Generation "Cy".

As time goes on and our affinity for technology grows, so does the frequency of its use. The current generation of youths could be the first step on the path to true fusion with technology, the first cyborgs, defined by McNeill as "a product of cultural and technological innovations in combination" (McNeill, 2012). Technology is no longer just trying to adapt to culture, culture is now clamouring to adapt to new technology to synthesise a new era and/or society. I believe Snapchat is a perfect example of these two concepts working together.

Technology (specifically social networks) have adapted to culture rather well, now integrating almost seamlessly with real life due to the abilities of mobile devices. Snapchat for instance, has begun to advertise real-life events like fashion shows, music festivals, sports events and news events. The employees at Snapchat are picking things to show their users, and the fact is, they're picking things that they feel are important to show. Nothing can objectively be deemed important, it has to be a culturally acquired thing to decide which thing is more pressing than others. Using this technology to broadcast what is culturally seen as important is a perfect example of emerging cyborg culture.

Culture is now starting to adapt to technology (mainly with young people). Van Luyn states that "the software asks users to imagine how they want themselves to appear and then invites friends to reinforce it" (Van Luyn, 2015). Snapchat's functions pretty much bombard the friends of users with images of their day to day lives, whether they want to or not, forcing people to manufacture an identity for them without not necessarily knowing them very well. Photos of someone's birthday party for instance, can be broadcast through Snapchat instead of sharing them directly with the people they may want to, this can also affect the number of people invited to the gathering, now that social media has made it easier and more immersive for someone to share the experience. The 1 Million new Australian users to Snapchat in June of 2015 would attest to the gulf between technology and culture starting to close, so suggest Social Media News.

References:

Cowling, D. (2015). Social Media Statistics Australia – June 2015.  Retrieved  September 7^th,2015 from: http://www.socialmedianews.com.au/social-media-statistics-australia-june-2015/

McNeill, L. (2012). There is no “I” in network: Social networking sites and post-humanism auto/biography: Winter, 35(1), 65-82. doi: 10.1353/bio.2012.0009

Unkown, (2014). Frankie Muniz’s forehead [image], 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.doseoffunny.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/funny-snapchat-pictures-25.jpg

Van Luyn, A. (2015). BA1002: Networked Narratives: Intertextuality (Week 6 Lecture). [Powerpoint Slides]. Retrieved from www.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au