Students Learn Some Risks of Social Media

Two members of the Montana Repertory Theatre at the University of Montana-Missoula, took their show, Monster + Farmer on the road as part of the Big Sky Series with the Northeastern Arts Network (NEAN). The training actors presented a twist on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein for students from Dodson and Turner Public School on Monday, September 23.

Seth Campbell, a junior at UM, and Jaclyn Kleinsasser, a UM sophomore, travelled to the Hi-Line with their Managing Producer, Marie Fahlgren, performing three times in one day. The play, written and directed by JM Christiansen, showcases an innovative, determined female lead who excels in science and technology.

With this reinvented version of Frankenstein, audience members step into the world of Ryley (played by Kleinsasser) and Aidan (played by Campbell), two young people who have recently lost their parents. Still healing from the loss, Aidan gets caught up in college life, while his younger sister, a teenage science enthusiast, is left alone with their uncle who lives on an isolated Montana ranch. With only Drax, her brother's 4-H steer that he couldn't bear to sell, for companionship, Ryley immerses herself in making YouTube videos for her channel, "Science Yeah!"

As Ry-Ry, the Science Guy, Ryley posts a video weekly, addressing her audience as "monsters" and showcasing her personality as "your favorite lab coat." She craves not only the interaction she gets from her followers but the structure that this ritual produces as her brother grows increasingly distant, sometimes only maintaining contact via text message. Typically these texts will contain GIFs-a graphic sent in interchange format (GIF), producing a series of images or frames that are combined to create basic animations.

In the absence of any genuine human contact, Ryley begins to live her life by the algorithm produced by her social media interactions, adjusting her behavior in response to the data feedback she receives. Similar to a virtual matchmaker designed to match users with content that suits their interests in an effort to make meaningful connections, a social media algorithm is a complex set of rules and calculations used to prioritize the content that social media users see in their feeds. Algorithms analyze user behavior, interactions, and interests to understand their content preferences and to deliver personalized content. The constant presence of this data reassures Ryley, giving routine and a sense of purpose to her life.

Noticing his sister's change in behavior, Aidan recommends that Ryley read Mary Shelley's "sciencey" book Frankenstein. Inspired by the idea for finding fame after receiving a rejection letter from the National Youth in Achievement Science Award (NYASA) selection committee, Ryley uses fence posts, chicken wire, sheep's wool, and other odds and ends from around the farm to create a "wonky scarecrow" that eventually comes to life under the influence of Ryley's science talent.

What Ryley fails to realize is that she is deflecting her grief. Rather than coping with the loss of her parents, the absence of her brother away at college, and the NYASA rejection, she permits outside forces to control her behavior. Obsessed, she allows the algorithm and her anxiety-the real monsters-to distract her from addressing her mental health.

Eventually, her DIY creature goes rogue and runs off with Drax. When Aidan rushes home to rescue his sister and his beloved Drax, he scolds Ryley: "That's why we have literature, Ryley! Characters do dumb stuff so you're not dumb enough to do it yourself!"

Once the two sleuths finally discover Drax and the creature safe and having developed a friendship of their own, Ryley and Aidan realize that seeking affirmation and connections via online methods or through technology isn't as satisfying as in-person connection. They realize that the secret to life is not living by someone else's expectations but by responding to one's own needs and wants while maintaining a strong bond with family.

"Sometimes, you have to admit you need help, Ryley. Instead of avoiding your grief, you might have to talk to a therapist," Aidan tells his sister.

After the performance, one audience member remarked on the "fun allusions to Bill Nye The Science Guy and to Macbeth in that scene where Ryley goes behind a screen to create her monster."

While throwing various items into a cauldron, Ryley recites several lines, including "Double, double toil and trouble, / fire burn and cauldron bubble" from William Shakespeare's famous witches' scene.

Another student, Eighth Grader Savannah Heilig commented: "The theme that came to mind when I watched the play come to an end was that not everything needs to be a challenge. Rather, it can be an adventure. In this play we got to watch Rylie struggle as she worked on her YouTube channel, caring only about the likes, comments, and views on the videos that she, Drax, and her brother made. Once her brother left for college, Rylie became increasingly stressed about the videos. The play teaches us how stressful 'fun' things can be, but life does not have to be that way. That message matters to me because it shows how stress or grief can change a person, but it all works out well once Rylie admits her grief and talks about her struggles."