Infrastructure has been an extremely crucial part to the development of our society. In earlier years, many thought that infrastructure was simply a system of structures with operational functions. However, with the major development of new forms of technology in recent generations, we must ask ourselves, what is the connection between infrastructure and new technology? The internet, social media, and many other forms of new technology are run by technological systems. Unlike real life infrastructure that exists all around us (buildings, highways, water supplies, etc.), we are unable to see the systems that are constantly working behind the scenes. These systems allow media apps to run smoothly. In class we discussed how glitches on social media apps or the internet can expose infrastructure. Similar to how bridges can collapse, social media apps can crash due to the lack of support infrastructure provided at a certain point in time. When Instagram doesn’t allow someone to like a post because the app is loading, infrastructure is exposed.
3 thoughts on “Marielle Dibbini: Infrastructure”
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I really like your comparison of the infrastructure of bridges to the infrastructure of various media apps because it creates the connection between the technological world and the online systems world. It is often forgotten that the infrastructure of apps such as Instagram or Tik Tok can have moments where the infrastructure is exposed. Personally, when I was younger, I used to think that there was always an issue with only my phone software or wifi connection rather than the infrastructure and programming of the app developers. I also agree that infrastructure has been very crucial for the development of our society because it is the basis of our new technological world, without the infrastructure the apps would constantly crash and not aid society in anyways.
I like the you included examples of both building infrastructure and technological infrastructure. It’s very interesting to think about the fact that we can see the systems used to work highways, water supplies, etc., but we rarely have the chance to see how technological systems are truly working. Until now, I have never really considered the fact that I have little to no idea how these apps actually work.I continue to use them blindly and when there is a glitch I ignore it and return to the app later. Now I know to look out for signs of infrastructure.
I like how instead of comparing it to just social media, you also compared it to real life examples. We don’t think about things like roads and water supply as a network. They’re such an important part to our world and what it’s made up of but we don’t think about how they work. It’s also interesting how you compared social media apps glitching to bridges collapsing. This is a perfect example of how no matter what the network is, it can fail in a way.