In the article 13, right now: This is what it's like to grow up in the age of
likes, lols and longing” Kathrine Pommerening
depicts her life as if it revolves around her phone and social media. As Nancy
Baym introduces in chapter 2 , Kathrine is not wrong by telling us
this. Kathrine’s desire to be “better at her phone” is not misplaces because of
the hold that social media influences in our life. In the case of social shaping
of technology she list three factors that influence how technology is used;
people, technologies themselves and institutions (pg 52). If we look closely at
what Kathrine is asking we can see that she wants the ability to be “that girl”
the girl that is always on top of social media, getting the most likes and
being on top of trends.
Kathrine is looking for an
answer to the question of what she can do in order to be better at social
media. This question seems simple enough but if we look at what Baym says about
social media, Kathrine does not stand a chance. Individuals revise the role of
technology to try and fit in their lives better (pg 51). Kathrine is trying to
do this by referring to the purely social side of social media. I believe that
Baym is making a valid point for many social media users in that no matter how
much you try to be the best at something like social media, there is no way
that you can affect the institutional side of how post, comments and likes are
viewed in society. Kathrine can strive to capture everything going on in her
life but until she realizes that know exactly when the right social cue is
needed. The nature of the media form is something that is taken on by the users
and without completely negotiating a new meaning than users are always chasing
the dream of being in a position of power.
To illustrate my point I would
like to use the example of cellphones being used to record videos at concerts. If
you have been to the concerts in the last 5 years then the epidemic of people
on their phones trying to capture the moment that you are in for the sake of
others is great way to explain just how caught up in being the person who knows
exactly how to show the key moments of their life. I personally do not agree
with this, I think it is important to enjoy the moment over recording it and
getting more likes or comments on social media. However, Baym would see this as
social media users taking the advantage of social and technological cues of
social media not understanding that the institution of these forms is actually
what is making us do this practice. Kathrine can continue on trying to be
better at social media but for now she is left chasing the meaning of the
medium.
I really like the example you used for your analysis. I completely agree that although those who film concerts can have the intention of trying to share the experience with others who aren't there, it really ends up in the way of those around the person who's filming as well as impacting their overall experience as they are more focused on their screen than whats in front of them. Each time I go to a concert I leave my phone in my pocket and focus on singing along as loud as I can and enjoying every minute of it. Sometimes I'll take the occasional snap chat video for "my story" to share that Im at a concert but after a few seconds my phone is put away again. Unfortunetly, in this generation more are feeling social pressure to capture the moment and show their followers/friends. By abstaining from taking videos, it makes them feel as if they are letting their followers down.
ReplyDeleteI like the example you used for your analysis, because I totally relate to that problem. Whenever I go to concerts, I always wonder why people take videos of the concert cause most of the time the best quality will be posted online from the artists themselves. However, the person is not only focusing on the medium of social media they are using rather than the experience themselves. In addition, they are impacting the experience of those around him. I wonder if there will soon be rules and regulations surround this since it is an increasing problem amongst young people today.
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