Blog Post #3- Mahaila Milne

 

According to Nancy Baym, technological determinism is the concept in which technology as a social agent acts upon and changes society. In today’s technological sphere, social media is shaping the ways in which people view and perceive themselves. We have given social media an extremely large power over us, so much so that it can be argued that social media controls us. A great deal of anxiety can stem for the usages of social media, and because of this it can be seen as an extremely negative outlet that has destructive effects on people's well-being and mental health. Social media can exacerbate anxiety, and can cause unwanted comparisons between individuals, especially for teenage girls. According to the article published in the Guardian, “Facebook has kept internal research for two years that suggests its Instagram app makes body image issues worse for teenage girls” (Gayle, 2021). In relation to technological determinism, social media apps such as Instagram are altering the ways in which people view reality, creating false narratives and portraying non authentic standards, that are ultimately being imposed onto young impressionable girls. Social media is changing the ways in which they view themselves and their bodies, which is extremely damaging and creates harmful, long-lasting effects on their overall wellbeing. Anxieties are created revolving around their perceptions of self, due to the fact that they are shown unrealistic and unattainable bodies and beauty standards daily. Young people are engaging in new media, and since these forms of media are so heavily integrated and rooted in society, view it as a normality of society, and because of this they are forced to interact with it. Nothing on Instagram should be taken at face value, however teenagers, especially teenage girls, believe that in order to be deemed as attractive they need to fit into extremely specific beauty standards, when in reality this is not attainable or factuality. The fact that Facebook is aware of the impact its company is having on the mental health of teenagers specifically tells you how much disregard it has for its users and how drastically it is changing and shaping society. Social comparison specifically has been one of the ways in which technology is acting as a social agent, remolding the beliefs and ideologies of society, creating negative pressures and expectations of young people. I believe that this is a cause for concern and a direct result of social media in regard to technological determinism and has unfortunately been a negative side effect of social media as a popular and extremely influential social agent.