R4: Postmodernism and Social Media

Postmodernism is the concept of applying critical thought and analysis to literature, art, philosophy, architecture, fiction, and other cultural subjects in our society. It originally came about between 1970 and 1990 in Europe when the world was introduced to a new technology that changed the way we think about these subjects. In a talk given at the first Theorizing the Web conference in 2011 at the University of Maryland, George Ritzer stated, “Our understanding of the Internet, social networking, and the role of the prosumer in them is greatly enhanced by analyzing them through the lens of a number of ideas associated with postmodern theory,” (Ritzer 2011). What he meant by this is that when thinking about the postmodern world and the invention and introduction of computer technologies and the Internet, we should take in the ideas and theories of postmodernism and apply them to how we view cultural artifacts. With the rise of the Internet, Web 2.0, and social media networking sites, we view cultural artifacts such as art, philosophy, and literature differently. Postmodernism is a valuable theory for understanding social media because as Ritzer states, “Postmodernists tend to decanter whatever they analyze and to focus on the periphery. One searches in vain for the center of the Internet or of social networking sites. They are multi-faceted and always in the process of being made," (Rizter 2011). What he means by this is that we should look at the content that is created and its value in the long term as referenced to the idea of "the long tail", that its not about how many hits a message gets on social media but about the content and value of the message. 

With the advance of the Web 2.0 and the ability to create content that uses a variety of mediums from images, text, and video people have the advantage of expressing themselves in a different way then before. As Sherry Turkle states," The Internet has become a significant social laboratory for experimenting with the constructions and reconstructions of self that characterize postmodern life," (Turkle 180). Postmodernism theory is valuable to social media in this way. It helps us to understand why as Turkle states in her book "Life on the Screen", some people, especially college aged students, have turned to Multi-use dungeons (MUDs) and online simulation games like The Sims and Second Life to cope with their issues. Taking postmodern theory helps us to analyze why the next generation of "prosumers" and content creators are using the Internet and social media platforms to express themselves. 

Sources:

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

Ritzer, “The Internet Through a Postmodern Lens” http://thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2012/11/19/the-internet-through-a-postmodern-lens/ Accessed March 30, 2017

Image: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/dh-social-media-buttons-istock-image-25015338.jpg