Nancy Baym identifies four perspectives
that explain the consequences of digital media in respect to the blame being
laid entirely on the individual, the medium or a mixture of both. The
domestication of technology, argues that technology has become so integrated
into our everyday lives that we no longer realize its effects, as it has become
likened to brushing your teeth in the morning or drinking a cup of coffee.
According to the domestication of technology the consequences associated with
such a heavy reliance on digital media can be blamed in part by the way the
medium has been set up and the social importance relayed on it by the user.
The article “The Screen Age”
chronicles the life of a 13-year-old girl by the name of Katherine Pommerening
who is so immersed by social media that she fails to notice her surroundings
and is described as someone who “lives on her phone”. She strives to reach a
certain number of "likes" on her Instagram photos and measures personal success
within digital media over how many views and comments she receives on a given
post.
At the young age of 13, Katherine
Pommerening is incredibly impressionable and is already showing signs of
relying on social media to make her feel better about herself. In regards to
her photos on Instagram she is quoted “Over 100 likes is good, for me. And
comments”. Her self worth is now innately tied to the number of “likes” she
receives on a single photo. Instead of measuring ourselves by our academic
achievements or the self-pride in what we enjoy to do, the act of posting a
photo is enough self-credence needed to tell a young girl that she is
appreciated and liked by her peers. 
Tied to this is the anxiety to
create the perfect photo, teens become obsessed with what outfits they wear,
how skinny they look and the physical position they are in when the photo is being
taken. As a result a photo is no longer simply a photo, but what the media has
told you is the best representation of the self. This type of pressure on teens
to create a perfect photo can create unrealistic body images that lead to
mental and physical health issues.
According to the domestication of
technology the medium Instagram can be blamed for the consequences of the
digital medium as the site is set up to reward users for having followers by
making this a viewable part of the app. This is what allows teens to make it a
social competition in which users can compare their “likes” and followers. In
addition to this the perspective realizes that the consequences of the media
are only caused when they are socially given the importance.
I chose to analyze this
perspective because I feel it most effectively manages to outline how the
consequences of media are both in part to the media itself and how society
chooses to give superiority to each specific medium. I also found the idea of
media being domesticated to be interesting as within my own life I can see how
technology has become second hand to my daily routine in that I feel anxiety when my phone is not on me.
I see great connections between my blog post and yours even though we both selected a different perspective. I liked how you made the connection between how Katherine self-worth was valued based off her likes on instagram instead of her academic achievements or self-pride, that’s a great comparison that I did not think of. I believe she does lose her identity when she tries to fit into what she perceives as the ‘social norm’ or what is considered perfect – based off what they wear, how they look and etc. Do you think there is a way for us to change the younger generation’s mentality of social medias and their perceptions of it like Instagram? Or is it perhaps too late?
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ReplyDeleteI as well see a lot of connections with our blog posts. Where I discussed the theoretical perspective of technological determinism, the idea that social media is second nature to our lives really cemented my thoughts on this discussion. It was interesting to me that Instagram is being blamed for the social pressures of "perfect" and what it means to fit in. I agree with it, but I also feel like Instagram shouldn't be necessarily blamed for it. In one of my Women and Gender studies courses last year we discussed and researched magazines that dated back to long before any of us we're born. The 'ideal body image' for both women and men have a long history of images and I think rather then Instagram being blamed for it, it can be argued that it is a further development in the production of 'perfect'. Media in itself has changed and become an instant sources of pictures, articles, etc. Instagram is just a piece of the puzzle in the crazy world of the domestication of technology
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