Social Media Redefining Anxieties

After reading this article, my eyes were opened to the realization of how today's generation uses technology and social media as a means of judging an individuals popularity, status and overall happiness.  The Prom Queen of Instagram, aka 16 year old Lilli Hymowitz, is a great example of an individual who's pushed aside her school work and passion for horseback riding and focused all of her energy on building up her number of Instagram followers along with posting the "coolest" pictures to make her life appear above average.  Though Hymowitz's presence on social media may make her appear as one of the most popular teenagers around, it's evident throughout the article that she's just your average teenage girl who's "bored" most of the time, doesn't have a ton of "real" friends and is not necessarily experiencing the same excitement and joy that she may appear to be in her photos.  This article is a great example of Baym's Technological Determinist perspective in which social behaviour is directly affected by technology, causing an environment where peoples greatest anxieties become whether or not their social status, wealth, beauty and overall life-satisfaction really is as great as it's represented in their online presence.

Almost a year ago now, myself and a group of friends from Laurier planned a vacation over the fall reading week and one of the girls on the trip invited her friend to tag along who could be considered "Insta-famous".  This individual posts many new pictures to Instagram weekly, all of herself looking flawless, wearing expensive things, and eating at fancy restaurants.  I had heard of this girl and saw her Instagram account before actually meeting her due to her popularity over social media so I was expecting a flawless super-model however, to my surprise, when I met her in person she just looked average, she was not a wealthy individual (though she posted pictures with expensive things), as I got to know her she shared that she was going through some tough things, and she was not the girl I had seen on Instagram but rather your average 20 year old.  My understanding of The Prom Queen of Instagram and personal  experience of this "Insta-famous" individual, relates to Baym's idea of Technological Determinism as we are starting to see this whole new culture being created by technology.  People who don't even know each other communicate and judge one another through social media, as we're now living in this "selfie generation" where people prioritize creating the best image possible of themselves online.  What happens however, when the "Insta-famous" person is taken at face-value? Other than having "cool" pictures and a lifestyle that others envy is that individual truly happy? Do they see themselves as attractive? Do they really have 7,000 friends that they can call up when they need them?  

I chose to focus on Baym's Technological Determinism perspective as I found that this idea suggests that technology and social media today has redefined our anxieties.  Rather than worrying about things like working hard in our jobs and in school, maintaining relationships with real friends, getting involved in the community, staying healthy and active, and so on, society has now placed this false importance on worrying about online popularity and image.  Thus, making our worst anxiety the fear of not living up to the image of the person we've created ourselves to be online.