Today, technology is at the threshold for social norms. It has the power to change our actions based on what others see as popular. We have seen changes in social norms in things like planking, gym pics, duck face, and everyones favorite: selfies.
One reason is simply because we see famous people whom we respect doing these norms. For instance, Bradley Cooper's selfie at the Oscars. This selfie with stars like Ellen DeGeneres, Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep, and others went instantly viral. This got huge hype online and made taking selfie's seem socially acceptable for the public.Another way social norms have been integrated is through new platforms on the Internet. Snapchat and Instagram stories are based off of communicating through live events or face messaging. Now basic pictures of your face are going out of style as well. No, I'm not saying you're ugly. I am just talking about the new filters that are in almost every form of social media. This has changed the way people present themselves online. It is an interesting concept, because if only a few people did it, it could be considered a dishonest portrayal. However, since everyone is doing it, you are falling out of the social norm if you have less vibrant, unedited pictures.
In retrospect, the evolution of societies' norms are largely influenced from technology and the people using it. Who is to say what the next outbreak will be. All we can do is sit back and enjoy the ride.
Nice post! I do agree that there has been a huge change over the years especially regarding our use of smart phones cameras to take selfies. Currently, one of my friends is on a phone market looking for a new phone, and her top priority is one that can take good quality photos. So yes, our values are changing and are still changing today.
ReplyDeleteI like this! I feel like a lot of the time people respond negatively or over-analytically to new trends. This post really sums up that taking selfies and editing them is no big deal and just another change that the world is undergoing due to all of the other changes.
ReplyDeleteThis is a sweet post. I love that picture of the oscars selfie, too, that really did a good job of summarizing a lot of what this post was about! It's very interesting to think about how we shape technology and drive the way we use media, and then how technology shapes us in return! In a lot of ways, I think the attitude to sit back and enjoy the ride, as you say, is the right one. As long as we are aware of the changes that are happening.
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