Blog Post #3- Zoe McLaven
For my third Blog Post, I selected the article on the discussion of Facebook and how they deliberately have been removing research surrounding the adverse effects young girls are experiencing when on Instagram. A study concluded that "40% of Instagram users who reported feeling "unattractive" said the feeling began on the app; about a quarter of the teenagers who reported feeling "not good enough" said it started on Instagram" (Gayle, 2021). Instagram has become a very influential app for young girls. However, teens constantly compare themselves to other users who seem to have "the perfect life" and bodies, altering their own opinion of themselves (Gayle, 2021). Thus, this connects to Nancy Baym's theoretical perspective on the social shaping of technology and how technology is altering people's opinions of themselves.
This article is an excellent example that young girls with technology start to create their social constructivism based on others, which affects their own opinion of themselves. Baym states that social media platforms can accelerate trends that start to erode others (Baym, 2010, p.51). Young teens are constantly trying to achieve the "perfect body" as they believe this will make them popular and pretty to others. However, people cannot escape the powerfulness of social media platforms and see the toxicity within technology that can manipulate their perception of reality. Instagram is creating young teens to develop anxiety, poor self-esteem and mental health. Facebook has tried to shield the public from the problems within technology; however, deliberately hiding information is causing social shaping to be based on falseness.
I enjoyed reading your post. I too found the Gayle article interesting as it is relevant to how society works today. Too many posts on social media make it seem like these influencers live a perfect life and it is becoming a negative influence on teenagers as you mentioned, they feel like they are not good enough. Being a teenager once, you constantly compare yourself to others and when you see a difference between you and the person you're viewing, it may start putting bad thoughts into your head. These platforms like Facebook and Instagram create a false reality for teenagers which in turn leads to a negative effect on them socially.
ReplyDeleteHi I enjoyed reading your perspective on Facebook's research that had been kept away from the public before leaking their findings. They have been trying to decrease the amount of negative impacts their app but keeping studies away from the public eye only damages their image and deepens the effects more. When people are aware of these facts that is when we can try and implement change. The social shaping of technology has had major effects on the impressionable youth. Pressures are at their all time high to be perfect and many adults say if they were on social media like our generation is. They would not be as successful since they were able to make mistakes because they were not being recorded while making said mistakes. The content now is forever and has the ability to haunt our generation for years.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. I think think that for all its flory, social media has some serious affects on other peoples mental health, self worth, and well being. I think it is interesting the 40% of girls who said they feel less attractive and I wonder if men would be a similar percentage. All social media is nowadays is a highlight reel of people's lives when they look at their best and especially for young individuals I think it can be harmful to them because they think that their life isn't nearly as good because they are simply seeing the best of the best in other lives. Great post!
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