Social Shaping of Technology

Katherine Pommermning is an example of one of the many teenagers that who experience anxiety  from social media and culture around it. The article begins with her in the car and even though the car ride may only be 20min she has checked all her social media platforms. Even when she is not with her friends she feels a need to stay connected to them. There becomes an expectation that you are always on social media and that your friends are always just a click away. Social media becomes a way to validate yourself. In the article it talks about how when one of your friends says "tag you're pretty and nice" you actually feel validated and believe that's how people will view you. The idea of someone complimenting you on social media makes you want to be a better person. 

In the reading the social shaping of technology is defined as " mix of "affordances" - the capabilities configurations of technological qualities enable- and the unexpected and emergent ways that people make use these of those affordances" (51). It looks at how people have given their own meaning to certain technologies and how people can influence their meaning. For Katherine, social media is seen as a place to feel validated and wanted. She claims that she only has a few posts because she deletes a lot of here pictures. This is because the don't make her feel good because they don't get a lot of likes. She has created this aniexty around instragram and feels like she must meet a certain amount of likes on a pictures in order to keep the photo on her instagram. In the reading it also talks about parents inability to control their children and their social media. Even when Katherine's dad could try to control her phone, he is unable to. He tried to track who she was calling and texting, but she barely calls and does a lot of her communicating on snapchat, a platform her dad does not understand. 

I chose this framework because this is something that occurs in my everyday life. As much as I try not to, I still care about how many likes my instragram post gets. Sometimes my friends all ask each other out of a certain number of photos which one should I post or which one looks better. We all want that validation that the photo we are posting looks good. 

Technological Determinism

Technological determinism is a theory that outlines that technology drives the development of social structures and cultures. Therefore, technology must exist in order for these structures to be in existence and for them to run smoothly. In terms of technological determinism, without technology to support these structures the amount of anxiety would increase and fear would be struck upon humans that believe this to be so. In relation to the article, Katherine relies on technology to help with her social interactivity, her everyday duties and her responsibilities. In essence these set of beliefs that Katherine has based on technology make up the culture that she resides in. This would make sense that Katherine would experience anxiety when she is not near her phone, since she believes that technological determinism is in effect. 

There are many new anxieties that are created when someone like Katherine wants to “Get better at her phone”. These is the fear of not being good enough in the social media realm, the fear of not being liked, and the anxiety associated with not doing what is expected of the person that is running the social media account, and in this case it would be Katherine experiencing this. Since there is a high demand for people who engage with social media to “be good” at being apart of the social media world, there are many anxieties that are created because of this. The fear of not being accepted is the largest one that I can think of and is the most relevant in today’s society. This consists of not having enough likes on a photo, not posting the right photo, not posting at the right time, getting no comments and not having enough followers. These are all anxieties that people experience in todays society, and it is more common among young people, like Katherine. 

I chose to use technological determinism as the theoretical framework for this discussion post because I believe that this is what Katherine is experiencing and believes in. I think that in order for Katherine’s social structures to work as they do now, technology plays a very significant role. For instance, if you were to take away Katherine’s technology she would not be able to go about her everyday duties like she currently does. Therefore, Katherine is dependant on technology, especially her smartphone, which creates the social structure that she currently resides in. 

The article that I have posted the link to below, goes into depth about the anxieties that are created through the use of technology and the issues with becoming disconnected. 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-prime/200907/technology-disconnectivity-anxiety

Social Shaping of Technology

Katherine Pommerening represents one of many teenagers who have anxiety because of the interactivity of social media and the social cues that arise as a result. In this generation there now seems to be an expectation that you have to have access to a certain social media site to stay connected. With the rise of new media technologies there has also been less of a need to interact threw face to face communication, which is why people have become reliant on social media to interact, resulting in constant use of these technologies. In addition, throughout each social media site there is an expectation that you should continually post or stay interactive on that site. I’ve had people ask me, “Why haven’t you posted an Instagram in awhile”, or “Have you not worked out this week, your fit bit shows you haven’t got many steps”. The fact that other people monitor your social media increases your anxiety and motivates you more to keep up, and want to stay connected. Lastly, there is an expectation of how your site is maintained which is what I believe causes teenagers the most anxiety. Like Katherine, many teenagers, especially girls get anxiety about posting a picture, especially if they don’t get as many likes as they had hoped for. They also get anxiety about how the picture is edited, how many followers they have, who comments, if someone unfollows them, etc. Katherine exhibits having anxiety in today’s generation by the fact she continually needs to check every social media website on her phone so she doesn’t feel as if she is missing out (FOMO), and the fact that she has deleted pictures based on the fact that she hasn’t gotten enough likes or not good enough lighting. Thus, I chose to follow the framework of what Nancy Baym calls social shaping of technology, which is “the consequences of technologies that arise from a mix of affordances, the capabilities configurations of technological qualities enable-the unexpected and emergent ways that people make use of those affordances” (Baym, 51). This is evident through the article on Katherine Pommerening, particularly instagram and the ideal that she feels the need to delete pictures based on not having enough likes or she takes the notification section of instagram way to seriously, getting anxiety if no one posts a picture with her. Katherine’s anxiety, as well as many other teenagers is all due to desire to stay connected, but also the change of new media and society holding certain expectations of how media should be represented. Furthermore, it is the social shaping of technology or media, which is what people in our generation have become subject too, and have gotten anxiety from as a result  

