Blog #3: Zach Hatt

Nancy Baym explores 4 different causal relationships in Personal Connections in the Digital Age, which include the social construction of technology, the social shaping of technology, the domestication of technology, and technological determinism. For this blog post, I will be focussing on the causal relationship of the social shaping of technology in relation to the social anxieties produced by social media. I will be using this perspective to explain Kayla's experiences in the movie we watched in class, Eighth Grade. The social shaping of technology is the way that society shapes the usage of technology. It is the way that dominant social values and ideologies affect how technology is used. The cellphone is a perfect example of the social shaping of technology, not only has it allowed us to gain information instantaneously, but it has also allowed people to communicate with whoever they want, wherever they want. The cell phone has then led to social media platforms being easily accessible which directly connects to the theme of social anxieties and the movie Eighth Grade. In the movie, Kayla is addicted to her cell phone and social media and her insecurities directly relate to these addictions. She constantly is viewing content on social media which affects her mental health and gives her the idea that she isn't good enough. Social media is very unrealistic and young users like Kayla are affected by this because they are given unrealistic standards they feel they need to live up to. In the movie, you can tell that she is very insecure due to not being the "popular" or "pretty" kid that she wants to be. She creates videos to seem like she is the popular kid in order to feel good about herself or to get validation from others because she doesn't receive that validation in real life. This is really sad because everyone should feel like they are good enough. Unfortunately, this happens to a lot of kids this age because of all the consumption of social media and it has become a norm in our society. It socially changes people because they want to be the perfect images they see online and a lot of the time, it is not possible. In this example, the social idea of "not being good enough" is amplified due to the technology of social media and affects the way Kayla uses it. Here is an article explaining the problems social media is creating for young kids. Do you all agree that young kids are directly affected by this constant search for validation or trying to be something their not? How can we solve this issue? Thanks! Looking forward to our conversation on this topic.