Blog Post #2

The anxiety of modern interaction is most obvious to me through the scope of technological determinism when considering the story of Katherine Pommerening. Technological determinism makes the assumption that society is being shaped by the technology that is introduced to it. Marx predicted institutions and organizations would depend on a technological base, but in the same sense, we can see the protagonist begin to do the same. Cortera’s article quotes Katherine explaining the satisfaction that is found in the notification box, meaning that someone had liked or commented on her content and she had a reason to interact with an app. Just as Nick Carr writes about the worsening of his ability concentrate and the need to fidget in Baym’s book Personal Connections in the Digital Age, a small patience and need to be ‘doing something else’ can be observed within Katherine as she hardly stays within a single app for longer than a minute on her ride home (Carr, 2008). A shift between confirmation happening in person to occurring online is seen in members of this ‘digital age’. This generation may lack privacy but an appraisal of achievements and positive image is only possible through the public eye. Users are constantly bombarded with notifications which often, don’t even directly relate to them. Nonetheless, it prompts the use of devices which was previously inexistent. The actions of tech users have begun to change as a direct result of the desire for approval; in doing so, anxiety is heightened and usage is increased.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Social Media Anxiety

I came across this article that unfortunately has started to seem a little too relatable for many. It talks about social media anxiety and the obsession over likes, follows, what other people are doing, and all other feelings that are a result of us being over connected with the rest of the world. The article showcases examples of people who even become physically sick when logging on to social media sites. While that may seem as an extreme example, the scary truth is that more and more people are reporting social media anxiety everyday because of pressure, fear of missing out (FOMO), and ‘Compare and Despair’. I found this to be very relatable to the article we previously read about Katherine and her obsession with her phone and social media. Katherine was constantly worried about getting online approval from her friends, how many likes she got on her photos, how many comments and so on. While the article never directly claimed she had social media anxiety, many of her a...
Read more

Blog Post #3

Due to the freedom we have for the post this week, I took the time to really think about what I wanted to write in my post. My first thought was to discuss sports but I wanted to try and discuss a topic that could create more discussion. As most social media users have learned over the last few days, former SNL actor Pete Davidson, and pop star Ariana Grande have called off their engagement. While the speed at which their relationship seemed intense, at the end of the day, shouldn't we be more focused on the wellbeing of each of these individuals who very well may be walking away from the loves of their life? I would think it is safe to say that those of us in this class won't garner as much as attention on social media if and when we find a life partner. These individuals are only a handful of years older than ourselves and are under the microscope of the media every day of their lives. We may never know exactly this relationship didn't work out, and honestly, we as comple...
Read more

Just a social human-being

I want to draw on ideas from this week’s reading to share upon how this perspective has provided me some insights into why social media practices vary from person to person.  In society where there is a strong reliance on social media for interaction, connectivity and information, it is uncommon to encounter someone that does not use any form of social media whatsoever. The social practice of meeting a neighbour or starting a conversation with someone you see on a public bus has decreased because of the overlap of our public and private lives. Therefore, because there is less sharing exchanged exclusively with people solely immersed as beings in a public space, I believe that even those that attempt to resist the use of social media feel the need to be connected. I argue this because Dunbar suggests that it is the animal genetic make-up to innately want to share to build connections and respect.  I chose to address the idea of people resisting social media because I ...
Read more