The Domestication of Technology

In chapter 2 of “Personal Connections in the Digital Age”, Nancy Baym takes the approach of describing technology as domesticated. This theory indicates that innovations like new technology are ‘tamed’ or appropriated by the user. She states that life without these technologies would be unimaginable. They are now so ordinary in everyday life, that they have almost become invisible. (Baym 52).  Technologies have integrated and adapted into each individual's life practices and daily routines.

This becomes evident in the article; “The Screen Age” which depicts the life of a 13-year-old girl named Katherine Pommerening, who has immersed herself in the digital age/culture of technology. The majority of her life is spent keeping up to date with the social media outlets. Almost every waking minute of her life is spent on her phone, computer or any other digital media outlet she is exploited too.

The young girl strives to maintain her well put together social media identity, thus, causing a tremendous amount of anxiety in her life.  Determined to maintain the perfect image of one's self on and off screen. One can control an image through social media; however, the anxiety arises trying to keep up with that image in real life. Baym describes technology as integrated into our everyday life, adapting our daily practices. Pommerening adapts the way she looks and acts, all to keep up the perfect image that is displayed on social media. It has become such a daily routine for her, thus, becoming a nature reaction. This action for her has now been domesticated into her everyday life and how she portrays herself to her peers and society. The anxiety is created by simply wanting to be “one of the girls who knows what to post, how to caption it when to like, what to comment".  This feeling has become nature to Katherine and she now bases her life around it.

I chose the theoretical framework, “Domestication of Technology” because this perceptive seemed the most logical to me. I was able to connect to the way of thinking and how social media and new technologies affect my day-to-day life.

An example of the anxiety that is caused by social media is the story about Amanda Todd and how cyberbullying caused her to take her own life. The link below will give you more information.

https://nobullying.com/amanda-todd-story/

Anxieties Around Digital Media

The article 13, Right Now was a very interesting one depicting the life of a 13 year old her, and how it is to grow up in the digital age revolving around smartphones and social media. In particular this article focuses on Katherine Pommerening and her experiences with everyday social media and the anxieties that come along with it. Throughout the article we see just how much of an influence social media plays in this girls life, from just experiencing one day of it. Katherine feels that she needs to be constantly connected through these different social media applications whether that be Instagram, Snapchat, or BuzzFeed, but not Facebook because it is seen as obsolete. Audiences reading the article can see the addiction starts before she even buckles her seat belt in the car. Katherine's iPhone as mentioned in the article "is the place where all of her friends are always hanging out. So it's the place where she is, too". The affect these social media sites are having on Kathrine life are not only real, but are created through the culture in which she lives in. The feelings she has towards using Instagram for example are not what the application was intended for, but have outside meanings that are a result of social interaction and experiences.

Social Shaping as we have learned is "the consequences of technologies that arise from a mix of affordances, the capabilities configurations of technological qualities enable - and the unexpected and emergent ways that people make use of those affordances" (51, Baym). An example of the social shaping that happens in this article is when Katherine uses Instagram. She explains that the notification box means much more to her then what it was originally intended for. The box stands for a much bigger idea, and is the steam for much of the anxiety Kathrine feels. The notification box shows when an individual has liked, tagged or followed her on Instagram. However, when she feels she does not receive enough likes on her photo, she deletes them. This is an anxiety that many Instagram users feel, because of the social shaping that has arose. I chose this framework because I feel the affects of the social shaping I have come to know. I to use Instagram and feel the pressure to post a photo at the right time, in order to get a solid amount of likes and if I feel like it isn't I will usually delete the photo. It amazes me that I feel this way, but the society I have grown up in and the social interactions I have online have greatly influenced this anxiety I feel. It use to be just about posting photos to share with my friends and family, but it is so much more than that now.

