Blog 2 - Social Shaping of Technology

Social Shaping of Technology - Blog 2

It may be hard to admit, but 13 year old Katherine is the typical teenager, she is addicted to her phone and social media. Like others her cell phone has become a part of her identity, and when she is without it she is faced with conflicts and ultimately anxiety that she is missing out on an opportunity to be seen! This is the whole idea of "FOMO" and not being a part of the conversation. What I find funny, is while teenagers are on their phones making sure they don't miss anything in the social media world, they are missing out on real life. Katherine gets in the car after a day at school and with a click on this video and like that persons photo - she is home. The more social media becomes prominent in our every day lives the more meaning we attach to cell phones. Although it is still a communication tool, it is now associated with a sense of security and validation for teens and young adults. 

In chapter 2, four different theoretical perspectives are discussed. I choose to write about Social Shaping of Technology. It is defined as the middle ground between technology and social constructivism. Baym describes it as "the consequences of technologies that arise from mix of affordances - the capabilities of configuration of technological qualities enable - and the unexpected and emergent ways that people use those affordances" (p. 51). It explains how society and technology are able to interaction with each other to create new technologies. The cell phone which was once just a form of communication is now a source of entertainment and where we can find our self worth. 

I chose to talk about this perspective because I feel like there are many days I am just like Katherine, passive in the world around me, trying to find comfort and real meaning in essentially a piece of plastic (well $600 plastic). I remember when I got my first cell phone and how important I felt when I got a text message from a friend. And now just a few years later and I feel that same excitement I did when I would get a text message but now its for the likes. I think it is very interesting I can go from being an active to passive member of society just by pulling my phone out of my purse and looking at it rather than who ever is in my company . 

Assignment #2: Social Shaping of Technology

The article, 13, Right Now, puts the life of 13-year-old Katherine Pommerening under a microscope and shows readers the extensive impact that digital media has on the day-to-day lives of many individuals. For Katherine, her daily activities are consistently being interjected by the social media platforms (Instagram, Snapchat, BuzzFeed, Spotify, etc.) that can all be found conveniently on her iPhone. However, as with every great innovation that bears great pros, so too does the bearing of cons as well – in particular, the social anxieties that tag along. These social anxieties are constructed from Katherine’s urge to continually stay plugged into the different social mediums so that she doesn’t miss out on what her friends are up too. Even a simple 12-minute-car ride couldn’t be endured without her routine check of social media updates. This type of technological dependency eventually forces extreme users to develop intense feelings for the applications that alter how the app is used – shifting far away from the initial intentions of the medium.

For those who aren’t familiar with Instagram, whenever you post a picture to the platform you are instantly notified with a little heart whenever someone likes your post, a speech bubble whenever someone comments on your post, and a silhouette of a person whenever you receive a new follow. Now for most, this little box could be completely meaningless; for others, it means the world. They desperately seek the approval of others and feel that if they receive a substantial amount of likes and comments that they are labelled as ‘popular’ and when their goal is not satisfied then their social anxieties begin to take over. This is proved by the fact that Katherine (and many other girls) will delete the photos that do not receive the same attention as the remaining posts on their page. The actions that Katherine take can be the result of social shaping – the concept that we alter the role technology plays in our lives so that it can fit snugly into our lives (51, Baym). Personally, I’ve never been one to stress over an Instagram post; but I’ve seen many others take the platform much more seriously. They will stress themselves out over the type of filter they use, the time the post’s uploaded and even the geotag – just so everybody knows EXACTLY where they are and why they’re there. Some people even feel obligated to post an Instagram because they’re “due” for one. Instagram has without a doubt began to embed itself into not only my daily routine, but many others as well - making the risk of catching social anxiousness much higher.

Although Katherine considers Facebook to be obsolete, this pic perfectly captures societies' obsession with social media.

Everybody suffers from anxiety in some form. These digital mediums have begun to alter our priorities and create these anxieties that were nonexistent nothing short of 10 years ago. And with technology advancing as rapidly as is has been, these anxieties will become not only more common throughout societies, but the digital mediums as well. Social shaping is an extremely intriguing theory to me, one that I had never really realized as a whole. It’s incredible to see how much digital media has impacted our lives –  making it that much more interesting to see how deeply it integrates itself into our future lifestyles.

The Domestication of Technology

The Domestication of Technology

As we learned in Chapter 2 of, Personal Connections in the Digital Age, Nancy Baym elaborates that most people are afraid of technology until it is eventually accepted on a broad social level (Telephone & Internet both originally feared too). Yet these social fears and anxieties we have pertaining to new technology are often fears we would have without the new technology. This is usually why new technologies have been met with strong resistance, until positive rhetoric and symbolism can be attached to the medium and its practices relieving social anxiety.

