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Intimacy

The movie Her really is a puzzling one. Watching this Theo start out so hesitant in speaking with Samantha who is essentially an algorithm to end up with such strong feeling for him was difficult to watch. After watching the film it is difficult to say that it was not a true relationship just because of the feelings that were attached. After reading Dominic Pettman's Love in the Time of Tamagotchi I feel that Pettman would view Samantha and Theo's relationship as a legitimate one. He begins the article discussing an Otaku, who is an asocial young man who flirts with a virtual woman on their handheld-devices. Although Theo in the beginning does not start the relationship as a romantic one he does eventually see him and Samantha as boyfriend and girlfriend. They reach a part in their relationship where they are intimate in ways. Pettman discusses how we as a society are creating a world where love can only be between humans. He explains that love for things such as our pets, phone, homes, and possessions is not seen as true love. He continues to explain that sex is essentially Cybersex because of " pre-programmed communication subroutines." He discusses that intimacy has " always been digital since it responds to a series of "yes", "no", "on", "off" options and parameters. Samantha and Theo in my opinion fall under what Pettman would view  as a legitimate romantic relationship.  The question of physical touch is where many people seem to have an issue with simulated relationships.      

        Romantic relationships, for most people, include the ability to physically touch the other person. Pettman's discusses that not having a face to talk to allows a person to be more opening, but studies have also shown that physical touch is very important in peoples lives. What I feel is important to remember when determining whether or not a relationship is legit is what a person needs from the other. A person may only need the support and encouragement from another and live successfully. Based on Pettmans article physical touch is no longer necessary for a relationship to qualify as a serious relationship. A relationship consists of constant communication and learning about one another as best as they  can. Theo and Samantha are clearly in constant communication and learn a lot about one another. Pettman explains " all communication is cybernetic, and love is a privileged semi-flexible, semi-coherent, ingenious, and intricately codified form of communication." Although physical touch can play a huge role, so can communication and creating a safe place for a person to be themselves. This is what Samantha ultimately did for Theo.            

  Although Her was set in a futuristic world, we aren't far from having algorithms be considered full time life partners. As Pettman brings up, "Kari was designed from the ground up to be your companion and friend. If you are looking for romance, a hot chat on a lonely night, a friend to sit by, or simply someone you can tell all your troubles to." We have made many advancements in technology which area leading people into being able to experience relationships without a physical body or heart.

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Social Movements

Technology has evolved drastically in the last 100 years. In the article, The Net Delusion by Evgeny Morozov he discusses the progression of technology and the benefits thought to come from them. He focuses on the past as well as the present time and how the internet has created a world full of political participants, but questions if it has really changed anything in the world. One term he discusses is Tele-Democracy, which is “the idea that citizens would use communication technologies to not only observe but also directly participate in politics”. People have definitely used new technologies to more actively participate in political issues. As discussed by Morozov when the telegraph was invented it was said: “It impossible that old prejudices and hostilities should longer exist”. Although it was beneficial in many ways it did not fulfill the expectations it was thought to have. Morozov explains, “Those who hailed its power to help find fugitive criminals soon had to concede that it could also be used to spread false alarms and used by the criminals themselves”. People found a way to turn what should have been a positive for the world into a negative. The same thing happened with the radio and television through the years. As new technologies were created assumptions were made as to how they would help change the world for the better, but something continued to be missing from the equation. New technologies changed the dynamic of the current society which made predictions of current society untrue. Technological Determinism is another concept used by Morozov, which is the belief that certain technologies are bound to produce certain social cultural and political effects. A good example of this is Facebook. The internet can be used to bring people together and spread information about the world but the question is does this really bring change? People seem to think that spreading information and “sharing” or “liking” things online will someone help solve whatever issue must be present. Also, sometimes the spread of this information leads to conversations surround the topic but take away from the issue. On the flip side of this though, the internet is a tool so it’s important to understand that it can be used to help benefit society but also significantly hurt people.

 Using the Tarana Burke and Alyssa Milano’s twitter I was able to give accurate depictions of the terms used above. Tarana Burke started the #metoo movement about 10 years ago now after she had an experience as a camp counselor. It was originally created geared towards women of color and provided a way for women to speak up. It wasn’t until recently that the #metoo movement was once again sparked due to the Harvey Weinstein scandal. Alyssa Milano encouraged both men and women who were either abused or harassed to comment #metoo if they were victims. Tarana Burke, as described in the Ferguson article, was the initiator of this movement 10 years ago and framed it for women of color and a way to be heard. Although the movement created a place for people to speak out about their unfortunate experiences it also created a place of conflict. As described in the reading, technological determinism is the thought to bring change. What this movement did was create a place for people to be heard rather than create change. People “liked” and “shared” the #metoo movement but did nothing in the physical world to help stop the assault. During this current movement, people actually began to stray away from the focus and focus more on the fact that the term “metoo” didn’t belong to Alyssa Milano. Technological determinism can be bad but it can also be good. The internet is a tool that can be used for both good and evil, but from this movement specifically, nothing has statistically changed when it comes to women being harassed.

