How Do Designers in Their Work Benefit or Suffer from the Network Society - Essay Example

HOW DO DESIGNERS IN THEIR WORK BENEFIT OR SUFFER FROM ‘THE NETWORK SOCIETY’ (MANUEL CASTELLS)? Introduction The emerging technology and its exponential growth are with time turning out to be indispensable facet in the transformation of the operations and activities in the contemporary society. Due to the emergence of a multifaceted and technologically oriented society, human population is at present living in the midst two extremely different epochs. The exiting gap between conventional culture and modern culture is exceptionally huge due to hasty technological transformation. The internet has in the recent past become the fibre of the modern social life. According to the available statistics, the number of people who uses internet has grown from under 40 million in 1995 to more than 1.5 million in 2009 (Stalder 2006, p.79). Manuel Castells, a senior professor of sociology have been studying the changes that are brought about by modern technology in the society and have developed a theory of “Network Society”. The theory talks about society which is not controlled by distance and time (Castells 2007, p. 265). A network society is a society whose social structure is composed of networks which are empowered by communication strategies and micro-electronic-based information. According to Castells, network is an inter-connection between different nodes. Despite being a traditional human practice, network has in modern days taken a new form by becoming an informational network which is enhanced by internet. Due to the ever expanding use of technology in modern societal operations, designers in different entities have as well benefited from the emergence of network society. Despite the highly hyped benefits of networks societies, some designers have suffered severely from the modern technology. The essay below focuses on how designers in their work benefit or suffer from the network society. Benefits of Network Society to Designers The core aim of contemporary technology is to advance the living status of the general population. The objective of the technology is projected to be achieved by developing mechanisms that can reduce the amount of labour and increased the level of outcome. The emergence of modern technology has a substantial encouraging impact to modern designers. Modern network is extraordinarily flexible and has wide scope compared to traditional networks. The flexibility of a network society is therefore very helpful for designers in facilitating instant and dependable access to relevant social organisations and structures (Stalder, 2006, p.79). Networks in modern society are proliferated in all aspects of the social facets including: outperforming cooperates, outcompeting centralised bureaucracies and economy. This has reduced the complications that may be countered by designers in accessing several social and economic entities. Prior to the emergence of internet, designers were faced with intricate barrier in fulfilling their task and in managing their daily functions. This was especially the case in the situation when their operations are huge and more complex to be accomplished by one entity. However, modern development has brought about a network society that fits extensively in designers’ operations and interactions. Secondly, network society has also brought about exceptional combination between task and flexibility which has led to sophisticated form of human action. As a result, designers are at present in a better position to make well coordinated decisions with the inclusion of all players in the society. The grouping between flexibility and task has as well led to effective execution of horizontal communication which is vital for efficient operation in designer profession. In addition, due to the existence of network society, the boundaries between other type of communication and mass media have in the recent past blurred. As a result, the weakening boundary between mass communication and other forms of communication such as social media and printed media has enabled designers to develop more user-friendly devices to necessitate mass self-communication and effective inter-personal communication. For instance, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 have played extremely essential role in facilitating effective communication between different entities in the society. Thirdly, the element of space of flow has to a great extent helped designers in their daily operations. As observed by Castells (2007, p. 265), the elements of space of flow have considerably assisted in increasing the space in which most operations in a society takes place. As a result, the element of space of flow has created more room for connection and interaction between designers and other professionals in the society. The system of sharing information which characterises network societies has as well improved the designers’ access to all forms of information that is essential in their normal operations. Network society has helped designers in coming up with a conclusive and rationale decisions. Through employing modern technology, problem solving processes has turned out to be more effective and faster among contemporary designers. Finally, network society has enabled designers to shift political, economic, and social issues into realm of communication. By referring to the network theory, modern society’s social and political operations have shifted from political entities to realm of communication through mass and social media (Castells 2007, p. 265). Modern technology has enabled designers to rely on mass media and social media in making decision that relate to social and political issues. Through social media and mass media, designers have to a great extent guided network society on the most effective ways of addressing emerging social, political, and economic issues. For example, in confirming the role of non-governmental organisation in modern society, Castells proposed the names of non-governmental organisation to be changed into neo-governmental