The Domestication of Technology holds that the influence of technology-society relationships is two-way. While we as humans adapt specific characteristics and behaviors of technologies, the consequences of this process on social life are not deterministic, but emergent. The consequences of technology on social life, such as the normalization of augmented dialogue, emerges from both the technology and society in which it operates. Similarly, Katherine Pommerening relationship and rituals revolving around her new media emerge from both the behavioral practices of said technology and the social confirmation that this not only normal, but encouraged. It can never be strictly one or the other.

Once the technology-society relationship is accepted, the new technology and its interactivity become almost invisible to its users. In the article from the Washington Post, Katherine has positively accepted all interactive relationships with the new technologies she uses, therefore her interactivity with them begins to become non-apparent to herself. 

I chose this theoretical perspective because I find the almost invisible nature of accepted and socialized technologies, to be fascinating. This is primarily due to the fact that I too as an individual consistently negotiate the technology-society relationship of many devices without being fully conscious of the process. 

Social Shaping of Technology

A few months back, an article appeared in the Washington Post about a 13 year old girl. In the article she spends 12 minutes on her phone, jumping from one app to the other: Instagram, Buzzfeed, Youtube et cetera. This online world is extremely important to her, as described in the article ‘it is the place where all her friends hang out, so it’s the place where she is, too.’ She needs to stay connected, from the moment she wakes up until the moment she falls back asleep. Getting as many notifications, tags and followers as she can. Pictures that don’t get enough likes will be deleted. As if she is valued by the amount of like. This creates a certain anxiety.

There are many girls like Katherine, wanting to be ‘better at their phone’. Everyone has their own norms about it. For Katherine this means getting about 100 likes for a picture. If she does not succeed in that, the picture will be deleted. The way social media guides her life like this is an example of social shaping. This phenomenon is described by Nancy Byam in Personal connections in the digital age (p. 51) as ‘a mix of "affordances" - the capabilities configurations of technological qualities enable- and the unexpected and emergent ways that people make use these of those affordances.’

I chose this framework because social shaping of technology is something we deal with every day, and most of the time we are not even conscious of it. Katherine mentions that the online world is the place where all her friends hang out. It is likely that even when she is hanging out with her friends in real life, she is still constantly checking her phone and being active on social media. This urge to be online instead of offline is something many people experience. Instead of living in the moment we want to share that moment, in order to get likes and show people ‘how much fun we have’ and to create an unrealistic image of our lives.

Blog post #2 Social Shaping of Technology

New technologies allow for new social practices. New social practices allow for new feelings towards social situations including social anxiety. In the second chapter of Nancy Baym’s ‘Personal Connections in Digital Age’, she explains the interaction between technology and society. She defines various theoretical perspectives including the concept of social shaping of technology. Baym’s defines social shaping of technology as “the consequences of technologies that arise from a mix of affordances – the capabilities of configuration of technological qualities enable – and the unexpected and emergent ways that people make use of those affordances” (p. 51). This sense of social shaping correlates with McLuhan’s idea that it is the users of technology that give meaning and purpose to the technologies that we use. Social shaping of technology takes the ways in which we shape technologies to mean something to us that their original meaning/purpose might not have been intended for and then makes these technologies and practices mundane in our lives. We as technological users appropriate these shaped meaning and integrate them into our everyday lives.

In the article “13, right now”, which focuses on a young girl named Katherine and her relationship with her iPhone and social media, it is clear to se that Katherine has taken social media applications that are intended to be used for communicative purposes and attached a larger meaning to things such as the notification box. With Katherine it is very clear that there is a sense of anxiety that stems from needing to be seen and heard on social media. Katherine, and many people of her age, define themselves today based on social media statistics. Additionally, Katherine allows her smartphone to be a part of her everyday life and ultimately a part of her body in a way. In today’s society of the digital age, especially in teens and young adults, there is a sense of anxiety that follows when we are not in constant contact with our cellular devices. Cell phones and social media have become such a large part of our everyday lives that if we do not have access to these technologies then often we are faced with a sense of missing out. Originally cellphones were designed to be a tool for communication, but now through social shaping we have allowed them to become something that people like Katherine feel they need to get ‘better at’.

Social Shaping and Social Media

As humans, the idea of social interaction may cause some anxiety. Each person inhabits a certain degree of self-monitoring that influences their social stress when in public or basic interactions. There are basic social cues, and norms people become aware of in the real world to interact appropriately with others. It’s human nature to want to be the best and achieve success. What is different is the ways in which we do so and the ways in which being ‘the best’ can be defined in society and each social group. This can create some anxieties to ensure that you are always meeting that standard for yourself. This article distinguishes the transparency of these social anxieties into the world of social media and online technologies that influence the way we communicate in this form. Everything that one posts are up for friends, family, and sometimes public to analyze, like, comment, etc. causing a form of stress when posting. Each post distinguishes a person and their online profile leaving it up for judgment from others. This is apparent in the article where Kathrine mentions deleting photos if they weren’t the right lighting, or didn’t get enough likes. These unconditional and constant judgments, whether good or bad, can cause teens stress and anxiety driving this technological use into a negative light instead of using it for the purpose it was created, to simply connect with friends and family. 