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Labor

There are many different sorts of labor as discussed by Brooke Erin Duffy. Emotion labor and aspirational are two types of labor. Emotional labor is putting forward a specific emotion or attitude in order to accomplish a goal. An example of this would be a waitress giving off a happy and upbeat persona to her guests as she serves them. This leads to better service as well as pay out for her in the end. Aspirational labor is explained as “ carefully orchestrated and entrepreneurial form of creative cultural production....seek to mark themselves as creative producers who will one day be compensated for their craft- either directly or through employment in the culture industry. Labor is more than physical work. There are different sorts of labor that don’t always come with compensation. Labor, as explained by Duffy, can be done without much effort and adds value to a service or product. Simply by posting about your favorite restaurant you are giving this place value and working for them. 

The bachelor nation become famous through the participation of the show but stay famous due to their ability to create value for companies that sponsor them.  As seen, many of their posts they all post things pushing people to buy a companies product. Many of the posts even if it has nothing to do with what they are wearing or where they are they a promoting a companies product. An example of this would be JoJo. She will post images of her in a car, at a party, in front a random building but always mention something about who she is wearing and where you can get her outfit. She is performing a more traditional type of labor. Another example of this would be in her videos. She is constantly posting videos promoting curling irons and hair products as well as giving tutorials on how to get your hair to look like hers. In these videos, she is using emotional labor by keeping her voice high and happy and acting as if what she is doing is easily affordable and effortless. 

Next is Peter Kraus. He uses emotional labor mainly to sell himself on social media. He runs a fitness boot camp and he always encourages people to go out and join him on his fitness journey. He does this by posting images of him and people he's trained on his Instagram, but he also uses emotional labor. He is always all smiles in his images and makes working out look fun. By keeping a smile on his face and posting encouraging quotes online he is able to get a large crowd of people to invest in his business and join him at his boot camps.

The bachelor nation contestants honestly use a more normal form of labor when it comes to their Instagrams. Prior to the show, I would consider them all amateurs, but now I would say they are professional. An amateur does well to identify with people make whatever they are selling or doing seem normal and relatable. With a platform such as this one, it is hard to relate to Ben and JoJo, but they do their best to make themselves seem normal. 

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Fans & Amateurs

As Jenkin explains, “Fans have always been early adopters of new media technologies; their fascination with fictional universes often inspires new forms of cultural production, ranging from costumes to fanzines and, now, digital cinema. Fans are the most active segment of the media audience, one that refuses to simply accept what they are given, but rather insists on the right to become full participants.” Fans are a huge part of any product. They help with free promotion of products and keep new products and movies relevant. They continue to buy products and merchandise and speak on the behalf of a product thus keeping things them popular.  “They see fans as potentially revitalizing stagnant franchises and providing a low-cost means of generating new media content,” explained Jenkins. 

Amateurs, on the other hand, take matters into their own hands based on ideas they find on media. Amateurs are essentially fans who take matters into their own hands and create their own products and work. “Most of what the amateurs create is gosh-awful bad, yet a thriving culture needs spaces where people can do bad art, get feedback, and get better.....Some of what amateurs create will be surprisingly good, and the best artists will be recruited into commercial entertainment or the art world.” as explained by Jenkin. Although amateurs work isn't always something wonderful they pave the way to new ideas that sometimes become very successful. “The Web represents a site of experimentation and innovation, where amateurs test the waters, developing new practices, themes, and generating materials that may well attract cult followings on their own terms.” The web is used for amateurs to promote themselves and gain their own fan base, then fans are used to promote their product and give reviews which draw attention to a product whether it is good or bad. 

The Bachelor contestants have an abundance of fans that follow them and keep them relevant. The majority of their success is due to their fan base. The fans keep them making money so without them they wouldn’t have the platform they have today. simply by looking at their daily posts you can see how large of a fan base each one of them has. On a single picture, Joelle has 93.3K likes and 300 comments, Ben has 43K likes and 266 comments, Amanda 35.4K likes and 179 comments, and Peter 25.6 likes and 220 comments. They clearly have done well to make a name for themselves on the web. 

As far as amateurs, I can’t say they have specific examples of any on their Instagram accounts but I can say from the show along blogs have blown up. Most of the women who leave the show end up with podcasts or blogs to review products or like most blogs, they are paid to advertise on their blogs.

Overall fans and amateurs are important to getting the word out about new ideas as well innovating new ideas. 

