Eighth Grade - Kayla and Technological Determinism - By: Jackson Rawlin

Using the perspective of technological determinism, I wish to analyze how the implementation of smartphones and social media sites such as Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube into the lives of young and impressionable children actively impacts the cultural and social norms of today's younger generation. 


In Eighth Grade, Kayla is a girl around the age of 13 who has access to a smartphone and social media at all times. She is depicted using it frequently in her home and ignoring her father, in school, and on her own time. The kids around her at school are also the same way, seemingly addicted to a technological advancement that was meant to bring people closer together. Subsequently, technology and social media are only creating a divide for these children.


Furthermore, the viewer can see how this dependence on social media harbours anxiety, depression, and feelings of self hate due to the constant comparison to others online. This is especially relevant to the Schimmele et al. reading about how younger people experience more negative impacts using social media due to the higher intensity of use.


As kids today continue to be subjected at an early age to social media and the social constructs that stem from it amongst their peers, what do you think can be done to backtrack the levels of harm being done to children as a result? Or has society and culture been permanently shifted in an irreversible direction due to the implementation of this new digital media?

Comments

  1. Kaitlyn ChambersOctober 12, 2021 at 2:51 PM

    Hi there!

    Great post this week, I really enjoyed reading your thoughts and I thought the question you posed at the end was really interesting. To answer it, something I think would help the situation is teaching people of all ages how to use social media mindfully. While social media use at large quantities and amounts every day can cause serious negative implications for individuals mental health, it can still be used for positive reasons like interacting with friends and many people find joy in sharing certain things on the internet. So in this case, I think the best way we can backtrack in a sense and attempt to diminish the amount of harm children and individuals are experiencing from social media, is to try to change the ways we use it. If the primary issue with social media is the perfect idealism is presents to us for how we ought to look, act and live, then this is what we would have to focus on to repair or at least somewhat help the situation. I know that personally, limiting the things I use my phone for and choosing to only use it for purposes which are fulfilling has drastically changed my relationship with these applications.

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  2. Alinda MuhweziNovember 10, 2021 at 10:22 AM

    hi

    great post

    I absolutely agree with your post . most or even all the kids in the film are dependant on their social media and for a child like Kayla it causes social anxiety and depression because she's not so confident in her looks so she feels as though she has to compare her self to those online by applying make up .For a brief moment, making videos on her YouTube and being on her phone made her feel 'cool' and like one of the popular kids. for example when she's taking selfies on her phone. Nancy Baym describes how social media helps users create these cultural standards. She is alienated from her peers as a result of a lack of need to connect physically with them because she can replace face-to-face contacts with social media connections in which she connects more freely. without being awkward.
    overall there is a huge difference pithing her personality when she offline which her dad and peers and when she's online.

    to answer your question, I think as mentors or parents to these young kids we should generate more self esteem and confidence in them by always reminding them how perfect they are and also not letting them spend more time on there gadgets making friends but making actual friends in person would be a starting point

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