Although
I agree with the fact that machines and technology have changed us over the years, the Social
Construction of Technology (SCOT) perspective aligns itself on a different
level with the article “The Prom Queen of
Instagram”. The Social Construction
of Technology (SCOT) perspective focuses on how technologies arise from social
processes and comments on the fact that social forces influence the invention
of new technologies (pg. 44). It is commonly known that technologies arise from
social processes. However, we as individual consumers make the most out of
technologies. We have the ability to create and share a certain story of ourselves
on these online applications. SCOT theorists see technological development as
influenced by many factors beyond the inventors and some of these factors can
include our friends, role models and over all things we like.
Lilli Hymowitz an
extremely privileged 16-year-old girl living in New York City presents herself
online as a party girl who is living the dream life. She posts pictures of
herself along side her beautiful friends, drinking wine by the pool, partying
in the hottest clubs in New York. Her friends all appear to be pretty and of a
similar economic upbringing and her Instagram reflects this privileged
lifestyle she lives. What I found interesting while reading this article is
that Hymowitz friends do not think her Instagram captures her personality. One
of her friends said, “Your Instagram is like, ‘She does cool stuff.’ It’s a
lifestyle that people want to live.” Every single one of Hymowitz friends
agreed that she was sweeter in person than the cool, even tough, persona she
presented online.
So if this was the
case, why does she portray this cool, tough persona to her followers online? I
believe that this is one of several anxieties associated with this new form of
media available to consumers. Having this anxiety follow you as a young girl,
one where you always have to live up to this persona that you are cool, outrageous
and rebel can be tiresome. If you aren’t as cool as your instagram says you are
… why do you put on that persona? Personally I believe people put on these
faces or masks because they are trying to capture attention from certain people
and celebrities. If you display this image of yourself to the public, one that
loves to drink, party, eat rich food and have a good time you are naturally expected
to be very popular and loving the life you live.
If this article
demonstrated one thing well it proves that these technologies have a rather
large control over our lives, but it also went so far as to show that the
social settings we put ourselves in also determine who we are as people. Technologies
arise from social processes, and through a social construction of technology perspective
we first handily see how the external factors in an individuals life can
influence their presence online.
Hi Tamara,
ReplyDeleteI really like how you viewed the article through a different light, I completely agree with what you on the fact that the SCOT perspective can bbs seen many times throughout the article. I like how you analyzed what her anxieties maybe from her profile. It is really interesting that she portrays herself as tough and cool person she tries to be online. Do you think this is maybe the way she wants to be ? or maybe it even could be the way she thinks society would like her to be? It is true that technologies run our lives, and that external factors do contribute to how we use a sciap media site.