Blog Post #3: Technological Determinism in 'Eighth Grade'-Jake Rybak
The film Eighth Grade' directed by Bo Burnham and starring Elsie Fisher does a very effective job explaining the impacts of technological determinism by showcasing emerging teenagers' daily lives and their interactions with technology. Technological Determinism describes technology as an external agent that acts upon and changes society. An example of this is individuals being negatively impacted by social media through the body image and self-esteem it promotes. The movie follows a thirteen-year-old girl named Kayla (Elsie Fisher) and her struggle to adapt to life as a teenager due to her anxiety about what other people think of her as well as how her social media displays herself. When Kayla is at the mall with her new older friends whom she met through her high-school tour leader; Olivia, they ask her about when she first downloaded Snapchat. Kayla responds by saying she has been active since she was in grade six which was likely a lie for her to protect others' perception of her. Additionally, on her way home from the mall, she gets a ride home with one of Olivia's guy friends who tries to engage in sexual activity with her. Kayla is not super comfortable with the situation and asks to be taken home but is apologetic thinking she is in the wrong when in reality, she has the right to make her own decision and should not feel judged by anyone for doing so. Technology has created the idea that individuals must conform to the standard set on these social media platforms which is not healthy for these developing individuals to be set up for success. Kayla is not alone as there are many girls and guys all around the world who experience this type of social anxiety due to the evolving forms of technology. It makes it even more difficult in some circumstances because the parents of these millennials grew up in an entirely different era that did not incorporate the culture associated with technology. Technological Determinism has completely altered what it means to be a teenager in modern society as it has created a whole new realm of topics to stress over.
Below I have posted a link to a short video that examines some of the main ways social media changes your brain activity. There are some interesting statistics included that demonstrate the impact technology can have on an individual's daily life.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post for this week. I find that video very interesting and majority of the time children are never made away of all the negative ways social media can impact ones self confidence but also brain activity. I believe that elementary schools should teach students at a young age all of the harm social media can cause along with the negative long term impact it can cause to individuals mental health. The movie Eight Grade perfectly exemplified these effects both short-term and long term. Yet it is hard for parents and families to help children if they fail to recognize that their children are going through these challenges.
Hi Jake,
ReplyDeleteIt is important to note that many feel that type of anxiety in a social setting where they feel like they have to choose between doing something to make someone else happy or be true to themselves. Even though Kayla tries to be someone she is not, she still was able to recognize what she didn’t want to happen and stuck to her morals in that scene specifically.
I loved that you threw in that short video at the end of your post as I found it really interesting! While watching the video, when it got to the multi-tasking part, I noticed that I had my phone in my hand and must’ve picked it up without even noticing. This was ironic in the sense that I automatically began to open up social media without even realizing until a couple seconds after. It was like second nature to just gravitate toward my phone even when I planned to focus on the video which makes it quite obvious just how much social media has impacted me.
Great post Jake! Technological determinism plays a huge role in Kayla's actions throughout the film, as technological determinism acts as a force influencing Kayla to act in a way that conforms to social media standards.
ReplyDeleteI believe you added great examples of how this force was seen throughout the film, for example your mention of how Olivia's guy friend tries to engage in sexual activity with Kayla. Kayla is obviously not super comfortable with the situation and asks to be taken home, but is apologetic thinking she is in the wrong when in reality, she has the right to make her own decision and should not feel judged by anyone for doing so. Social media often sets standards that young people such as Kayla, look up to, and by Kayla not wanting to do anything with Olivia's guy friend makes her feel like she is wrong for not wanting to conform with the social media set standard of hook up culture.