Last weekend I had the opportunity to watch Bo Burnham’s
Eighth grade. It wasn’t advertised a lot (I only heard about it through Reddit)
and it wasn’t released in many theatres (which is why I had to ‘find’ a copy
online), but I definitely recommend it—if, that is, you have a high tolerance
for awkwardness and discomfort. The movie is a glimpse into a middle school
girl’s life
So what’s this movie about middle school have to do with
Social Media?
I thought about this class more than once as I watched it.
The first thing you notice about the protagonist is the hold social media has
on her life. It’s found its way into every stage of her day. She wakes before
dawn, does her make-up, and gets back into bed to take a selfie (“Just woke up
this way!”). In school she stalks the Instagrams of the kid she likes and the
kid that she wants to be like. At home, we see her scrolling through images and
stories, only to hear her father trying to ask about her day—over dinner, no
less!
It reminded me of my younger siblings.
I’m not trying to bash kids using social media, here. It’s
not all bad. The girl finds two good friends through her phone (no more spoilers),
and uses youtube as a creative outlet for her advice videos. There are positive
uses for it.
I guess what I really want to convey is: the ubiquity of
Social Media in our lives is staggering. It’s there at a young age—as soon as
we get our first phone or computer. Should we help kids learn to cope with the
addiction? Or is this just another trial (like most of Middle School) that they
need to figure out on their own?
I actually saw this movie when it first came out over the summer with my girlfriend. I completely resonate with you in that when I was watching it, it reminded me of my younger sister. Of course, it wasn’t to the same extent as the girl in the movie, but there was definitely some aspects that reminded me of her.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes down to this idea of addiction, I think discussing it becomes complicated. I don’t think anyone would argue that the protagonist of Eight Grade wasn’t addicted to her phone and social media. My question would be where we draw the line between using social media for an appropriate amount of time and becoming addicted. Regardless, I do think with the availability of technology there is today, more kids are susceptible to becoming social media addicts. I’m not sure if it’s as widespread as some media likes to make it sounds, but it certainly does happen. To go back to your question over whether kids dealing with addicting should get help to cope with it, or to let them figure it out as an important trial in their life, I honestly don’t know. Part of me wants to say yes, we should be helping kids cope, as middle school and high school can be stressful for students and having that addiction can do a lot of harm. At the same, I went a little overboard in junior high and high school on social media, and eventually I grew out of that phase where I wasn’t so technology dependent anymore.
I have not seen this movie yet but I’m a fan of Bo Burnham and all that his talents allow him to do. I think that if anyone knows the influence that YouTube and other social mediums can have on young people, it’s Bo, yo. From what you describe I would say that the movie is pretty spot on when it comes to portraying what an actual eighth grader does through the day in relation to their connection to their phones.
ReplyDeleteI think that your post is mostly related to the issue of social media and technology education in the school systems. As I grew up, my generation was the first ones to have touch screen smart phones and we used them everyday as well. We didn’t know how to use them at first but we were able to figure it out on our own. We didn’t really have any idea about privacy and censorship or any other risks of putting out personal information onto these platforms. I think that along with educating the young generations about proper way to use social media platforms, we should also be teaching them the importance of maintaining a balance between their digital social lives and their personal relationships in real life.
I never had a smart phone in middle school until right before I graduated. So, it didn't have any major effects on me so I have no experiences. However, looking back at the younger generations, it's baffling how technology has evolved and affected them. My nephew, who is now six years old, was given an iPad a few years back and has become attached to it. They can put it down and do other activities, but, when they aren't doing much else, they are always on it, typically watching videos. Addiction can strike the youth and affect how they behave and use their spare time. My older sister, the mother of my nephew, hasn't really drawn the line yet and it concerns my father and I if she ever will.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! It really made me look back at how it can affect the youth, especially in the present day compared to back when I was in middle/high school.