organisation. This is due to the fact that, most non-governmental organisations use social modern technology to inform the community on matters that are related to social, political, and economic transformation. How Designers Suffer From Network Society To start with, network society has to a great extent interferes with designers’ ways of operations and outputs. The concept of network economy or information economy is associated with information technology (Castells 2007, p. 265). Therefore, despite disproportionate reliance on technology, network society has also negatively affected the ways designers produce, consume, and operate in their daily functioning. Designers’ mental and physical processes have with time been reduced by the network technology thus interfering with their productivity (Castells, Cardoso, & Nitze.2006, P. 89). Network society is to a great extent based on information processing and networked communication. As a result, based on this characterization, the operations of designers are based on two main aspects, the space of flow and timeless times. In referring to timeless time, new technologies such as communication networks and biotechnologies has significantly contributed in the breakdown of the biological sense of time and logical sequences of time among designers. Regarding space of flow, easily transmission of information from one place to another by modern communication devices has annihilated the rational perception of space among designers. For instance, the hyperlink web which facilitates immediate transfer of information from one place to another has significantly hampered the conventional ways of using space to transmit information from one destination to another. Lack of effective and adequate modern infrastructure has on the other hand interfered with the operations of designers in modern networked society. Contemporary technologies to a great extend depends on capability of equipment, power supply and networks. Lack of appropriate modern technology equipments in third world countries have considerably tampered with the operation and productivity of modern designers. For instance, lack of adequate and reliable power supply in developing countries is consistently reported to be the major hindrance for effective operations of designers. As opposed to industrial economy, the operation of network society requires greater number of highly intelligent professionals. In modern technology, a single designer does not have the capability of producing a single product on his own. Interrelationship between different professionals is therefore paramount and unavoidable. Interrelationship between different designers has on the other hand severely reduced individual’s independent in decision making process. Use of internet among designers has as well exposed then to legal issues. Some of the legal complications that designers in a network society are likely to encounter include: stolen identity, copyright, and software infringement. This mainly occurs when the designers does not understand the laid regulations that governs the use of online information. Copyright incidences have in the recent past forced many designers to abandon their activities due to severe legal restrictions and sanctions. Network society has as well reduced the quality of services delivery among designers. This has as a result reduced the dependability to their services. Moreover, although modern technologies have helped designers to conduct their business transaction using online services, many customers requires human touch in their service. Lack of human touch is with time reducing the productivity of contemporary designers. In general, poor customer services due to the emergence of network society have become a major hindrance in the operation of many designers in network society. The other major setback among many designers is the diminished level of privacy in their operation and service delivery. Modern technology has over years been condemned by designers for exposing most of the personal information to unauthorised people. In most cases, business credibility is determined by the level of privacy in their operation and service delivery. Designers have therefore consistently complained as most of their customers’ data bases are sold to marketing company thus interfering with their customers’ privacy. For instance, designers in the United States of America have in the recent constantly protested against receiving endless emails concerning their customers from unknown people. Lack of security to designers’ information has resulted to increased cases of industrial espionage, forgery, and theft. Conclusion Technology has to a great extent transformed people’s lives in different social settings. Due to its impacts on economic, social, and political sector, technology has led to the emergence of network society. Network society is characterised by effective interaction among the prevailing social, political, and economic facets with minimum consideration of prevailing geographical and time factors. Modern network has therefore brought about new social morphology in the society. Modern professionals and most specifically designers have significantly benefited from modern technological development. Technologies have enabled designers to make accurate decisions on their day to day activities. However, despite the outstanding advantages of network society to designers and other professionals, modern technology have received critics form several social and economic entities. Therefore, for designers and other professionals to extensively benefit from modern invention, there is genuine need to develop a systematic plan to identify all the shortfalls in modern technology References Castells, M 2007, “Communication, power and counter-power in the network society”, International journal of communication, 23, (2), 238-266 Castells, M., Cardoso, G and Nitze, P 2006, “The network society: from knowledge to policy”, Washington DC: Central for Transatlantic Relations Stalder, F 2006, “Manuel Castells: The theory of network society”, Cambridge: Polity. Read More