Blog Post #3- Elizabeth Kvil
Kayla is a middle school girl who struggles with social anxiety yet she has this whole different persona on the internet. The film shows various instances where Kayla is seen on her phone for long periods of time. Kayla portrays herself as this fun and excitied girl on social media yet in real life she just tries to fit in with the others. As the film progresses, it is obvious that Kayla has always had social media in her life and she did not know anything else outside of it. This can be related back to one of Baym’s four perspectives on the causal relationship between technology and society. Domestication of technology focuses on how technologies have become a major part of our lives that their negative effects become ordinary (Baym, 2020). This goes back to the portrayal of Kayla’s life in the film because she has vastly different lives online and in real life. She talks more on her YouTube channel and has a more intriguing persona on there. However, in the real world she does not speak at all to her peers nor her family members. The scene where she was sat at the dinner table with her father is a great example of domestication of technology because it has taken over her life so much that she does not even speak to her own father as much.
Great post! You did a great job distinguishing Kayla’s online persona versus her in real life. I think it is interesting to comment on how Kayla feels confident on technology, and in a present setting she is less confident. I wonder if that is an aspect or attribute of technology worth looking into as consumers feel like it is easier to portray thoughts, feelings, etc., through a platform instead of facing it in real time. I would also argue that an underlying message portrayed through this movie is also how the domestication of technology has taken over ones real-time. Furthermore, how users are attached to social media and how it is common for users to base their self-worth on social media. Why do you think users feel more comfortable behind the screen?
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. I agree that technology has taken over a huge aspect of Kayla's life. Her in person persona and her online persona display two different people. As someone who tries to positively influence others via her Youtube platform, how do you think she could adopt her own advice in order to merge her in person presence and online presence to make them seem less divided?
Hi Thea,
DeleteYou're right, Kayla's online persona is entirely different from her behaviour in school and in other social settings. We saw her filming YouTube videos in which she gave her audience social advice. She spoke about confidence and "putting oneself out there", among others. I think Kayla would benefit from following her own advice. In school, she appeared quite reserved and, when speaking to others, was clearly hesitant and nervous. I think that if she simply acts in the way that she encourages others to be, even if it is not truly how she feels, she will find far more success socially.