Technological Determinism and the Film Eighth Grade

Photograph by Josh Ethan Johnson / A24 / Everett
 
“Machines change us” (Baym, 2010, p. 27). This quote deriving from Nancy Bayms’s reading is the fundamental intention behind the theory of technological determinism. Technological determinism believes that technology is the causal agent of change in society; this change is often seen as something humans have little control over (Baym, 2010, p. 26). 


But how can we see the process of technological determinism? Can we simply rely on this theory? Well, let’s analyze this proposition from the perspective of Kayla, the main character in the film Eight Grade. Kayla takes us viewers on a journey through her social media practices as Kayla goes through the transition of school and is faced with new challenges of introducing herself on social media in a manner that she feels would make her popular. As Dr. Herman stated in class, social reality is intersubjective (Herman, personal communication, September 16, 2021). The intersubjectivity of Kayla’s sense of popularity produces a sense of negative self-perceptions within Kayla’s social media experience, but at the same time is something she enjoys participating in. 

Relating back to technological determinism, it can now be seen that with Kayla’s experience on social media, it wasn’t necessarily the technology that caused the control over her activities, but instead, the use of social media that was an individual choice. A blog post by Vorapilailuck Thitivesa further develops this idea, stating that technology cannot be regarded as an independent factor of social change but instead works with a combination of other social factors to make societal changes (Thitivesa, 2017). This source is vital in understanding that we cannot simply think of technology, or in Kayla’s case, social media, as the sole factor of social changes. Still, instead, we need to analyze our individual choices and what we take from technology. 


Have you ever felt like you viewed social change from a technologically deterministic perspective? If so, when and how did you realize it?



Baym, N. (2015). Personal Communication in the Digital Age 2nd edition. Polity Press.


Thitivesa, V. (2017, August). Technological Determinism & Social Media. Medium. https://medium.com/@vorapilailuckthi/technological-determinism-social-media-9232614920ef

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