You may be asking yourself what exactly is technological determinism and what does it have to do with computer mediated communication. Well, essentially it has everything to do with computer mediated communication.
But before I dive into the details about how the two are connected, lets get an understanding of what I mean when I say technological determinism (don't be afraid by the big words). Technological determinism goes all the way back to the industrial revolution and is the belief "that technology causes or determines the structure of the rest of society and culture" (Technological Determinism 84). Which means that as technology develops society changes because it is influenced by these developments. For example, "the computer has changed the nature of jobs and work. The telephone led to the decline of letter writing...the internet has changed the nature of interpersonal communication" (Technological Determinism 84). Technology was created and we were effected, cause and effect.
However, there are many beliefs that it isn't technology that has influenced society, but instead society that has influenced technology. Think about it this way, technological development is "dependent on the state of the market: they were introduced only when they met persistent demand from consumer" (Winston 104). So not cause and effect but demand and supply. People want new technologies, they feel like they need new technology. The consumer has the power to drive technology. We wanted a mobile phone where we could check emails, so we were given the blackberry. We wanted giant color television that felt as if you were at the game instead of watching it from the comfort of your home, so we were given HD televisions. We wanted a way to communicate and keep in touch with our friends easily, so we were first given the telephone, then email and then finally social networks (again if you haven't seen The Social Network please please watch it!).
If you are still a firm believer in technological determinism, then just take a look at advertisements and you will most likely change your mind. Beginning in the early 1900s "advertising agencies sold the public on the idea that the latest advances in technology brought not only immediate personal gains but social progress" (Smith 19). The companies were able to do this by "using the psychological concepts of association and suggestions, neatly packaged in colorful and briefly worded appeals that excited mental images, advertisers encouraged people to believe that technology, broadly construed, shaped society rather than the other way around" (Smith 13). What this means is that through advertisements people felt like they needed what was being sold, therefore technology was shaping what society would become, but really they didn't need any of that they just wanted it. Technology soon became idolized and it "embedded itself deeply in popular culture" (Smith 13). Technology became such a necessity to peoples lives that it "became the cause of human well-being" (Smith 15). People couldn't tell the difference between things that they needed and wanted.
I think that as a society we need to "understand what sorts of implications new technology may carry with them" before we start to use them (Smith 32). Technology has become an important part of our culture and probably will continue to play a prominent role but we cannot let technology determine how we as a society behave. We have the power to pick and choose what forms of technology we want, not the other way around. If people never demanded social networks, then they wouldn't be here, but as Jesse Eisenberg says in the movie and this is a paraphrase, people want to see their friends on the internet.
It started with friendster, and myspace and then Mark Zuckerberg came along and saw and understood what people wanted and that's what he gave them. We now have twitter, because again Zuckerberg saw people wanted to update their statuses and tell people what they were doing. Someone saw this and saw an opportunity to create a new site that would allow them to do just that alone, hence the creation of twitter.
Demand and Supply people.
Works Cited:
Smith, Merritt Roe. "Technological Determinism in American Culture." Does Technology Drive History?. Ed. Merritt
Roe Smith and Leo Marx. Cambridge, MA: 1994. 1-35.
"Technological Determinism." Philosophy of Technology. Blackwell, 2006. 84-104.
Winston, Brian. "Necessities and Constraints: A Pattern of Technological Change." In Film and Theory: An
Antropology. Ed. Robert Stam and Toby Miller. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2000. 103-110.
No comments:
Post a Comment