After reading Wiedeman’s article Meet the Prom Queen of Instagram I concluded that the story of
famous prom queen Hymowitz could be analyzed through Technological Determinism
as described by Baym.
Baym highlights how machines, and in this particular situation
Instagram, influence individuals and societies characteristic of technological
determinism (27). As these machines change us Baym identifies that these
technologies have characteristics that are transmitted to the users who
actively participate in the technology itself (28). For one, this is evident
within Hymowitz as readers can draw conclusions on how her online presence is
adjusted based on Instagram’s characteristics through the use of filters,
unlocked privacy settings and posts which portray the ‘best’ images of herself
to thousands of followers. Thus, one realizes how Lilli, like many people today,
rely on Instagram as a outlet for everyday communication where followers can monitor
ones life through images posted.
Furthermore, technological determinism emphasizes how when
one actively participates in social media outlets like Instagram the value of
the individual lessens as they are manipulated by technology. In turn one can
question if the relationships formed online will be the same as those
face-to-face (Baym, 36). This anxiety of a loss of reality of oneself is
extremely evident in Hymowitz as the article reveals how her friends believe
her Instagram life does not capture her personality. They noted:
“She does the cool stuff. It’s a lifestyle that people want to live”
“Everyone agreed that Hymowitz was sweeter in person than the cool,
even tough persona she presented online”
Those two simple yet powerful sentences clearly exemplify
this notion of technology changing an individual.
Hymowitz even explains how when she made her account public
she deleted picture because they did not fit her ‘current persona’ online. This
too demonstrates how this machine has the ability to influence a young
individual as she engages enough in the technology. As a result, Hymowitz has
gained thousands of followers worldwide as people desire to follow her daily
life through social media. However, what many people do not recognize while
they are caught up in this phenomenon is how they are admiring a girl of
filters and edited photos, not the real 16 year old sweet Lilli.
I chose to analyze Wiedeman’s artice through technological
determinism because I believed that it provided material that was easily
relatable to the famous Instagram prom queen. Analyzing the article through
technological determinism gave me insight on the Instagram world and the
anxieties surrounding this phenomenon such as authenticity, lack of reality, and
online relationships.
- Alexandria
Side Note: I was scrolling through my Instagram the other
day and found this picture posted which I thought was kind of funny and
relatable to the discussion of Instagram.
*Note* There is a bit of profanity in the language used so this
is a trigger warning for that!
I also believe that Lilli Hymowitz’s story is very relatable to technological determinism by highlighting how influential the machine is. More specifically, Instagram as the machine illustrates how people like Lilli take advantage of specific techniques to display a certain type of personality and image. Instagram is a limited one way form of communication in a sense that once you post it, you don’t receive much feedback or interaction other than likes and primarily compliments. As you said, the Instagram world shows anxiety related to a lack of reality since it can be superficial by showing a specific type of persona. Although Lilli is extremely popular, she admits she has limited real friendships that actually understand her which demonstrates how the machine is using us by creating false realities.
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