphones have bad intentions and want to use us. They convince citizens that people are always listening to us and that the government gains information against us. As the media convinces people that they are being listened to by a device that they use everyday, panic and fear spreads quickly within people and causes them to not trust the government of smartphone creators. 
	Since the pandemic started and remote learning started to seep schools, families and students have bought pieces of technology that has a camera in it so that they can show themselves learning at home. The camera connects the student to the classroom and prevents the use of cheating. The media again has found a way to scare famiies and students into thinking they are being watched and listened to through their technology. For example in an article produced by theconversation.com, “Many of our device cameras remain unsecured. In fact, research has suggested globally there are more than 15,000 web camera devices (including in homes and businesses) readily accessible to hackers, without even needing to be hacked.” Due to the pandemic, many families have bought cameras to make online learning easier for students. But many of these webcams are from foreign countries and are often unsecure. Which essentially means that anybody at any time can tune in on the camera and watch whatever the camera is broadcasting or seeing. There are also thousands of cameras that hackers don’t even have to hack into to gain access to these cameras. Cameras make at home and remote learning much easier for students and teachers. It connects the student to the classroom from home and increases the quality of education greatly. But the media convinces citizens and especially students that the cameras that they buy are being accessed by hackers and people that want to see what’s inside of their home. This can cause many families and students to mistrust the cameras inside their home and fear who could be watching. But many of the cameras and softwares used by families and students are secure and the odds that a hacker actually tunes in on a student’s camera is very slim. Although the media makes it appear that any camera inside homes can be taken advantage of and hacked into which increases unnecessary fear in citizens. The media spotlights the abusive behaviors of new technology and makes citizens fear the technology instead of accepting it. This causes unnecessary mistrust within citizens that causes them to fear what they use on an everyday basis.

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