#technologicalera

Wherefore art thou social media? Oh, that’s right, everywhere.

It may still feel safe to assume that most people will immediately picture dollar signs as soon as one poses the question, “What makes the world go round?”, yet the better question may now be, what type of a world is actually ‘going round’. Whether you are at home, work, or hanging out with your best friend at your favourite restaurant, the resonance of the digital world echoes in your surroundings. This technological ambiance has not simply been created overnight however. It was sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies who discerned an evolutionary shift early in the 19th century, which saw a vast majority of people move from living in villages to living in cities during the industrial revolution (Siapera 2012, p. 192). Tönnies related this universal development to the question that still both confuses and intrigues us today. “What holds a society together when most of us are strangers to each other?” (Siapera 2012, p. 192) Have we now become further isolated, or is it simply a new type of independence, which ironically depends more on technology. Perhaps this would be the best time to revert back to the question: 'what type a world is actually going round’, with the answer being, technological. A society, driven by technology. Technology has affected our social, cultural, political and economic lives, with social media acting somewhat as a mediator (Siapera 2012 p. 203). People have become permanently plugged into their devices such as phones and computers, we have become “perma-plugged” (abcqanda 2016). This innovation has influenced the human race as both a society, and a community. A society, driven by rational will and formed by the purpose of obtaining profit versus a community, existing via natural will, created for the hope of self-fulfillment, making friendships and establishing a neighbourhood and/or family. Both vital aspects of who we are and how we live. Yet what happens when society becomes technological, and community, digital? Have we indeed entered the 'digital age’?  Moreover, the era of technology? The amount of online tools, devices and applications we use and share today are definitely allowing us to believe so, with a range of social media platforms to venture out on, this technological turf now acts as our home.

Social media platforms such as Facebook and twitter have taken the world by network storm over the past decade amongst other familiar platforms including Reddit, Instagram, Snapchat and many more. They have become the new tools for communication, the very thing that humans need to progress in life. If these platforms really are the source of what is essentially holding society together, it is us who must be holding them. For we not only engage, but build on and use such platforms daily, replenishing their digital oxygen. What comes next? For these platforms certainly have their limitations. Will we soon witness the irreversible appearance of the artificial age? The limitless era?

REFRENCES

abcqanda 2016, Q&A Live - Kate Tempest performs 'Progress’, 16 May, viewed 24 November 2016, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCSoFd7O75E>.