Technological Determinism in the Film Eighth Grade - Morgan Brown

 In the film Eighth Grade, it is evident that technology heavily impacts our society, influencing our societal norms and values. This relationship between technology and the social is known as technological determinism. Technological determinism is the belief that the internet and technology are transforming the way society functions. In the movie, Kayla is an impressionable young girl who is a bit of an outsider. From the film’s start, you can see that she is an introvert and does not have many friends. Social media and the internet are places where Kayla can view her peer’s profile, influencer’s posts, and gain knowledge about any questions or uncertainties she may have. It is clear that Kayla is very addicted to her technology; one scene displayed her at the dinner table with her headphones in, ignoring her father as he tried to make conversation with her. Without the internet, I believe that Kayla would be more present and in the moment, making her more outgoing at school and possibly having a stronger relationship with her father. The internet presents her with an escape that allows her to solely interact with people behind a screen, taking away her opportunity for real-life, social interactions. 


Technology affects the way we interact with one another. When Kayla decided that she wanted to obtain more friends and become more outgoing, she had a list of steps to reach her goals. The large majority of the steps involved the internet and social media (being active on social media, commenting on other people’s posts, etc); this confirms that the internet and technology greatly influence how society functions and how we interact with one another. 

Comments

  1. Kitt EmpeyOctober 17, 2021 at 9:50 AM

    This is a great post! It is evident that you have a clear understanding of not only the movie, but technological determinism as a theory itself. I agree with you completely on the fact that technology and social media has a very tight grip on the adolescents of today. Scenes in the movie such as the one with the headphones at dinner really brought me back to my own middle school days. I remember doing the exact same thing when I felt like I was the only one dealing with life/school changes. As I was reading through your post and your mention of Kayla's list, I was prompted to think about how Kayla could achieve these goals without the internet. Do you think if Kayla lived in a time of no social-media/social-technology, that she would be able to obtain a more social life? How?

    Again, fantastic post!

    Kitt

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  2. Harpreet SodhiOctober 19, 2021 at 2:29 PM

    Hey, I enjoyed reading your perspective and I completely agree with you that technology plays a huge role in teenagers lives. Not only adolescents but I think as young adults as well, I catch myself not eating until I have something playing in front of me on my phone and I think this can relate to Kayla when she's using her phone at the dinner table. To answer Kitt's question above me, I think that Kayla might have had more of a social life when subtracting social media because I feel like Kayla uses social media to compare herself to others and it also causes anxiety among Kayla and her classmates . I feel like that pressure of not being good enough would have been lifted and she could be herself at school which can allow her to make more friends at school.

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