The Social Shaping of Technology is the perspective that pinpoints the middle ground between Technological Determinism and the Social Construction of Technology. It determines that influence is presented from both directions; technology has the ability to influence the development of society and vice versa. When applying this perspective to the Katherine Pommerening article, while it is the technology that presents a platform for these anxieties to develop, it is society that creates certain ideologies and values surround new media that, in turn, become said anxieties.
One of the many anxieties surrounding interactivity of new digital media is the need for a constant update. This is better known to the younger generation as the "fear of missing out," or "fomo." In the Katherine Pommerening article, we can see Katherine displaying signs of "fomo" when she is constantly switching between applications in order to see what is occurring with her friends, or even celebrities she is interested in. The "iPhone is the place where all of her friends are always hanging out. So it's the place where she is, too" (Contrera 2016), and if she is not, she feels as if she were falling behind.
The interactivity in new digital media also "promotes an ideological view that these social media applications and a high amount of notifications is something to be valued" (Herman September 22). This can be seen through the promise of a "tbh" that is made in order to get more Instagram likes, and again, in the last paragraph in the Katherine Pommerening article, which states, "But first, her friends will divide whether to post pictures of Katherine for her birthday. Whether they like her enough to put a picture of her on their page" (Contrera 2016). This presents the idea of receiving validation through a notification box.
I chose to discuss Social Shaping of Technology because the relationship between technology and society is a two way street and this point is really emphasized in the Katherine Pommerening article. new technology is always being created and existing technologies innovated, although those that truly meet society's wants and needs are the ones that inevitable are adopted by our culture. A specific technology does not have the ability to be forced upon us and accepted by us if we cannot find a daily use for it. For example, would social media have existed today is our culture and society was not interested in a more efficient form of communication?
I really liked your approach to this. I find myself in constant struggle/anxiety with waiting for an update. Whether it be new information on my timelines, an email reply, or fantasy sports notification, I find myself experiencing anxiety when I check my device and non have appeared. I think this need for validation as you pointed out, represents a larger underlying problem of validation needs in our society which are articulated through the use of our devices.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah, great post!
ReplyDeleteI like the way that you mention this perspective as a middle ground between technological determinism and the social construction of technology. The way that katherine is effected by social media and has developed anxieties is definitely a result of the social shaping of technology and the practices that it has come to afford.