Blog Post 2: Wild to tame

Katherine Pommerening exhibits qualities that are typical of just about every other girl her age,
and more than that, every other person between a range of ages - even globally.
Reading this article felt all too familiar, as I could literally see myself closing one app just to
open another, for minutes without realizing how much time is actually passing by.
This article is evidence of domestication of technology as Katherine is using her phone,
without anyone blinking an eye. It is clear that the mobile phone is a piece of technology that
has moved away from being fringe or wild, to tame and being integrated into our everyday lives.
The ways in which Katherine uses her phone for her daily practices, from little things like
setting her alarm,  further show just how ordinary and invisible these technologies now are.
Katherine shows the anxiety surrounding the interactivity of digital media by acknowledging
the amount of people who post and like her pictures and posts on social media. “...
She deletes most of what she posts. The ones that don’t get enough likes, don’t have
good enough lighting or don’t show the coolest moments in her life must be deleted.” Katherine falls victimes to the anxieties the digital media creates by constantly reloading her
social media sites and playing a part in the domestication process by making this practice of
deleting pictures that don't get enough like normalized, and thus not surprising by anyone who
uses or understand the social rules around Instagram, even though it fuels anxieties by
Instagram users.


I chose domestication of technology because I think it best relates to what is happening
within our society right now, best proven by Katherine Pommerening. Life without technology
is now unimaginable and the consequences for people not using social media or a mobile
phone affect not only them, but us as well. Similarly, the movie Eighth  Grade showcases
domestication of technology in the negative aspects as it brings about things recognized,
like bad manners - The main character will not put away her phone at the dinner table
due to wanting to stay in touch constantly and following the interactivity of the sites, scared
she might miss a beat.

On another note, in my own life although I recognize that technologies are being
domesticated which ultimately makes the subtle changes invisible or mundane, I was still
surprised when my place of work brought about Dayforce. Dayforce is an app on our phones
and it is now the primary source for how we clock in and out, track our hours and see our
pay stubs. This brings me back to the negative side as I see bad manners brought about
by pulling your phone out at work, however it is a positive side of the domestication of
technology as we can easily control the flow of our daily life.

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 4, 2018 at 10:11 AM

    Hi Lauren! I really enjoyed how you used the word "invisible" to describe how technologies are now to us, as they are such a subtle extension of ourselves now I don't even realize how much time I spend on it. I also wanted to address your comment on how it pulling one's phone out at work could be seen as "bad manners"; I disagree. I believe that culture is changing and since everyone is constantly attached and monitoring their emails, messages from kids, etc., it has become more naturalized. Great work regardless!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Claire DawsonOctober 7, 2018 at 6:41 AM

    Hi Lauren! Although I chose to speak about technological determinism in my post I also find the domestication of technology a very interesting theoretical perspective. In my mind it is impossible to deny such a framework of its legitimacy given the sheer amount of integration that has taken place in our 'logged in' world. I thought that it was interesting too how in the article Katherine is talking about how she needs to 'get better' at it (being social media) and know when to post and what to comment. It's almost as if she has created an algorithm of her own in order to maintain the image on social media.

    In regards to pulling out your phone at work, I have to agree with Talia on this. The more that workplaces are introducing new technologies (like Dayforce) I think that the stigma of phones being rude is slowly disappearing. Obviously there are times at work where being on your phone is rude, I think that more people are starting to understand their necessity and their place in the workplace.

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