R:4

The Revolution of Postmodernism

Postmodernism represents an artistic approach to the making of things in society as well as a sense of doubt towards ideas and ideals of the modern period. Basically, what we believe is true; post modernism denies and states we created this truth as a society. We can specifically see postmodernism in the world of social media. Generally, postmodernism describes change in society… and in my opinion the biggest influencer in today’s society is social media. Mass media and popular culture is what dominates our sense of reality and norm. In order to really understand the role of postmodernism in this sense, we must really understand the world of social media.

            Sherry Turkle, author of “Life on the Screen” paints us a picture on how mass media is dominating our society by stating, “Many of the institutions that used to bring people together--a Main Street, a union hall, a town meeting—no longer works as before. Many people spend most of their day alone at the screen of a television or computer.” I agree with Turkle, and in fact, I believe that the rise of social media is encouraging this habit more and more. Furthermore, Turkle discusses that perhaps people are turning more to virtual reality because they can create their own self-image. “The internet has become a significant social laboratory for experimenting with the constructions and reconstructions of self that characterize postmodern life.” (Turkle 180) A great example of this is myself; on Facebook I like to characterize myself as the “ideal” daughter/employee because I know my parents, family members and coworkers will view my page. However, I post things that still truly represent me, but only a side of me that I want people to see. For example, dog videos, cooking recipes and appropriate pictures.  On the other hand, on other social media platforms such as Snapchat I represent another side of me where I know is more private such as drinking, partying and etc.

Facbooks posts

Snapchat Posts

Turkle talks about how creating these different images of yourself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. “…that we are not limited by our histories, we can recreate ourselves.” (Turkle 192) The author further explains this point by stating that self-transformations are difficult and impossible for some, so they would rather write their characters and revise it whenever they wish.

Although what Turkle talks about may seem a bit depressing because people are just expressing a fantasy of themselves, we must not forget about how social media benefits us in the postmodernism framework. Thanks to social media we now have access to connect with people outside our demographic area. George Ritzer, American sociologist and professor, states in his speech “The Internet Through a Postmodern Lens” that “More dramatically, as in the Arab Spring, powerless individuals can come together, for example via Facebook and Twitter, and form a powerful revolutionary group.”(Ritzer) Often, we focus on how social media is negatively impacting our society so much that we forget about the benefits it has brought us. Social media has allowed us to connect with different people from all around the world. Social media has developed jobs and created opportunities. Social media has shed light on taboo topics. Social media and mass media is what is dominating our society.

Sources:

Turkle, Sherry, “Aspects of the Self” Chapter 7. Life on the Screen, Simon and Schuster, New York, NY, 1997.

Ritzer, George. "The Internet Through a Postmodern Lens." Cyborgology. The Society Pages, 08 Dec. 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2017. <https://thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2012/11/19/the-internet-through-a-postmodern-lens/>.