I wasn't
quite sure what topic I wanted to focus on this week, so (ironically) I did a
Google search. "Recent technology news" brought up "About 821,000,000 results (0.57
seconds)." This alone is pretty
astounding. I then ended up on CNN's tech page, where there are countless
articles to sift through. One that caught my eye was "This is what happens when your heart breaks,"
and it focuses around the Fitbit. These little watches are becoming more and
more popular in our society. People find it interesting to be able to track
their sleeping habits, steps taken, heartbeat, etc. all in one place. Not only
does it do all of these things, but the Fitbit also links to an app. This is
what allowed the man from the article on CNN to see exactly when his heart
"broke" after his boyfriend cut off their relationship. After a
stressful day of attempting distraction from the breakup, it was difficult for
the now-single man to sleep. So he went to the Fitbit app, and there he saw his
heart rates from the day.
He then shared this image on Twitter, and from there he received countless replies of sympathy. Others shared their screenshotted heart rates from their breakups, offered hugs, and lent hopeful words to him on his way to coping.
At first, I was indifferent about the Fitbits becoming so popular. Never would have I thought such a minuscule invention would bring people together the way it did with this man and his breakup. A simple post about his heart rate, and he is no longer alone to deal with his thoughts.
Do you think it is bad that he was being supported by people he has never met? Or that he was able to use technology to not have to deal with his emotions on his own? Or even that the media has taken ahold of his story and put it out there even further than ever intended?
There are extremely obvious examples of how technology changes people's lives, such as robotic limbs and advanced machines that are used to save peoples' lives in the medical field. The Fitbit is not my first thought when I think of life changing technology, but this post made me realize that even little gadgets such as the Fitbit can affect people's lives greatly and bring them together. It's just another way that technology helps people and brings them together.
ReplyDeleteI was really interested in the Fitbit article when I first saw it and it's still interesting to me now. I think it's a good representation of how technology is being used for the better. Seeing people come together to help lift this guys spirit is great, especially because heartbreak is something everyone can relate to.
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