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Online Minorities

The social media world has done well to create a place where people can feel included and accepted, while at the same time excluding others. Taste, as discussed in class has to do with who a person identifies with, the social power they have, and the fashion or style they are into. The bachelor/bachelorette community continues to gain popularity, after their time on the shows, by attending large name events such as iheart radio music festivals and stagecoach as well as using their platform to sell products given to them. Their lives after the show continue to be glamorous for a few reasons. The first reason is that you are attractive. The men and women asked to be on the show because they are attractive and something viewers can aspire to be. The second reason they stay relevant is that people find a way to relate to them or pity them depending on what happens on the show. Lastly, they get heartbroken. Viewers love a great sob story, which leads to people following their lives to find out whether or not they ever find happiness.  The people on the show greatly live the same lives. They attend events together, join in on selling products, and help each other stay popular by appearing on each other's podcasts and social media accounts. What does this have to do with taste? The bachelor/bachelorette family is an online minority, that thrives on viewers keeping up with their lives. They are all “upper class” individuals (identity), with a taste in whatever is sent their way to make money (fashion, usually overly feminine), and they have great social power because they work in groups and have a group of previous contestants supporting them.

A few examples of this, being Joelle and Amanda both promoting the same product, FabFitfun partner as presented in the pictures above. Both these women use blogs, live stories, and snap chat as ways to promote their products. On top of this, the women and men who they have met comment and like their posts in order to get viewers to respond and purchase the product. As well as Jojo and Amanda, Ben and Peter promote the same events as well as attend them together. They were both seen recently at the iheartradiomusic festival along with another wide variety of bachelor celebrities. The people of the bachelor are a small minority of people but because of their ability to stick together they continue to stay relevant and have an influence on people.

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Gender Images 

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Gender

Rosalind Gill's article discusses postfeminism sensibility which is " the entanglement of both feminist and anti-feminist themes" within the media. Gill provides many examples as she explains her view and discusses how postfeminism is both about empowerment as well as the sexualization of culture. Looking at both Amanda Stanton and Joelle Fletcher Instagram brings light to the notions Gill is proposing about postfeminism. Both these women since their time on the show have been sent free facial products, clothing, and underwear so that they can review the products and encourage others to buy from these companies. Post such as," These sleeves really brought their A-game to date night @oohlaluxe" and "A girl should be two things: Who and What she wants." Happy #internationwomenday to my strong, fierce, and unstoppable women". In both of these images, Jo-Jo is seen posing in a seductive manner to help sell products and encourage women to be strong and unstoppable. The mixed message here is that she is using her body to signify this strength. Gill explains, "The intense focus on women's bodies as the site of femininity is closely related to the pervasive sexualization of contemporary culture." Jojo fails to bring attention to the things women fought for in the second wave feminism moment such as equal opportunity, and uses her body as a tool instead to bring attention to herself.  Gill goes on to explain the makeover paradigm and how " it requires people (predominantly women) to believe, first, that they or their life is lacking or flawed in some way; second that it is amenable to reinvention or transformation by following the advice of relationship, design or lifestyle experts and practicing appropriately modified consumption habits." Amanda Stanton brings attention to this topic as she posts things such as, " Getting my pre-workout on with #310Shake. It gives me energy during my workouts without crashing after. @310nutrition is so much more than just a weight loss. They have amazing 40% deals happening. Use "310vitality" for free shipping. Enjoy! #fit #ad" and "Dreaming of summer beach days in bikinis and sundresses. Thank you to the @lumarxipl hair removal system I'll have smooth legs all summer - no razor necessary. Use my code - AS100 for $100 off your own LumaRx full-body device! #ad #isitsummeryet". These posts focus on encouraging women to do as Amanda is doing to look and feel good. She is telling women that in order to be happy they have to try these products that will help you lose weight as well as have soft hair-free legs.  Many of Amanda and Jojo's posts are structured around bringing attention to their bodies, the way they dress, the makeup lines that they use as well as the lifestyle that they choose to lead. By no means are these women wrong for wanting to present themselves the way that they do to others, because being free express yourself is partly what feminism is about, but they also encourage women to be like them in order to be happy. Due to the bachelorette, both of these women have an extremely large fan base which means they have a large amount a feedback as discussed by Sarah Banet-Weiser. Feedback is the type of relationship that someone who posts things has with its viewers. Because these two women have such a large following their feedback is very great which means they are making the makeover paradigm and sexualization of the culture Gill discusses very prevalent.

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Friendship at its finest....

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Friendship

Social media has greatly changed friendship in the last decade. People have become consumed with their social media pages for a variety of reasons. A recent study article called Social Media Today explains, “Astonishingly, the average person will spend nearly two hours (approximately 116 minutes) on social media every day, which translates to a total of 5 years and 4 months spent over a lifetime,”. We live in a world where people live a large majority of their lives behind a screen.

