Blog Post #3: Technological Determinism evident within the film Eighth Grade - Liam Barwell

 In Personal Connections in the Digital Age, Nancy Baym’s position explains how the widespread diffusion of digital media forms and practices throughout our daily lives is often the source of individual and collective anxiety. The experience of Kayla in the film Eight Grade directly correlates to Baym’s discussion on technological determinism as the movie portrays Kayla and the anxiety she faces about the interactivity of digital media.

 

Technological Determinism is a theoretical perspective that believes technology plays a significant role in the day-to-day lives of society. This perspective believes that technology has a complete influence over how we function on a daily basis. In terms of the movie Eight Grade, the film does a good job showing how technological determinism is relevant within our technologically driven society without us even noticing all the time. More specifically, the film follows emerging teenager Kayla around as she tries to make the transition from eighth to ninth grade. We can see how technological determinism is relevant in terms of anxiety within the film as there is this prevailing theme of social media being looked upon as real life. For example, Kayla strongly cares about her appearance on social media as she is seen being anxious over how people see and think about her “online appearance”. Throughout the film, Kayla is seen trying to fit in with the “popular kids” and tries to conform to their social media lives as a tactic to become friends with them. Technological determinism can be harmful and causes anxiety for Kayla throughout the film as she is constantly seen comparing herself to the popular kids while trying to find ways to be more like these girls. Kayla’s constant anxiety battles associated with trying to fit in with these girls cause her to feel bad about herself and lose her confidence as a young woman. Technological determinism and Kayla’s anxiety is the ultimate reason why she ended up confronting and getting angry with these girls near the end of the film as she tried so hard to get them to like her. Bahm’s perspective on technological determinism is not only relevant in the film but causes anxiety for many boys and girls across the world. Trying to fit in and find your place is not easy as it is, and the constant social media influence is only making it worse. The more time Kayla spent on social media, the more anxiety she had to deal with as a result of this constant notion that she had to be just like the popular girls in order to fit in and find her place in society.

 

What is some advice you would give to Kayla or any other teenage boy or girl in a similar situation?

Comments

  1. Madeleine CatalliOctober 24, 2022 at 3:09 PM

    Hello! I really liked your post. I totally agree with the fact that Kayla's anxiety strung from the fact that she was constantly online and on various social media platforms which led her to compare herself to others. Nancy Baym speaks about how technology has become so woven into our lives that we aren't even noticing the negative effects anymore which I think is evident through the way that Kayla is so consumed by her devices that she can't even be eating or on a car ride without scrolling. The way Kayla used social media caused her anxiety and impeded on various relationships in her life. Like you said Kayla was constantly trying to be like the "popular" girls at her school and ultimately wanted to fit in. If I could talk to Kayla and give her some advice I would tell her that being different isn't a bad thing, wearing different clothes, having a different body etc., is what makes all of us unique. Moreover I would remind her that what you see on social media does not resemble reality. Additionally, Limiting the use of social media can be very beneficial for a number of reasons. It will allow you to focus on benefiting yourself and feeling more confident in the real you rather than putting all of your time into fantasizing about other people and their lives that don't involve you.

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    Replies
    1. Liam BarwellOctober 26, 2022 at 2:15 PM

      Hi Madeleine!

      Thanks for commenting on my blog post! We are both on the same page in terms of Nancy Baym’s perspective on technological determinism and how it affects Kayla’s anxiety. I too would want to emphasize to Kayla that it is ok to be different and being unique is always a good not bad thing. I also agree that it is important to share with kids in Kayla’s situation that social media and technology is not everything. Setting limits for oneself is a great idea and can 100% help one’s confident levels in the real world.

      Thanks again for commenting on my post!

      Delete

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