I didn't get a smart phone until I could pay for it, which wasn't until after I graduated boot camp after high school. I had a dumb phone all throughout middle school and high school. And my parents tried to keep as best of an eye on me as they could, but I totally went behind their back, like every kid did. My dad wouldn't let me have a Facebook account until I was 16, and it was my Christmas present. My aunt monitored it. It was awful! But when MySpace was a thing, I had like two or three accounts so my parents couldn't find me. Once my dad had figured me out and he made me type in my email address to log into myspace (I thought I had him fooled because I always used new email addresses.) but when I logged in with the one my parents knew I had, it logged onto this fake account me and my friends made to mess with one of our other friends. I had to give up all social media of any type after that until high school. But I remember being in such constant fear every time my dad's phone rang that one of my friend's parents was going to rat me out. This crap had such a hold over me, it was terrible. When I have my own kids they will certainly not have smart devices until it's needed. My pastor sets a great example and his kids are 9 and 10, they only watch TV on the weekends, and it's only a little. I think they share some sort of gaming system and they only have a little bit of that screen time on the weekends. Moderation and education is key and I am certainly going to do a better job about educating my children instead of just trying to control them.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen this movie you're talking about before but I do remember watching the re-make Jumanji: Welcome to the jungle this summer and it had a scene like that where a girl took a selfie in the morning after putting a filter and make up on saying “I just woke up like this.” With your post made me start to think about this addiction of social media with this younger generation. I feel I can say that really our age group of kids when we were growing up that we weren't really allowed to have phones till a specific age and like Facebook accounts for example or at least that was for me. My Mom and Dad really limited me and my sister on going on the internet and if we went on it would only be for an hour which iI think was for the better. So I always wonder if parents give their kids now these devices and platforms way to early in their lives? Instead of going out and playing and learning life lessons and communication skills they are inside on phones. I remember hearing someone tell me about their 4 year old cousin who was better with his own iPad then she was with hers. Being 4 years old and having a iPad is really crazy to me since I don't even have one.
ReplyDeleteI have not seen this movie but it sounds quite interesting and worth a watch. This post really makes me think of how the younger generations are so much more different nowadays. It is puzzling to think about how much social media is truly affecting our youth and just how much it consumes their everyday lives. I remember when I was younger I had the privilege of getting a phone in 7th grade but it was only to talk to friends and my parents of course. But now middle schoolers are glued to their phones using social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram. For example, my little cousin is constantly on Snapchat and only uses that to communicate with friends and is always so worried about her "streaks" and how she can't ever break them. Every time I'm with her it seems like every two seconds she's snapping a selfie. I feel as though our youth is becoming more dependent on social media and really missing out on real-life experiences. Personally, I think that it is up to the parents to delay giving devices to their young kids until they are mature enough and ready to use devices like these due to the fact that social media can have such a strong impact on our youth. Really enjoyed reading your post. Truly eye-opening.
ReplyDeleteI have not seen this movie yet, but it seems very interesting. What I immediately thought of after reading your post was the fact that I was not given a phone or computer until high school, and in high school I got my older sisters old phone it was a pink razor flip phone, I remember thinking how cool I was to have that phone! But if I were to show that to someone in middle school now they would have no idea what it was and probably would think it was ancient. Anyways I also was only given that phone so that I could call my parents after my practices were over so that I could be picked up. I didn’t have any internet on that phone, it was simply just for texting and calling. Something that kids nowadays wouldn’t get either! But my point is that kids should not be exposed to phones at a young age because they should be at an age where they are responsible, because nowadays there are a lot of dangers that come along with phones with all the new technology. Also by giving them a phone at an older age will reduce the likely hood of addiction, focusing issues, their communication issues that come along with having a phone.
ReplyDeleteI think that this was a really interesting post because I think about when I got my first phone and it was when I was a freshman in high school. Everyone didn’t have to have a phone to talk to their friends. We would us out desktop computers to talk to out friends or use the house phone. I think it is very interesting now how much young teens use phones. It makes me think about why a ten-year-old would really even need a phone? I think about how they lose out on so much because they don’t go outside as much because they are glued to their phones. I also think about the health effects that it could have on their bodies as they get older. Also, how much sooner it is going to affect them rather than us who had flip phones when we were going into high school. Also, when you go to a restaurant now and you see a baby playing games on their parent’s phones or watching videos. I feel like in less than a decade everything has changed with children’s use of technology. I do agree that their can be benefits to children using a phone with educational videos or playing games that make them think. I think that there does need to be a limit set by the parents how much their child is allowed to use a phone. Also, I don’t think that they need their own personal phone just because I feel that kids don’t need a responsibility like that and just need to have fun. I also feel like in middle school there is a lot changing in a child's life and they don't need that extra worry about drama on the internet.
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