In this week reading Bloor discusses how social media has impacted the authenticity of friendship. Facebook, Instagram, and all other social media forums make it much easier to form or begin a friendship than the regular slow building friendships. As Bloor explains, “ Friendship at its best is a space away from these constraints on the individual, free of judging and suspicion, a safe space where we can develop,”. Friendships online do not have the time invested in them to create a feeling of safety and comfort, thus altering the meaning of friendship. Social media has created “friendly tension” in peoples lives. Being so constantly attached to people makes it much easier to become offended by your “friends”. A lot of what people post can be misinterpreted, as well as inform others what you’re up to, whether you want them to know or not. 

Dresiewiez discusses the history of friendship and how people used to fight strongly to create strong bonds with people. He discusses how friendship was precious and hard-won and how social media has changed this. Social media has made it easy to win people over and create connections that in person may not really be there. People post what they want others to see which can determine the kind of people who friend request them. Both Bloor and Dresiewiez bring attention to the idea of instrumental friendship in my eyes. People have a choice in who they allow to follow them and how they allow these friends to help boost their popularity online. Instrumental friendship focuses on creating relationships to gain something, in a sense all online friendships are instrumental. By allowing someone to be your friend you are allowing them into your life and allowing them to share parts of your life and “like” or “support” your actions. 

Although it Bloor and Dresiewiez discusses how friendship has changed because of social media, they failed to discuss the positive that has come from social media. Social media has helped connect people from across the world, created forums for people searching for support, keep people informed on worldly events, helped keep people close who otherwise wouldn’t be. There is a fine line between an instrumental friendship and a “regular” friendship. Online it would seem that most friendships start as instrumental, but I don’t view that as a bad thing. Most people don’t actively seek new friends. They happen to stumble upon people who they just click with. There is no question that “friendly tension” is very real and can affect friendships, but with the world, we live in it seems to be something people are just going to have to learn to live with. If something someone posts threatens you, makes you feel uncomfortable, or as if you’re not important, it's that person’s job to reconsider that “friendship”. Friendship has continued to change due to social media and because of this, we will continue to redefine friendship. 

Outside Source: 

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/how-much-time-do-people-spend-social-media-infographic

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The topic I am interested in for this blog project is the bachelor/bachelorette contestants.  Most of the contestants who participate in the Bachelor end up finding themselves in the lime light for the rest of their lives. The longer they find themselves on the show the stronger platform they find themselves on. I would like to follow on Instagram Ben Higgins, one of the most well-liked bachelors and humanitarian, Joelle Fletcher, another loved bachelorette, Peter Kraus, a fitness trainer, and Amanda Stanton, a young mother of two. My hope in following these four very different people is to understand how they choose to use their social media platforms to benefit themselves or the people who follow them. Ben Higgins post a lot about the charity events that he participates in, as well the charities he donates to such as humanity and hope. Although he uses his social media to post pictures encouraging people to follow and tune into his podcast, and daily life activities, he makes sure to bring attention to issues he feels are important. Every few posts of Bens have to do with bringing people together and bringing attention to people in need, such as those surviving Hurricane Harvey. He posts directly to Instagram almost daily as well as posting multiple stories on Instagram about his day to day actives. A responsibility comes with social media, so I find it interesting that most of the people who find themselves on the Bachelor lived normal lives prior to the show. JoJo Fletcher uses her Instagram as well as Snapchat account to her own benefit more so than to the benefit of others. She receives many products due to her fame and writes reviews and promotions for the products she receives. She is another classic American beauty that women follow and aspire to be but does little to benefit her followers. Next, Peter Kraus, is a personal trainer who uses his Instagram account to promote his fitness boot camps but also to work towards their goals. Last, Amanda Stanton, is the super mom. In the eyes of social media, she is perfect. She is living a glamorous life with two perfect and beautiful baby girls. She is part of the PTA but still finds time to travel the world. People continue to reach out to her and say how beautiful and wonderful she is. Amanda uses her account to benefit herself and continue to promote brands and accessories that keep her relevant. All of the people above clearly, as most people, use their account to post their daily actives and for lack of a better word, brag about themselves. This is to be expected from anybody, but it seems that Ben and Peter have done slightly better in using their fame for the good of others. Although the girls do use their accounts to bring attention to large issues such as the hurricanes causing destruction all over the U.S, they are mainly promoting products and clothing sent to them and reaping the benefits. Do these people understand the responsibility that comes with their accounts or do they abuse their power for their own personal gain and sometimes downfall? By researching how much they posted prior to the show, how often they go live, how often they respond to fans, what they choose to post about, and how open they are about their location will give great insight into how they are choosing to use their platforms.