Kayla and Technological Determinism - Bryanna Feldman
In the film Eighth Grade, Technological Determinism is a concept that is highly prevalent. Kayla becomes highly reliant on technology as a way to interact with individuals and create meaning for herself. Within the film, it could almost be perceived that without technology Kayla would not know who she is and would not be able to express herself. She uses Youtube as a platform to show individuals who she is or who she wants others to perceive her as through her videos. Thus, further proving that Kayla has become highly dependent on technology.
Kayla believes that how she is on social media has a huge impact on who she is as a person in day-to-day life when in reality, this is actually far from the truth and Kayla is a socially awkward eighth-grader who has a hard time making friends. The way that Kayla interacts with social media is not that different than how the rest of her class responds to social media. Within the film, it is clear that Kayla's classmates also exhibit signs of being attached to their technology and use that as a way to express themselves. This factor can be seen by the way that students are unable to take their eyes off their phone to hold a conversation or the way that the boy that Kayla is trying to have a conversation with during the drill will only take his eyes off of his phone when Kayla says that she has risky photos on her phone.
Kayla can also be seen googling and watching videos of how to impress the boy in her class even though it is something that she is obviously not comfortable with however, that's what she thinks society expects of her due to social media. This factor is what Marshall McLuhan has coined as the phrase "the medium is the message." This means that technologies have characteristics that are transferred to those who use them (Baym, p. 28). The things that social media demonstrate as societal norms directly correlate to the individuals that view the content.
Overall, technological advancements have has a huge impact on how individuals perceive themselves and interact in society. This as a result causes many people a lot of anxiety as they constantly have to monitor how they are behaving in order to fit into what society expects of them. The impacts and anxiety that social media creates can not only be seen within the video eighth grade but also in our society.
Do you feel like you have been directly impacted by social media and how societal norms are perceived on social media?
Hey!,
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that anybody who uses social media daily has had their lives somewhat impacted by the technology. Using social media everyday allows people to stay interconnected with the people that they can't physically interact with everyday. However, there are many aspects of social media that can force people out of normal everyday social norms. The dependence on virtual appearances and personalities for many people has resulted in a lack of real world social skills after using social media. I personally don't think that my life has been severely impacted by social media, however there are definitely aspects of life such as school that it has affected.
Hi there!
ReplyDeleteGreat post this week! I definitely feel like I have been impacted by social media and societal norms on these applications. I find typically the more time I spend on my phone the more anxious I feel and I do not believe that to be a coincidence. I think in the past, my life was more affected by social media but now, I have learnt how to balance my time better where I am not using it nearly as much as before. Still, I notice the ways it impacts me specifically when I see certain things online that cause me to feel critical of myself or my life in comparison to others. So while my relationship with social media apps has changed for the better, I am able to say that I notice the negative implications it can have on me.
Hi Bryanna!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post!
I completely agree that Kayla’s actions exhibit signs of addiction and dependency on her technology, which is something many kids today struggle with. Children in the world today for the most part have essentially never known life without their technologies. I think this is part of the reason why they develop dependency issues and social anxiety similar to Kayla. I think you made a great connection linking Marshall McLuhan’s notion of “The Medium is the Message” to how technologies transfer characteristics to users.
With regards to your question, I definitely think that I have been directly impacted by social media as well as how I perceive societal norms. I think Kaitlyn made a great point in her response about how social media use can cause more stress and anxiety. Additionally, I feel as though I often can find myself getting trapped in a spiral of checking my various social media accounts. This spiral causes me to lose track of time and waste many hours scrolling through my feeds rather than getting work done or being productive. I find it is a very difficult thing to self-regulate, as it is so easy to get lost in social media.
Great work!
-Sophie