The article develops insight on how prominent the ‘Screen Age’ is for teens growing up right now. As highlighted in the article, a teens iPhone is the place to where all one's friends are hanging out, therefore a place where they want to be connected at all times. This means posting, commenting, liking, reading, etc. of any other powerful news and social media sights to both influence and distinguish social norms surrounding the use of these apps. With a drive to be the best, we have influenced the use of social media to understand the best as those who get the most likes, most comments, best picture, etc. These are guidelines that we have imposed on the technology that in turn create social anxieties of constantly being connected while also have the best photos and comments. 

The social shaping of technology theorizes that there is not a distinct force driving the shaping but in turn how society responds and influences the use of technologies in ways that enable them to do what they want. As a society, we have shaped the use of these technologies and through social norms surrounding them. Celebrities, news advertising, and famous influencers all have contributed to the ways in which people use these technologies. People are open for stereotyping and judgments just through a basic search of a profile making users wary of what they post to ensure that people see what the user wants them to see. These anxieties have been present in the real world, and also show to be present in the virtual online world of interconnectivity. 

Through understanding the ways in which our parents use social media, it is very different from teens. They are on Facebook and Instagram to connect with their friends and share pictures of what's going on in their lives, whether they are good or bad. It’s not about the likes, but still about commenting, however, the comments are often targeted at the person and trying to catch up. This shows how the older generation’s social norms of in-person connection can be translated into the use of social media, basically using it to get the news of their friends and other following pages. They experience much less stress than us regarding what to post, and who is going to see it. 

The online profiles allow for each person to create a perception of themselves that they want others to engage with. In face-to-face interactions, we follow social norms and cues to ensure the delivery and quality of our conversations and statements which are translated into our online profiles and personas. This online development has caused teens to increase anxieties of what they are both, what it says about them, and how people will respond. It creates a dependence on other society members to boost their confidence and following. 

13, Right Now - Social Shaping of Technology- Blog Post #2

The article “13, right now “ depicts a young girl, Katherine Pommerening as a teenager who is “addicted” to social media. The reading expresses her anxiety due to social media and what is seen as good or bad / popular or not. The article starts off describing how within a 12 minute drive she is capable of checking all her social media platforms, and still having time to watch YouTube tutorials until arriving at home from school. It is expressed how important it is to Katherine to be validated through social media with likes and comments, even if the attention must be reciprocated through a “to be honest” post from the poster to the liker.

From our readings, Baym discusses four theoretical perspectives, and while I think that most if not all could be applied, the one that specifically stands out to me in relation to this article is the social shaping of technology perspective.  On page 51, Baym defines this as “the consequences of technologies arise from a mix of “affordances” – the capabilities of configurations of technological qualities enable – and the unexpected and emergent ways that people make use of those affordances”. In other terms, this perspective is seen as the way in which social media users give applications and programs meaning that they were not originally based upon.  Specifically, for Katherine, her anxiety comes from Instagram and the amount of comments and likes she feels is necessary to obtain in order to leave her post on her feed. If her post fails to get at least 100 likes it is deleted.  In the article Katherine says “the best part about posting is the notifications”, but if your post has been live for 3 minutes and you fail to get any likes, it is known to give more people severe anxiety and they will instantly delete the post and try again at a later time. In today’s society, I know that many users of social media take time into consideration when posting on their profiles. Specific times of day, such as first thing in the morning, lunch and the evening, are times to maximize the amounts of likes. I personally, do not really care for the amount of likes my photos get – I will not delete a post based on the amount of attention it receives or fails to receive. However, I do know that this does happen with many user, specifically those of a younger age as they feel they have a “reputation” to maintain, and the more likes = the more popular. One thing that was not mentioned in the reading was whether or not Katherine had an open profile. Those who have open profiles are subject to more likes because even those who aren’t following you can double tap or comment on your photo, which would help with the social anxiety and increase likes. Though, then your content is open to the public. In order for a girl like Katherine to get “better at her phone” she must be super involved. If she comments and likes all of her followers posts they are most likely to comment and like back. There is a social stigma built around Instagram and likes, similar to Facebook and likes, as well as twitter and favourites and our social status (or at least the feeling of our social status) is being controlled by the amount of attention of social posts obtain from our “friends” or followers.

I chose this framework because I can personally relate. I don’t really care about the amount of likes my photos get, yet I still make a conscious effort to post my photos at the times when the majority of my followers are most likely to see it, despite if they like or comment or not. My younger sister on the other hand is very obsessed with likes, and just like Katherine, will delete photos if they do not obtain the amount of attention that was expected. As a society, I believe that we all want validation of ourselves on society media, even at an older age, my mom still wants to obtain at least 11 likes (so it says 11 likes, rather than list the likers names).