A Reflection of Us

Often, I find myself spending my free time using my phone to scroll on social media and post about my life on the internet. However, that does not mean I post frequently as I only post when I deem a picture/video "post-worthy" will I then publish to my social media accounts (albeit I do sometimes post spur of the moment). Yet, I have to ask: why do I do this? Why do I put so much thought and consideration about sharing my life to the public? You can of course argue that I'm overthinking things and that I should post as freely as I'd like. Yet, I don't. 

Growing up, whether we like it or not, our current generation has grown accustomed to using technology and social media as one of our main forms of communication.  Accompanying these technological advances is the esteem and fear that follow us as we contemplate if this image or video is "good enough" for the world.  We want the world to view us from the "best" version of ourselves, yet for many, a lot of us lose a bit of ourselves as who we are online is not necessarily who we are in real life.  Due to this, we end up comparing ourselves from one person to the next in order to justify this relentless cycle that we have to present the perfect model of our lives as someone else out there is having a "better" life than yours.

Upon consideration, I decided that I wanted to do a topic that revolved on how technology/social media has negatively impacted individuality and the way we perceive ourselves. On top of that, the idea of hyperrealism (the inability to distinguish reality from a stimulation of reality) was one that I found interesting. I arrived at this decision as I wanted to choose something that I could relate most to, and add my own perspective into this ongoing conversation. I figured that if I am going to argue for a topic in my research paper it should be one that I am most comfortable yet also uncomfortable with.

Now for the anticipated reveal of the primary source I decided to use to discuss my chosen topic...

Drumroll Please...

"Nosedive" from Netflix's Black Mirror!!

Granted, it must have not been a surprise that my chosen primary source was "Nosedive" when this episode is centered around a reality where technology and social media has been transformed into a dystopian gateway of a "good life" where the amount of ratings you have determines where you stand in society. We are able to watch a seemingly sane character turn into an unrecognizable version of herself due to wanting to be liked and accepted by everyone else based on a technological rating system. Arguably, the same concept occurs in our society in a less organized and developed version. 

For the time being, my provisional research question is: In what ways does the director's choices in "Nosedive" from Black Mirror elicit a conversation and critique about the ever-growing dependency on technology and social media on the individual, and how does it all tie to hyperrealism? 

Learning from Others