Communication History and Society - Essay Example

Communication History and Society Name Institution Technological determinism is a topic that has elicited debates in the modern world and the academic arena with increasing realization that the modern society cannot do away with technology for technology lies at the very heart of the society. Many academicians, theorists, politicians among others are of the opinion that the technology domain provides the society with social wellbeing as much as other domains do so for instance, the natural domain. The proponent of the term technological determinism is sought to have been devised by Thorstein Veblen, who was an American Sociologist between the years of 1857 to 1929. Technological determinism is regarded as opposing social determinism which holds that, the human race is the one largely responsible for shaping technology and not vice versa. The paper therefore, dwells on explaining technological determinism, by answering the question of ‘what is meant by technological determinism?’ In addition to this evaluation, various examples are to be used in the effort of further illustrating the answers to the question. Technological determinism refers to the social changes in the society which are brought about by the technical developments, innovations and inventions as a whole and the media. According to technological determinism proponents, holds that, the technology at the dispose of the society determines the cultural values, the social structure in the society and the history of that society. However, this is not in congruent with the idea that, the introduction of technology into a society subsequently follows the development of that technology. Therefore, technology determinism holds the facts that, technological development is predictable, can be traced and also is beyond any cultural and political influence within a society. Therefore, the effect(s) of technology on the society are regarded as inherent and innate. This premise is further supported by the fact that, the society is the one that supports the technology once the technology has been introduced in the society. To further illustrate this point is the examples that insights us as to why it is not difficult to explain why one will see a teenager in the neighbourhood making the Michael Jackson moves, memorize the lyrics of the music of famous people and other music idols. In addition, when we come to issues regarding fashion, it is also not difficult to have fashion spread within areas which may not even be on the same continent. For instance, one can easily see women who have put on hairstyles that belong to famous musicians like Rihanna and Beyoncé (Kearney, 2006). This shows that whatever is channelled through the media keenly trickles down to the viewers who watch and emulate the acts of famous people. The reason behind the above analysis is that, the media portrays musicians as models and icons belonging to a ‘superior brand’. People on the other hand, perceive whatever the superstars are putting and takes that as the fashion which they emulate and adopt as their own fashion. Therefore, at the end of it, the society will be exactly like what is being shown on TVs (Chandler 2012). This definitely is influencing the society beyond what statistics and extant literature portrays. Different cultures therefore are being dragged into other cultures through the media. The extent to which other cultures are being influenced and dragged into another culture is so much to the extent that one cannot really pin point a culture that has stood on its own in the modern age and in face of globalization. Nowadays, people have abandoned their own culture to the extent that they are a reflection of what the media is all about in the 21st Century. This is made possible through the innovations and the inventions of technology for instance, the invention of computer, internet, and social sites where people can share ideas among others. The concept of technological determinism is used to explain how the media technology has modelled people in the society in relation the way they dress, think, drive, feel, think, etc. (Oliver, 2011). There are those who hold the opinion that technology influences people in two different ways, one being where technology change is viewed from a layman’s language as being outside the society. For instance, through people who are not exposed to technology coming into contact with it and thereby experiencing or adapting to the changes brought about by the technology. Secondly, technology viewed from the point of being outside the society where individuals like technologists and scientists conduct their work independently of the society that they work in, and later on bring to the society their technological inventions and innovations. With the arguments brought about of technology determinism, there are those who opine that technology is inherent to the society and therefore views technology as the cause of problem(s) in the society and specifically where the clash between technological determinism and social determinism. For social determinism, technology brings about complexity and the extent to which the changes brought about by technology are occurring outpaces the ability with which the society can adopt to the changes. On the other hand, technological determinism proponents are of the idea that, technology is the modern force that dominates over the society. Children who are born in the era of computers, iPads and iPods take the technology as inherent to their lives to the extent that, if such innovations and inventions in the world of technology were to be eliminated from their lives, their lives would become meaningless. In regard to technological determinism, the changes that occur to the society are inherent and innate. Taking the example of modern day schools, children born in the technological era adopts the technology to the extent that they use technology in the school curriculum. Children have become so comfortable with technology and hence an inherent and innate part of their lives. Literally, change in communication in media technology will lead to a shift in the trend of the society. Anything that one intends to influence the society with will be done if he or she uses the media to showcase it. For instance and according to, Andrew Lam, (2012) From Arab Spring to Autumn Rage; The Dark Power of Social Media, some of the questions that the article was seeking answers to were as to whether social media for instance, Facebook and twitter was instrumental in the activating the uprising in the Arab countries. Whether the influence from the media has been positive or negative, the fact remains that technological media has revolutionized almost everything in the society. Therefore, talking about technological determinism and its definition may as well be an oversimplification of the extent of influence of media on society and more so in light of the globalised world. With simple comments made on social media sites reaching almost every person in the world, media on the society in the modern age is a genre that is beyond our understanding. For instance, Assange, the Wikileaks founder had provided the platform through which individuals could whistle blow on dark plots by the governments. From the above examples, it is undisputed that technology dominates over the society for it gives empowerment and a platform through which people are able to express themselves. It has also promoted various means of communication. The shifting from personal modes of communication to impersonal modes is all about technology. Communication is currently characterized by telephone calls, emails, social network sites, etc. One on one communication is increasingly reducing with time. People are too busy to visit their buddies even on weekends and therefore prefer to do so on social network. This is just but a few of the transformations that have taken place in communications. More technology is being innovated on daily basis and this continues to change the way people communicate in the society. This has not excluded the robots that are being designed to perform human function. Technology has also brought it with new aspects of the way people are working with more and more people choosing to work at home, others consider telecommuting, while organizations are hiring people who work from their homes. Politicians on the other side sell their campaign ideas to the people through the platform of social media among others. The way technology has promoted and improved the way people are communicating, doing business and interacting nowadays all emphasises on the ideologies of technology determinism, that technology rules the world to create inherent and innate characteristics that people adopt as the norm. In conclusion, nobody can deny that technology has transformed the social, economic, political aspects of people. From the analysis, it is clear that a lot is yet to come in terms of technology (Hrubrek & Brabek, 2011). Therefore, we wait with mixed feeling and expectation because to some level, the technological advancement is like a two-edged sword. While we expect that technology will ease the way of life, we are also wary because it is slowly eroding the values we once adored in our society. Trends have been lifted all the way and are being imparted on our young people. At the end of it, we may not have anything to be proud of in relation to our society. References Ceruzzi, P. (2005). Moore’s Law and Technological Determination. Technology and Culture, 46(3), p584-593. Chandler, J. (2012). “Obligatory Technologies”: Explaining Why People Feel Compelled to Use Certain Technologies. A Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 32(4), p255-264. Dill, K.E. (2009). How Fantasy Becomes Reality: Seeing Through Media Influence, Cengage: Oxford. Hrubrek, M. & Brabek, M. (2011). Beyond the Civilization Crisis: Determinism. Perspective on Global Development and Technology, 10(1), p94-112. Kearney, M. C. (2006).Girls Make Media. New York: Routledge. Oliver, M. (2011). Technological determinism in educational technology research: some of. Alternatives ways of thinking about the relationship between learning and technology. Journal of Computer Learning, 27(5), p373-384. Lam, A. (09/14/2012). From Arab Spring to Autumn Rage; The Dark Power of Social Media, Retrieved from, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-lam/social-media-middle-east-protests-_b_1881827.html, Retrieved on 3rd December, 2012. Read More