"Social tools don't create new motivations so much as amplify existing ones" (Shirky 294).I like how Shirky refers to social networking technologies as "tools." If you really think about it, that's exactly what they are. Whether it be facebook, twitter, flickr, wikipedia, blogger, etc., each can be used as a tool, or a means, to achieve something. This "something" doesn't necessarily need to be great, such as spreading the news of a catastrophic natural disaster, but it can also, and more commonly is, trivial such as planning out a time to see a movie with your friend on facebook. So then, you may be thinking, "Great! This all sounds great." And to many people, this is great. However, to a stammering number of theorists, the heavy use of these social tools and the impetus of new social tools we've seen in the 21st Century is referred to as negative and aiding in technological determinism.
Over the past few weeks I have been studying the theories of technological vs. social determinism (because it truly fascinates me that there is even such an argument) and often there is an inherent feeling of pessimism vs. optimism, respectfully. Those who are against the spread of technology and overwhelming adoption of the changes new media introduce into society seem to be pessimists and only view new media technologies as being a hinderance to normal functioning human behaviors, including social interaction. On the contrary, those who embrace social media tools and commend the accomplishments people have achieved through social networking and new media seem to be inherently optimistic. The apparent polarity is merely human nature, yet almost feels inorganic and hopeless for the pessimistic theorists.
Shirky talks about when he was in middle school, teachers didn't allow the use of calculators because they seemed like a fad and wouldn't stick around for too long. We all know this wasn't the case and now there are about 50 calculator applications that one can download on their iPhone or iPad (just to bring the example as current as possible). This proves the point that along with the human nature of polarity among individual thought and theory, we can also note that it is human nature to adopt tools that make life and everyday tasks easier. Like the calculator, like the printing press, like the telephone, like the airplane, like the lightbulb -- these weren't (and still aren't) fads such as skinny jeans or bleaching your hair. Social networking, the online organization of groups, and exponential sharing amongst peers is here to stay.
To err on the side of optimism, let's think about what social media has done to the average person. It's given them a voice (though not a guaranteed audience), given them the ability to know, the platform to debate on, and a place to mindlessly, aimlessly dabble and play around, looking at menial pictures, reading silly posts from friends, or even watching tv. Social media has given the individual the power of a group without actually being in one. What I mean by that is, even though you may not be instituted in the social circle of a group of people that you are merely acquainted with, but you are friends with all of them on facebook, you still see their online interactions: what they say, what they share, and to whom, in your newsfeed -- that's just the nature of facebook. Often times when you post something on your friend's wall or as your status, you aren't thinking about what every single friend you have on facebook will think. Hell, you're probably not even thinking about what any of them will think, but you are inherently aware that every single one of your friends will be able to see it. The person who is not a part of the social circle can still see and perhaps benefit the interactions of the social circle or the group because it has been made public thanks to you and the parameters of facebook.
"Social media makes creativity not just possibly but desirable" (Shirky, 311). My professor, Dr. Gwenyth Jackaway said it herself, regarding this blog, she feels that there is a pressure of sorts on the material posted. While the odds of someone coming across this blog and actually reading it without being explicitly directed to it by my professor or I is slim, the action of us writing and creating content that is public on the web, changes the ballgame. It's not just an email between the two of us, private and enclosed, but instead this is a public conversation that anyone can see, just like the example of the person on facebook who can see inside a social circle they are not a part of. Before social media tools and the internet, what would our blog be? Would it have been a written conversation, posted on a bulletin board in the University hallway each morning after we wrote it? Perhaps a journal we assemble and place in the library? However you look at it, there is no comprable alternative to this blog that packs the same punch without the use of social media. Never before have ordinary individuals been able to create for a mass audience for free, and maybe even profit from it*.
Those who side with the idea of technological determinism probably wouldn't be able to spread their opinion and ideas without the internet today and therefore leaving them silenced. What would they say to that? Does a technological determinist use Twitter? Know how to create social groups on facebook for the benefit of society? Understand what Flickr is and what Shirky means when he explains the importance of "tagging" photos? This pessimistic stance taken by technological determinists seems almost hypocritical. New media and social tools are so integrated into our society that it is nearly impossible not to use them. My 80 year old grandmother has a facebook and I was able to talk her through enabling her computer to have a 3-way Skype video conversation with myself in NYC, my cousin in San Diego, and my grandmother in Florida. Social tools help us accomplish things that were not even fathomable in the past yet if we thought about life without them today, it would seem like a step back into another century. Technological determinists use social media and new media, there is no denying it, and they most likely use it to disperse their ideas, their book, or their <gasp> blog.
*With the placement of Google Ads or comprable Ad networks that pay the blog owner on a Cost Per Click (CPC) basis.
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