Kathrine feels the anxieties that many of us do.There are certain feelings that are created in us through the meanings surrounding applications such as Instagram. She gets pleasure from her followers liking her pictures, and on the contrary feels actual anxiety over not getting "enough likes". This idea of social shaping can be found not only in regard to Instagram, but in other social media applications as well. Teenagers growing up in the digital age now is definitely more complicated than it once was. Social Shaping when it comes to technology is just very interesting to me as it affects everyone who now uses social media applications. The meanings that are created that go well beyond the intentional use of the application is a great example of just how much social influence our culture has on us.

Cyberspace and The Digital Imposter

Long before the concept of digital media, and certainly before the public internet, psychologists Dr. Pauline Clance and Suzanne Immes coined the term ‘Imposter syndrome’ (IS). This term refers to a type of psychosis where individuals feel their public personae is fraudulent. Fast forward to the current era of unbridled technology, the social persona is now morphed beyond social interaction; to where it has become powered by technological innovation via ‘digital cultures’ such as Twitter, Facebook etc.  In the ground breaking 1960’s British Television series, ‘The Prisoner’, the main character was constantly attempting to maintain his sense of self within a world usurped by technology and draconian controls. It predated the internet but its message resonates even louder today; especially considered within the context of our social media frameworks and the feigned sense of freedom they offer up. The character ‘Number Six’ was persistent in attempting to escape, as is the current day social media adherent. We cannot really see ourselves as others do, but this does not mean we cannot try to control our image – but at what costs?

Nancy Baym’s thesis regarding the domestication of technology helps underscore the concept of technology becoming ‘so ordinary as to be invisible ‘ (p. 52).  The Pommerening article clearly calls out this effect with a young girl so affianced to technology that the virtual has become the real which has become the surreal – all masked as the ideal. As Baym notes about technology in this way that we cannot imagine that it ever did not exist; it has become pseudo-biological in a way (p. 52). Yet the consequences appear – at a cursory view at least – aligned with the aforementioned IS. Only now electronically enhanced via bits and bytes, all manifested as normal social interaction. The ubiquitous adoption appears harmless, but the Pommerening article implies otherwise. The young girl strives to maintain her ‘imposter’ identity within the domain of social media and as an account is undoubtedly consumed with abnormal amounts of anxiety in turn.  There is no option, as this domestication of technology has cloaked any semblance of normalcy; this is the new normal. The young digitalized facade cannot separate itself from that which is naturally emergent. That part of the individual – like the Prisoner’s Number Six – attempts to remain distinct but, alas, has become ensnared by the new realm of technology and cannot see the forest from the pixelated trees.

New Media Anxiety and The Social Shaping of Technology

The article 13 Right Now, depicts the daily life of a thirteen year old girl who is fully immersed in social media via her smartphone for almost all of her waking day. The best way to explain this “addiction” and need for constant connectivity socially, is through the social shaping of technology theoretical perspective. The majority of the meaning and feelings associated with certain platforms and applications is created through social interaction and experience, however these platforms and applications such as Instagram enable meaning to be created around them, being designed with uses in mind yet not dictating how people use them.

Feelings and meaning surrounding Instagram and other social media platforms such as anxiety and a need to be connected are created through social interaction. In the article the subject expresses “the best thing is the notification box” as well as that if a post doesn’t receive enough likes that she will delete it.  These statements display the affirmation and pleasure she receives through getting likes on her photos. A significant amount of pressure and anxiety is then associated with picking the correct photo and posting it at a specific time to receive the most likes possible. The seeming “addiction” people have to smartphones is not in the design of the smartphone and its applications, yet is created through peoples own experiences and interactions with social media and other people on the platforms.

I chose the Social Shaping of Technology perspective because it approaches technology logically considering the ways that people give technology their own meaning that it isn’t necessarily designed to have, yet the meaning would not be there without the technology in the first place.

Below is a link to another article in the screen age series done by the Washington Post which describes terms used by internet and social media users that are unfamiliar to people who aren't active on the platforms. This article is very interesting because it demonstrates the vocabulary that has been developed within online communities.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/style/2016/05/25/whats-a-tbh-terms-we-had-to-explain-to-our-editors-when-reporting-on-generation-z/