In chapter two the social shaping of
technology is defined as a middle ground between technological determinism and
the social construction of technology. This perspective explains that people
have the power to change both technology and society but that also that
machines have a hold on us. The consequences of technologies arise from the
social qualities that new technologies have to offer as well as the way that
people use the elements of technology. Baym explains that people are not
questioning new technologies anymore as they are becoming domesticated in
society. These technologies then become a part of the daily ritual and are no
longer seen as causes of change. This perspective explains that the
technologies are not the cause and the people using the technologies are not
the cause but that both of them together are creating the cause. “People,
technologies, and institutions all have power to influence the development and
subsequent use of technology (p.45). “
Katherine
is a typical teenager in modern society. She has her social media accounts on
her phone which is causing her to experience all of the anxieties that center
themselves around social media. Katherine feels separated and nervous when her
cell phone isn’t within reach because she might just miss out on something that
could be the topic of conversation at school the next day. She finds that
social media is a way of validating herself and her status within her friend
group much like every other teenager who has social media. Katherine uses
social media as a way to gain self-confidence. If she gets X amount of likes or
comments on certain photos posted on Instagram or Facebook then she feels as if
she is being accepted by her peers. She admits in the article that she ends up
deleting a lot of the pictures that she takes instead of posting them because
she fears that they won’t get her a lot of likes. When her dad tries to monitor
her texting and calling on her cell phone she admits that she doesn’t ever call
anyone and usually her conversations occur via snapchat which is something her
dad doesn’t really understand so she gets away with communicating on that
platform.
I
chose to write about this perspective because I feel that everyone who has a
social media account is guilty of turning to an array of platforms for
acceptance. There are unwritten rules of Instagram where in order to get the maximum
amount of likes you should post your photo between 4pm-8pm when people get off
work. We find validation in the amount of likes we receive on a photo of
ourselves that really doesn’t represent who we are on a daily basis. We try to
create a new persona to be viewed online to make it seem that we are far more interesting
than what we actually are. Checking and participating on social media platforms
are becoming a part of everyone’s daily routine as a way to achieve acceptance.
http://www.relatably.com/m/great-memes-for-instagram
Hey Maddie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that social media is used as a tool to receive validation in society today. Personally I have witnessed people posting an Instagram photo, and because they do not get enough likes, they delete it and post it later on in the day. I am most definitely guilty of being attached to my phone and I do freak out if I can’t find it for long periods of time. With that being said, reading about Katherine and how anxious she gets if she doesn’t have her phone with her at all times reminds me of my younger brother. There is not a second where his phone isn’t with him; he wont even let me touch it without freaking out. In my opinion I think that younger generations are going to be filled with so much anxiety when it comes to technology because it is the only thing they know and can rely on.
Hey Maddie,
ReplyDeleteSadly I agree that most of society gets anxiety around the attention their social media is given. My sister for example has a large following on instagram and if her photo gets less than 300 likes she "has to" delete it. When I asked her why she said she had a social status to maintain and once posting that photo she is glued to her phone, analyzing every person who likes her photo, questioning the ones who scroll right by. Personally, I don't have anxiety around social media and the attention my posts get. However, I do have anxiety when I misplace my phone. Younger generations are so attached with their cell phones that I think it is making the older generations more obsessed to be in contact and included. For example, my mother, a baby boomer, answers her phone just as fast, if not faster than my closest friends as well as she knows everything going on in the world from her instagram feed. I believe that through social shaping the addiction to social media and attachment of our cellphones is only going to increase.