Wednesday 30 September 2015
Don't Worry, I Instagrammed It.
In "Personal Connections in the Digital Age" by Nancy Baym, she discusses the domestication of technology which I found highly relevant when reading "The Prom Queen of Instagram". I'm sure like many others I thought back to a time when social status was reflective of where you sat in the cafeteria, and it ended there. Though phones had grown in popularity the social shaping of that technology was important in how it gained personal meaning.
On paper to be "...rich, pretty and [do] whatever [you] want"(Prom Queen of Instagram) is definitely the kind of friend with connections you may not mind crashing your party, and as many say 'a picture is worth a thousand words', but what Baym notes and what is important to this article is the acceptance of this tradition. The function and use of Instagram is rarely questioned, it's passive entertainment. As is the world that I would say our Prom Queen lives in. Like any new technology or app that appears to be marvellous and new, we as users learn to fit it to our own needs. Our Prom Queen is socially shaping her technological self, her online presence, and I believe that part of the anxiety fits into how her online self relates to who she is. Would Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now" be on her bedside if these thoughts hadn't occurred to her? When ideas become so inherent and the mind takes over, and we think it's ourselves, how do we silence it?
This is why I chose the domestication of technology, because when something new becomes ordinary, and part of our lives, we create a part of ourself around it. This is the negative effect of technology, and the discourse that she faces in the article.
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I completely agree with the way you stated, " [...] when something new becomes ordinary, and part of our lives, we create a part of ourself around it." Instagram has definitely allowed us to create our own version of ourself that we present to the online world and has, in a way, allowed us to construct the way others view us and our social lives. We have fit this new social media into our lives as a normal everyday practice and it has become as common as brushing our teeth; some now may even check Instagram while still in bed before brushing their teeth. Choosing the domestication of technology is a great fit as we have normalized the notion of always keeping up-to-date with the individuals we follow on these social media platforms as well as always keeping our followers up-to-date with what we are doing.
ReplyDeleteHi Chasya,
ReplyDeleteI like how you chose domestication of technology as your theoretical perspective because when something new comes around we do shape ourselves around it. It is very accurate to say that technology, or Instagram for that matter, is shaping her online presence. Now, this can be for the good or bad. Yes, in the fact that this form of technology consumes every aspect of our lives, but also allows one to make this there full time job if you are lucky enough and create good content.
Great post! I like how you incorporated the development of social standings. I remember as well when your level of popularity when it was determined through where you sat in the cafeteria, or what group of friends you associated yourself with. Now, your social standing and level of "coolness" is often based off of your social media presence. I also like how you chose domestication of technology because you are right in saying that when a new form of technology surfaces and becomes popular, we do shape shape ourselves around it. This is not always a good thing because it can take over and become excessive.
ReplyDeleteCool perspective. I think it's a good thing that we domesticate technology though, I don't understand why you think it is negative to shape yourself around new technology. I think that once something new becomes ordinary it inspires progress. If we didn't adapt our lives to new technologies, there would never be more new technology
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