The Social Network: Living in the Digital Age (Part Four)

In my last semester of college, I completed a writing portfolio entitled "Exploring Modern American Culture through Contemporary Cinema." It contained four essays dissecting four recent films. For the last essay, I studied David Fincher's The Social Network (2010) and wrote about its portrayal of the burgeoning culture of the Digital Age. The fourth and final part of that essay is below. Previous posts: The Dark Knight - Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four; (500) Days of Summer - Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four; Lincoln - Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four; The Social Network - Part One, Part Two, Part Three. Thanks for reading! 

 

The Social Network: Living in the Digital Age

The Long-lasting Effects of Quick Communication

A final Digital Age problem examined by The Social Network is the permanence of information shared on the Internet. This danger of digital communication is illustrated in a scene where Mark tries to reconcile with Erica. He approaches her when she is out with friends, hoping to have a word with her. She spurns him. Still angry about the insulting blog post he wrote about her, Erica reminds Mark that “the Internet’s not written in pencil… it’s written in ink” (Fincher). Her rebuff is a valid one in the age of blogging and other personal websites. People constantly share their thoughts and feelings on a variety of platforms. Impulsivity on the Internet can have long-lasting consequences, both personal and legal. The Social Network shows the first with the aforementioned scene. Mark’s thoughtless internet post one drunken night has an irreparable negative effect on one of the few relationships he is deeply attached to.

The latter consequence (legal problems) is demonstrated by the two court cases Mark is involved in. The Winklevoss case uses old emails and texts as evidence against Zuckerberg. He used digital communication because he wanted to avoid actually facing the brothers, but because it was permanent, he could not erase it or deny it. The message the film sends here is that with the advent of the Internet, it is nearly impossible to escape one’s past. The court case with Eduardo conveys this message on a metaphorical level, particularly in a scene where Mark’s lawyer brings up old accusations leveled against Saverin. In college, Eduardo was accused of animal cruelty; though the issue was resolved years before the lawsuit, it is still haunting him. This subplot is symbolic of life in the Digital Age. When the incident occurred, Mark told Eduardo to “forget about it,” but he cannot (Fincher). It follows him around, just like Mark’s post about Erica. For real-life social networkers, this means being wary of what they do or say online, whether that means not posting pictures from wild parties on Facebook or refraining from writing angry tirades on Tumblr. Privacy settings on these sites can help avoid harsh repercussions, but they are often difficult to use properly. For instance, a Columbia University study found a “shortcoming of the privacy settings” on Facebook: all the participants were unintentionally “sharing something they wished to hide, or was hiding something they wished to share” (Bellovin, Johnson, and Madejski 14). It often seems anything and everything can be found online nowadays, which means careful communication is key.

Conclusion

The digitalization of society, particularly communication techniques, has many pros and cons. The negative aspects of digital communication are subtle but prevalent. On social networks, people are often seen as numbers, friends, and likes rather than human beings. The intrinsic social value of interpersonal interactions is undermined when popularity is put above genuine connection. And when information-sharing sites are used to vent anger or sadness, or to display possibly immature behavior, the impact on the sharer’s life can be greater than he or she originally anticipated. The Social Network’s somber tale shows all of these potential dangers. The characters suffer because they underestimate just how much the world has changed. They neither show an understanding of how it has shaped their values, nor do they fully realize how much the technology can affect their lives, in the present and the future. With messages cautioning against the mores and habits produced by technological socialization, The Social Network is a keen parable for the Digital Age.

Sources

Bellovin, Steven M., Maritza Johnson, and Michelle Madejski. Department of Computer Science, Columbia University. The Failure of Online Social Network Privacy Settings. 2011. Web. 17 Nov 2013.

Fincher, David, dir. The Social Network. Writ. Aaron Sorkin, Perf. Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, and Justin Timberlake. Columbia Pictures, 2010. Film. 2 Nov 2013.