Blog Post #2
Blog Two
In her text "Personal Connections in the Digital Age", Nancy Baym analyzes the ways in which our society progresses alongside the development of new technologies and whether or not technology might be advancing too quickly, along with the consequences this might have on our everyday lives. In the second chapter titled Making New Media Make Sense, Baym cites multiple different theories that outline in greater detail how new technologies integrate themselves into our culture and what this says about us. At one point in the chapter she mentions how when technologies are introduced to society they already contain various social meanings - potentially coming from it's appearance, promotion and marketing, intended purpose, etc. - and how even though these social meanings are already created, how we react to them reveals just as much about us as it does about the social meanings behind the technologies themselves.
This idea that new technologies act as a disruption of sorts is what Baym was referring to when she mentions the idea of technological determinism as one 'method' of the social adoption of technologies. While we may think that we are in control of our actions and behaviors, or at the very least are actively aware of them, technological determinism outlines that new technologies create new social relationships and cultural values and beliefs within our society without us having any control over this. Rather than create technologies for a specific purpose and have them serve just that, this theory highlights how technology is an external force that we as a society have no real control over, as we are incapable of making our own decisions and instead leave the influence to technologies, for better or for worse.
In a 2016 Washington Post article story titled "13, right now: This is what it's like to grow up in the ages of likes, lols and longing", Jessica Contrera follows the everyday life of local tween Katherine Pommerening in an effort to understand social media and the internet's influence over the current youth. However as stated by Baym, Katherine unfortunately has little to no control over how these technologies influence her life and her social circles, as outlined by her theories of technological determinism. There are numerous different instances in the story where it can be seen how her interaction with these technologies, in this case her mobile phone, create(s) different anxieties within her that wouldn't normally be there and how they are heightened by the fact that her phone is such an important part of her life, yet she is helpless in how it influences her. For example, rather than let her own emotions define the moments that are important to her, Katherine's desire to feel connected with her friends and to feel like she is not missing out result in her sharing photos of things she does online and rather than do this for the purpose of informing others, she does it as a way of seeking validation through likes and comments. Regardless of which moments are actually most near and dear to her, Katherine's anxiety of social status - via the actions of her online friends - are what determine the moments she feels are most important to her. This just goes to show the degree to which Katherine will involve herself with the online universe that her and her friends have created in order to avoid the anxiety of feeling disconnected and to "...get better at her phone." and to "...be one of the girls who knows what to post, how to caption it, when to like, [and] what to comment." (Contrera 2016) in an attempt to be the most involved and informed tweens out there.
I chose this theoretical framework because I feel that it is the one of the main four outlined by Baym that most applies to modern society's obsession with new technologies and the advancement of technologies, but also - as seen in both the Washington Post story and the film Eighth Grade - our younger generation's reliance on new technologies as their primary mode of self-expression and identity.
In her text "Personal Connections in the Digital Age", Nancy Baym analyzes the ways in which our society progresses alongside the development of new technologies and whether or not technology might be advancing too quickly, along with the consequences this might have on our everyday lives. In the second chapter titled Making New Media Make Sense, Baym cites multiple different theories that outline in greater detail how new technologies integrate themselves into our culture and what this says about us. At one point in the chapter she mentions how when technologies are introduced to society they already contain various social meanings - potentially coming from it's appearance, promotion and marketing, intended purpose, etc. - and how even though these social meanings are already created, how we react to them reveals just as much about us as it does about the social meanings behind the technologies themselves.
This idea that new technologies act as a disruption of sorts is what Baym was referring to when she mentions the idea of technological determinism as one 'method' of the social adoption of technologies. While we may think that we are in control of our actions and behaviors, or at the very least are actively aware of them, technological determinism outlines that new technologies create new social relationships and cultural values and beliefs within our society without us having any control over this. Rather than create technologies for a specific purpose and have them serve just that, this theory highlights how technology is an external force that we as a society have no real control over, as we are incapable of making our own decisions and instead leave the influence to technologies, for better or for worse.
In a 2016 Washington Post article story titled "13, right now: This is what it's like to grow up in the ages of likes, lols and longing", Jessica Contrera follows the everyday life of local tween Katherine Pommerening in an effort to understand social media and the internet's influence over the current youth. However as stated by Baym, Katherine unfortunately has little to no control over how these technologies influence her life and her social circles, as outlined by her theories of technological determinism. There are numerous different instances in the story where it can be seen how her interaction with these technologies, in this case her mobile phone, create(s) different anxieties within her that wouldn't normally be there and how they are heightened by the fact that her phone is such an important part of her life, yet she is helpless in how it influences her. For example, rather than let her own emotions define the moments that are important to her, Katherine's desire to feel connected with her friends and to feel like she is not missing out result in her sharing photos of things she does online and rather than do this for the purpose of informing others, she does it as a way of seeking validation through likes and comments. Regardless of which moments are actually most near and dear to her, Katherine's anxiety of social status - via the actions of her online friends - are what determine the moments she feels are most important to her. This just goes to show the degree to which Katherine will involve herself with the online universe that her and her friends have created in order to avoid the anxiety of feeling disconnected and to "...get better at her phone." and to "...be one of the girls who knows what to post, how to caption it, when to like, [and] what to comment." (Contrera 2016) in an attempt to be the most involved and informed tweens out there.
I chose this theoretical framework because I feel that it is the one of the main four outlined by Baym that most applies to modern society's obsession with new technologies and the advancement of technologies, but also - as seen in both the Washington Post story and the film Eighth Grade - our younger generation's reliance on new technologies as their primary mode of self-expression and identity.
Hi there!
ReplyDeleteReally interesting post, I also chose to talk about technological determinism in regard to the article. I personally agree with Baym when she says that technology runs our lives. With technological determinism, we have different technological platforms that change the way in which we decide to behave and run our lives. With cellphones and social media being so prevalent in our society, it is no wonder that 13 year olds like Katherine spends most of their time online and on their phones. I personally agree that this theoretical framework is one of the most applicable ideologies that Baym has brought forth. With out society obsession with technologies and there consent need for new things, we let technology run our lives.