Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is a television series that follows the lives of several Manhattan teenagers. The show is narrated by an unseen blogger, known as the “gossip girl.” Throughout the series, the intimate details of each of the character’s lives are posted on the Gossip Girl blog. In fact, the characters frequently utilize this blog in order to gain information about their acquaintances. The show’s focus on technology as a form of social interaction as well as its representation of the influence of mass media highlights the rise of post-modernity in society.
Manuel Castells claimed that individuals in contemporary society increasingly interact through electronic means as opposed to face to face contact. The characters in Gossip Girl are constantly communicating through text messages and phone calls throughout the show. While attempting to resolve the conflicts that are a signature of this television drama, Gossip Girl’s characters frequently reference previously sent or received text messages, rather than physical conversations. This element of the series illustrates the increasing importance of electronic communication in everyday life. Cell phones have forced face to face communication to become almost unnecessary. Cellular phones represent such an integral aspect of the show that Gossip Girl’s production team ensures that each character has a unique phone. This facet ensures that each character’s cell phone acts as almost a defining aspect of his or her persona on the television show. The fact that a piece of electronic equipment can function as a defining aspect of character’s identity illustrates the ever-growing importance of communication technology in current society. By showing this growing importance, the show highlights the social transition from physical to electronic modes of interaction.
The Gossip Girl blog functions as another form of electronic communication in the television series. This blog includes the private details of each of the character’s lives including photos, videos, secrets, and information about their current whereabouts. Therefore, instead of personally informing a friend of a recent development, a Gossip Girl character would simply publish it to the blog. The ability to gather such a great deal of information from one electronic source further highlights the power of electronic communication. It also emphasizes an individual’s ability to rapidly broadcast information in today’s society. This increasing availability of information as well as the